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dullehan

More car troubles

   So we just tried to go to the store, and the car wouldn't start, we don't quite know what is wrong. Our neighbors, said it sounded like the engine wasn't feeding gas, and considering the temperature outside, that may be due to vapor lock. However, I am no mechanic, every thing sounds normal it just won't start, I wouldn't where to begin to even start.

What are your guy's thoughts?
Viewed: 12 times
Added: 1 year, 10 months ago
 
caldaq
1 year, 10 months ago
First thing change the feul filter or filters then if that does not work the feul pump.
dullehan
1 year, 10 months ago
Thanks, it helped, it started this morning.
caldaq
1 year, 10 months ago
Sweet!
moyomongoose
1 year, 10 months ago
You can dribble a little bit of gasoline into the intake manifold, then try to start it.

If it starts up and runs for a few seconds, then dies, it is most likely a fuel problem.  If it does not fire at all after dribbling some gasoline into the manifold, then the fuel system is not the problem.

If the fuel filter is really old, you should still change it. A bad fuel filter can block pressure being made by the fuel pump and cause it to go bad.
If a fuel filter is still good, you should be able to blow through it very easily.

Corroded electrical connections or bad grounding are often causes of a no start condition. Bad ignition switch will cause it to.
dullehan
1 year, 10 months ago
Thanks, this was helpful, we'll see if the car works later.
moyomongoose
1 year, 10 months ago
Something to keep in mind when tracking down a no start problem...There are three basic elements a gasoline powered internal combustion motor needs to run:
Fuel
Compression
Spark

If you suspect a wiring problem, use a test light that has a diode...Do not use the lightbulb kind.
Because of cars now days having a computer, an old style test light with a lightbulb could damage a computer or sensor if you happen to poke a wire to the computer system.

A volt/amp/ohm meter would give more accurate results anyway if you have to trace wiring. That is because sometimes a small amount of current will get past a corroded connection, but won't be adequate enough to fire up a coil pack. A meter will show you that. A test light will only tell you there is current there.
dullehan
1 year, 10 months ago
Thanks , this will help.
dracoris
1 year, 10 months ago
like art the devil is in the details. what is the car doing when you turn the key? does it turn over? do the lights come on?
dullehan
1 year, 10 months ago
Except for actually starting, everything else works. After letting the car cool down, it started again, just a little while ago my took it to go to work, it took a few seconds longer to start again, but it did. Well it can start up a again at work.
moyomongoose
1 year, 10 months ago
That sounds very much like corrosion in a wiring connection in the ignition system, or a bad ignition switch.  Sometimes when a corroded connection is cold, it will allow enough current to get by to fire up the coil pack. But once you start the vehicle and the connection has enough time to heat up from resistance caused by the corrosion, electrical contact will start breaking down until it quits.
I had an old 1977 Dodge truck that had that problem a few times. Mopar vehicles back then seemed to be notorious for wiring corrosion problems.

Another thing could be an electronic component breaking down when it reaches a certain operating temperature.

In the older vehicles with the fuel filter threaded into the carburetor, a bad fuel filter would produce the same symptoms.
Forty years ago, one of my sisters had a 1976 Ford LTD. The fuel filter was never changed in that car.
It finally got to the point where it would barely let enough fuel through to run the car okay when it was cold. But once the metal casing of the filter expanded from engine heat, that's all it took to constrict any fuel from getting through and the car would die.  When it cooled down, it would start and go a few more miles before it would die again.
After I replaced the fuel filter, my sister no longer had that problem from her car..especially at the voltage gauge in the instrument panel.
moyomongoose
1 year, 10 months ago
That last part about a voltage gauge was an android error.
beautifulbasin
11 months, 2 weeks ago
Sorry to hear that, man.
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