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Came out of work the other night to start my car and it cranked hard but refused to start. Today it started butit ran rough for a second and ran fine at idle and revs. Turned off then wouldnt start again, jumped gnd / fp and heard the pump activate. Not sure what the deal is. Ideas?

i had the same problem before twice with 2 different cars one was this car mx3 dohc and the other was 97 mitsubishi eclipse the problem was the timing belt jumped a tooth how does the car sound? does it back fire alot? is it just cranking? do you have spark

Another issue that screams distributor.


Which motor/year is this?

It's a 1993 with the 1.6. It sounded fine when it ran. I replaced the distributor about 2 years ago for a similar problem. Haven't checked spark yet.

Ok, distributor is good. I have spark too. The car still won't start even with the help of starting fluid. Ideas?

Need some insight! Closing in fast on winter and this is my snowmobile! (Truck hates snow)

Sine the pump runs, and it sparks, I'd look at the airflow meter next.

the S code is super common, I wouldn't pay more than $20 for a replacement from a JY.

Do you mean the MAF? If so, I didn't think that would keep it from running but instead would make it run poorly...? How am I to test it since it won't start?

Yes, I do. I missed the 94 part.

If you look a little, you might find this:

http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/showimg.php ... F1-160.gif

So back to the original question, wouldn't it run even if that's bad? Sorry for the delay in responses, my grandmother had a stroke.

Everything recommended checked out. Got the money for a compression gauge since I couldn't find mine. Starting at #1it was; 140-140-90-120

Eep, that motor is TIRED.


Is this a 1993 or a 1994?

Spin the disty rotor by hand with the ignition ON (Everything plugged in, but disty out in your hand), and listen for injector firing and fuel pump running.

Sorry for the confusion, it's a 1993. I'll try to get out to where it died on me tomorrow and see what I can find out by doing what you suggested. I will note that the injectors were pulsing as I cranked the engine over.

If they were, and you're sure, then you don't need to try that test.

Try another coil.

You can unplug the VAF entirely (93's do have VAF's) and it should fire, run for a moment, and die. A VAF issue won't cause a no start.


Your compression is low, but not so low that it wouldn't try to start. (But your motor is on its last legs).

If the injectors fire, the pump runs, it sparks... it should start. There's nothing else. injectors firing means the timing belt is intact and disty is probably, compression means the cam is moving....



Fuses, obviously.

I can't think of anything else. Maybe try a new ECM. The 93 has a s--- ton of common parts on it that you should be able to find for pennies at scrap yards, because early 90's 323's are like the plague.

Yeah, after seeing those numbers last night, I wonder if it's even worth fixing since it's on its way out...poor thing.