supra won't start, turns over but won't fire up

Can anyone offer me some ideas?

 

I drove back from work as normal yesterday, parked up on my drive and so on.

 

When I jumped in the car the next morning and turned the key the dash lights went out and there was nothing.

 

I checked under the bonnet and found the battery terminal was loose so tightened up and then it would turn over but wouldn't fire up.

 

It does splutter very slightly every 10 secs or so when turning over but won't get going.

 

There are no stored fault codes.

 

I tried resetting the ECU and all fuses are intact.

 

The clifford 650 alarm seems to be working as usual, no odd behaviour.

 

The car has never done anything like this before and always starts up as soon as the key is turned and drives perfectly.

 

If anyone has any ideas please help.

 

Cheers

Anyone???

starter motor, fuel pump & distributer have you checked all of these ?

Do you have a set of jump leads to eliminate the battery?

starter motor, fuel pump & distributer have you checked all of these ?

 

He says its turning over, and TT doesnt have a distributor.

Also possibly flooded?

Do you have a set of jump leads to eliminate the battery?

Yes, I think I would do that first.

 

How did the engine turn over immediately after you tightened the battery terminal, was it laboured at all?

Edited March 18, 2009 by merckx (see edit history)

Sounds like battery to me . try disconecting one lead + jump starting the car if it runs on the altanator you'll know it's the battery

all this jump starting business is no good for it whatsoever, usually spikes the alarm ecus rendering them useless

 

first things first can you hear the fuel pump running or at least priming when you turn ignition on?

 

Whip out a coil and put two plugs in the end and touch it on head while cranking, check for spark

 

If you have fuel/spark then something like crank sensor would be next route

Also possibly flooded?

 

mine would do this from time to time i'd take the plugs out (HKS rubbish) and they would be soaked clean them off heat them up a bit with a lighter then it would start. well worth giving that ago.

thanks,

 

It's not the battery, I have tried another one and its turning over as fast as it usually does.

 

Plugs are very sooty, but haven't checked for a spark yet, ran out of daylight tonight.

 

I can't hear the fuel pump prime when I turn the ignition on but there is a buzz that continues for about a second after I stop turning the ignition key is that the pump? oh, and the exhaust smells strongly of fuel.

 

Hopefully it's just flooded, I've took out the plugs and cleaned them up, I will put them back in tomorrow and try again.

 

My brother is a mechanic and is coming down on saturday to have a look, I have a feeling it may have spiked the immobiliser because I don't understand how the car can be running absolutley fine one evening and then nothing the next morning.

 

Could the turbo timer be a possibility?

 

Igniter pack?

 

Anyone know of a good auto electrician in Cumbria (longshot, I know!)?

hi i had a similar thing happened to my car it was the ignition fuse .you can tell by looking at the engine management lights up mine didnt put new fuse in management lit up every think sweet

ok i had the same problem as you, it cranks over hard, wants to start, just about kicks and then dies again. well me i changed the engine following my mechanics directions. sold my old engine to a pro who later told me the engine was fine, the only thing faulty was an ignition sensor!

Might also be worth checking the negative cable from the battery to the chassis earth. I had similar electrical issues recently. I replaced the battery and the starter contacts, which did need doing, but also then thoroughly cleaned up the earth connection with a wire brush and sprayed with wd40. Since then it fires up instantly and strangely the car can be left a lot longer not beign started and still fires up fine, before after a week or so it would need recharging.

 

Just a thought

Good grief if the battery has enough juice to cheerfully turn the motor over it's not going to be the battery is it, will people please stop on that track

 

You're sure there are no fault codes, you got the steady flashing of the engine light, yes?

 

Try starting it with your foot to the floor on the throttle, see if that changes the behaviour. If you've got a smell of fuel you may have fouled the plugs by this point, and the original problem might have gone away but it stil won't start because of this.

 

If there is a smell of fuel then the injectors aren't being cut, I don't know how your alarm immobilises the car but usually it's the injectors that are stopped isn't it? So that you don't waste fuel, foul the plugs, cause an explosion etc etc. So check the sparks are sparking as detailed by dan4.

 

-Ian

Who said it was cheerfully turning over, his actual words were:

 

It does splutter very slightly every 10 secs or so when turning over but won't get going

 

Considering I wasn't there to hear it turn over from that sentence I imagined a very laboured turning and it just picking up enough every now and again to try and start.

 

IMHO ruling out the battery would have been the easiest & cheapest test to do.

 

If this is the sort of response we get in Technical for trying to help a guy out who has asked twice with no reply I'll avoid it altogether in the future, rant over!

I think you've hit the nail on the head Ian, there are definately no fault codes, my brother told me to take the plugs out and leave them off over night as they would be fouled up from trying to start it with the throttle down and apparantly this will evaporate the remaining fuel.

 

Got it started after cleaning up the plugs with a wire brush, I took off all the electrical plugs I could see around the engine bay and sprayed them with wd40 which probably did nothing but I was getting desperate.

 

It fired up straight away once the plugs were back in but was idling very low about 300rpm, I've took it for a spirited blast for a few miles and all is back to normal, I guess it was just flooded.

 

Thank f*ck it wasn't an immobiliser problem.

 

Thanks to everyone for the advice, much appreciated

Glad you got it sorted mate If I was around I could have nipped over and given you a hand. I think you should check the battery though

Cheers mate, yeah the battery is sorted now, same goes, if you ever needed to borrow parts for testing if you get problems, just give me a pm

I think you should check the battery though

 

why why why does everyone keep ranting on about a battery, it turns over:Pling::Pling:

when were the spark plugs changed last have you washed the car recently

maybe try a new battery:innocent:

Thanks for that gaz, I never thought of that;), I think i will change the spark plugs as a precaution, wheres the cheapest place to buy them, (iridiums)?

If you don't change your battery, have you though about increasing your tyre pressures a bit? It may help?

Again, a good tip to bear in mind