Strange engine problem


smokymo

smokymo

Jap SiR
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
407
Problem:
I insert the key, turn on, enter my alarm code, all the lights lit up correctly as usual but when I go to turn to start the engine , nothing happens just abs light comes on again and goes off. The engine doesnt even turn over, the no noise of even an attempt to start samething.

The car is standard, with few breathing mods and clifford blackjack.

The problem began after the floods in dublin, and i did drive once through this particular heavy flooded road but it went fine. The following week i drove to the atm and when i went to drive back, the car wouldnt start so I disconnected a battery couple times and it started again.

what really annoying is that there is no consistency to this problem , I was driving fine for a few days then it wouldnt start the next day, but it would fire up again in the evening and so on.

I am not really that technical when it comes to troubleshooting the problem, but so far I am thinking :

the clifford blackjack is screwed but it does let me enter code and the ignition lights come on

the ecu could be water damaged after the floods(I have a leak there , and the carpet was quite damp at the passengers footwell after the floods)

could be the dizzy ?

any other suggestions
 
Couldn't have been the dizzy since engine doesn't cranks. Check possible electrical submerged stuffs.
 
You went through deeper than normal water...check all ground connections esp. the starter motor ground. I would recommend to re-establish all your ground connections to be sure rush it not getting in the way of making a good connection to ground.
 
thanks for responding lads, I am gonna go over the ground connections tonight once I get home. But the weird thing is its like it has a mind of its own, when it wants it starts when doesnt it wont
 
smokymo said:
thanks for responding lads, I am gonna go over the ground connections tonight once I get home. But the weird thing is its like it has a mind of its own, when it wants it starts when doesnt it wont
Click to expand...

Understood and this is not uncommon with electrical issues on a car. wires heat up and cool off, opening and closing a short in a wire or connection...oxidation separating connections along with wires with heat and cold temps, expanding and contracting metal and metal in the wires.

Take one step at a time and you will find your issue. Starting with ground connections is a good starting point and is easy to do yourself.
 
are you sure its not the clifford got wet and is messing up???

if not maybe the starter motor got wet??? i had it on my b16 the lights would light up and when i turned the key nothing happened, i had to give the starter motor a good hit with a hammer each time i went to start the car
 
I checked ground connections , well the ones I could see because its dark after I get home from work, everything seems fine.

I will go over everything over the weekend in detail, but i am thinking that it is something like starter motor

Clifford seems to work fine and the actual alarm didnt get submerged.

Once again thanks for suggestions and keep them coming , I am gonna check all these places to try figure out this because I am sick of walking an hour to work :angry:
 
same thing happened to me a few days ago. although my car was never in a flood.
At first could not start the car,only heard the starter relay clicking.though it was my starter motor so had a few mates to help push start the car.super car started.
so after driving a few miles suddenly my car's central locking was opening and closing many many times in a row. I was like what the H*LL !..
then both the techo and speedo went nuts on me.. a few more miles down the road my lights went dim ... great .. i thought my althernator gave me the ghost.
coasted the car to the side just in time b4 my car died.
called a friend to bring a fresh batt hoping it would be enough to bring me to the nearest workshop.
when i pop the new batt in , it still would not start. same $hIt. only starter relay clicking.. HOW CAN 2 things die out on me at the same time.
was looking around the engine bay and i found 1 off the grounding connecting the transmission to the chassis had a broken terminal lug. just by reconnecting the grounding EVERY THING WAS FINE!! car started fine..

MORALE OF THE STORY .. check all the grounding. i had no idea it was so darn important.
 
Checked all the grounds, cleaned the connections, nothing happened

So I took off the starting motor just waiting on a set of jump leads of a mate to check the starting motor to make sure it works. Hopefully that will be the problem

If it works, then I move on to alternator
 
took out a starter motor and tested it. Works fine, the pin comes out and twists, so I guess the next step is make sure its get the current to it, when the ignition is on.

Any other suggestions lads? Maybe check the error codes or some
 
well I think the battery should be fine, since all lights light up fine, and my radio plays no problem, headlights are on ok etc. But i ll try to jump start the car and see if any results occur
 
smokymo said:
well I think the battery should be fine, since all lights light up fine, and my radio plays no problem, headlights are on ok etc. But i ll try to jump start the car and see if any results occur
Click to expand...

Check the battery, be sure to get it 100% charged up. :)) Lights are easy to turn on, turning over the engine takes a ton more power from the battery.

1 Ground connections [check]
2 Charged up battery [checking]
3 Electrical connections to the starter motor and alternator [next]
4 Have the starter motor checked and/or alternator [next]
....

Don't want to use your alt to charge up the battery if the battery is low, use an battery charger.

--tama666
 
Also plug your water leak dripping water on your ECU buddy.
Its never a good to allow water into the electrics as you describe above.
 
thanks for all the input Tama been really helpful :bow:

Yea i fixed all the leaks in a boot and was ment to do the passenger side as well but got a new job and been really busy so never got around to do it :angry2:

electrical faults/problem are real pain in the ass to fix especially in the front yard with no proper lighting

I will check all of the above and report on my findings
 
If the engine fails to crank, then it can not start of course. The cause of this can be anything from a bad battery to a coolant leak. Now, if the engine cranks but does not start the culprit can be a lack of fuel, spark, or compression.
Reputation Management
 
well the saga continues, I found an old multimeter so checked :

battery = its around 12v
alternator is working
starter is tested and working
cleaned the grounds and checked them for connectivity - all perfect

I tried to check whether the starter was getting any power but it seems there is no current when I turn to start the engine,

so I took all the panels underneath the steering wheel, checked the fusses, all seemed alright.

I was trying to figure out how to test my ignition switch since the starter is not getting any power so I was fiddling around wires and clifford blackjax to see what wires do what( was very confused by the shear amount of wires :angry:). I didnt disconnect or connect anything , just a had general nose around.

Anyway, I went to start the car the last time before I gave up for a day and it miraculously started :angry2: without a hitch.
Now this happened to me few days ago but it would not start afterwards
but I came back this morning and it started again so took the chance and drove to work today coz it was raining so hopefully it ll start when I go home.

Now all this leads me to be believe it is something to do with my alarm because I was moving the alarm box around and the wires connected to it, even though i am really sceptical, i still gonna bring it to alarm specialist on the weekend to have a look over and hopefully put it rest.

Giving my car starts on a weekend :angry2:
 
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