engine still won't start.....

[Guest Philanthr0py]

the last time i posted, my car wasn't starting. all i heard was clicking at first. Then i cleaned out the battery connections and checked the connections to the starter. It now does more than just click, it actually cranks and the fan spins, but it still won't start? any idea what's wrong? How should i go about checking things from here on?

[Guest Ian turbo240]

Now that you have it cranking, the next things to check would be fuel, air, spark, and compression (not necessarily in that order). Check to make sure there is a spark coming from the coil when you crank the engine over. You can do this by using a spark tester, or by pulling the coil wire off and positioning the end near a ground, then crank the engine. If you have a spark, make sure the spark is getting to the spark plugs. You may also want to make sure the plugs aren't fouled. Next, check for compression. You can do this with a compression gauge, or just pull the spark plugs out and put your finger over the hole. Crank it over and if it blows your finger off the hole, it will probably have enough compression to run. Check each cylinder like this. Next, make sure that you have fuel pressure. This gets a little trickier. You will probably need a fuel pressure gauge. If you have fuel pressure while cranking the engine, then check for an injector pulse. Sometimes you can hear the injectors clicking. If not, you can use an LED across the injector connector terminals to see if there is a signal. If all of these conditions are OK, then you have something blocking the intake tract of the intake manifold. If this is not the problem, then the engine will run. Good luck!!!

 

Ian

[Guest Anonymous]

Ian pretty much nailed it!