car will not start....

[GIjoe]

hey my MX3 will not start... it turns over just fine... ive been told that it is the fuel filter... possibly the electronic fuel pump... i dont know much about cars so I am goin to need a few more opinions about this..

thanks

[Ryan]

We need to know the year of your car. since you posted in the 4cyl, we'll assume its a 4 cyl.

Its also nice to know other things that happened before the no start. Did it sputter out and die on day? did it have trouble with this earlier? did it have weird bogging/acceleration problems?

and I wouldn't suggest taking the advice from whoever told you it was the fuel pump... anyone who hears "no start" and thinks "fuel pump" in my opinion, is a moron.

[GIjoe]

1993 5 speed.... hahaha ok then...... it had the weird bogging/acceleration problem......

[Ryan]

Since its a 1993, the distributor is not the likely culprit.

If it did have a bogging problem, fuel is back to the issue.

Here's a few things to try:

1- Check all the fuses.

1.5 - Check for vacuum leaks, obvious things, spark plug wires intact, the coil wire on the coil, all plugs are in, etc...

2 - Turn the car off, find the "Diagnosis" box, its a little 1.5"x1.5" black box on the driver's side of the engine bay. It says DIAGNOSIS on the lid. Open it up, and locate the F/P and one of the GND pins. Jump them with a paperclip, or a little piece of wire. Get into your car, and turn the key to 'ON' You should definitely hear the fuel pump running. If you're not sure, take out the back seat and listen to the little metal plate back there. If you're still not sure, leave the car 'on' and go to the diag box, and unjumper and jumper the F/P and GND pins a few times, you should notice a sound. Unjumper.

3 - If the pump does make noise, try unhooking the high pressure side fuel line. (unjumper F/P & GND first!) They are located on the drivers side of the motor... there are two side by side. You want the one that traces back to a cylinder on the firewall (fuel filter, you can replace this if you want, but its a bit of a pain. Made me swear a bit). Unhook that right at the fuel rail (on the motor) and cover it with a rag as you pop it off, because fuel will spray a little bit. Put the hose into a jug of some sort, and go get someone to crank the car over for a second (or half a second) for you. Fuel should spray semi-wildly out of there, a nice thick stream. If it resembles a dribble at all, you've got a problem.

4 - If all of this DOES seem alright, just for S&G, take out one of the spark plugs, (or take a spare plug) and put it into the sparkplug end of a ignition wire. Hold the little tip of the plug against some solid, unpainted metal, and get someone to crank the car, with the gas pedal full to the floor as well as the clutch (called dechoke, this stops fuel flow when starting). verify there is a strong blue spark jumping across the plug gap.

5 - If its still all good, take off the top portion of the timing cover (black plastic, passenger side of motor) and make sure the belt is there. Crank the motor a little with it off and verify it turns, as well. It is semi-common for the teeth around the crank pulley to shear off, leaving the belt looking fine, but not turning.

Good luck!

Ryan

Its not rocket science (joke)

[GIjoe]

ok I will give these things a try. thanks Ryan.