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Engine will turn over but car wont start. Help please!

10K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  eweis 
#1 · (Edited)
Yesterday morning i was driving back home from a city about 100 mile south of where i live. About halfway home, my "service engine soon" light comes on. Of course it could mean hundreds of different possibilities, so i didn't sweat about it and just made the drive home.

When i got back, i proceeded to do a few on/off starts to see if the service engine light was just something phony like a misfire that the ecu picked up. Nope, Still on. I also came to notice a rough idle develop after the few times i turned the car on and off.

So now i go to unplug the battery and let it sit over night to see if this will do anything (i.e. get rid of the service engine light), and here is where it gets ugly. :tsk:

This morning i put the battery wires back on the terminals and go to fire her up, and now she wont start. The thing is that when i turn the key to position 1 and 2, everything works; the radio, AC, etc. But when i go to start the car, it won't fire up. The engine turns over and attempts to start, but nothing. :confused:

What might this most likely be? A bad fuel pump? Bad fuel lines. Ignition?
Any advice or feedback helps and is greatly appreciated.
 
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#3 ·
What kind of Diagnostic tool do you recommend using for reading the codes? I've heard of one called a Peake tool that seems pretty popular. I ask only because i know nothing about vehicle diagnostics. thanks
 
#14 ·
If the fuel pump is working, you should hear a buzzing or hissing noise from near the rear driver's wheel well. The fuel pump will start to run as soon as you put the key into position 2. So, open the door, put in the key, turn to position 2 but don't crank - you should hear the fuel pump run for 10-15 seconds, then stop.

If you don't hear the fuel pump, your first things to check are the fuse #54. If it is good, swap the fuel pump relay with the horn relay - they're the same part number. If you STILL get no fuel pump noise, check voltage at the fuel pump wiring harness - pull out the rear seat bench and there's an access panel where you can get to the fuel pump. If you have voltage at the fuel pump, but it still doesn't run, then you need a new fuel pump.

If you CAN hear the fuel pump, then I'd suspect camshaft position sensors, as mentioned above. You'll need a scan tool such as the Peake to diagnose further.
 
#22 ·
I ran the fault codes in which three came up, all pertaining to the o2 sensors. Turns out it was a dead fuel pump, which due to running lean caused the o2 sensors to go out as well. $760 later the my car is running again. (just parts and doing the labor myself.)
 
#24 ·
Hold on, hold on....$760!?!? ...and you did the work yourself? What cost you so much? The fuel pumps I see for around $200 and the oxy sensors are like $60 and $70. Did you buy other stuff too or purchase parts from the dealer or something?

Also, how did you narrow it down to the fuel pump? Simply that there was no noise when you turn the key on?
 
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