Hey guys,

Yesterday I was on the way to the airport when my car just died all of a sudden, in the middle of when I was driving. I had just let off the gas the car died while still in motion. It had done this once or twice in the past and started right up after that. Not the case this time. Ended up missing my flight, got a later one.

The talon is sitting dead atm. The starter turns over without any problems, it's just not starting. I thought it might have to do with the fact that I had let the car sit for the better part of a year and then drove it with an old tank of gas a while back. That was about a year ago. I thought the plugs would be nasty, so I changed them. Turns out they were all burnt, and one of them was soaked in oil. (!!!)

I know that it is either a spark or fuel problem. Since I've already changed the plugs, my next place to look was the ignition. I was wondering if anyone had any advice as to what to look for other than that. I know my o-rings for the valve cover gasket need to be replaced after seeing the soaked plug, but is there anything else that may be the problem there?

Thanks guys,


Chris

I'd pull the MAP and take a look at that guy just in case. If it were plugs, wires, or coil, I'd think you would only see the engine die completely if you lost more than two cylinders. I don't think plugs or wires are so likely to drop out in pairs. The coild pack? Maybe, based on what I know of it's design, but I'm thinking this is something on the simple side.

Welcome back, sir. Stick around a while and whore the pits or something. It's always nice to see familiar names out there on the board. Bump.

might outght to check your fuel pressure. if it sat for a year w/ fuel in the tank chances are it varnished up and it might have trashed up your fuel pump. between checkin that and spark you should be able to get an idea of whats going on. and maybe crank it for a bit and then pull a plug or so and check them to see if theyre gas soaked.

Possibly a timing problem aslo I would check the timing belt. It can crank and never spark also. Something to look into.

check the connection at the cam sensor, if it's good it's probably the crank sensor went out on you.

no crank signal = no start

Thanks a lot for the responses guys.

Originally posted by DSMTalon
and maybe crank it for a bit and then pull a plug or so and check them to see if theyre gas soaked.

I did this and checked two plugs - neither had any gas on them. Is it then safe to assume that the fuel pump is the problem? Or (nube question) could the fuel pump get shut down by the ecu when the cam sensor and/or other sensors are the problem?

Thanks again, gotta get this figured out today.

it could be possible that w/ a dead cam sensor that there is no injector pulse. i dont have enough experience w/ a dead cam sensor on these engines to tell you a definite yes. however if your fuel pump is dead, either the pump is dead or maybe your ASD (auto shutdown) relay died. one way to check is to remove the back bottom seat cushion, and on the passenger side there is an access hatch to the fuel pump. get a voltmeter and check the connector for 12V on the blue wire w/ the key on. be careful though you will only have power there for about the first 5 seconds the key is on...so you may need an assistant to help you. if you have power and a ground to the pump (check for continuity on the pump ground wire) and you cant hear the pump run, you know youre fuel pump is dead. hope that helps. i think that if the cam sensor died from what ive heard the car will either run really crappy (on some cars) and otherwise start and die.

Things to check checklist
1 Spark
2 Plug and wiring to coil
2 Fuel pump.
3 Connector and wiring for said pump (make sure you have power and ground to the connector)
4 Crank Position Sensor (pull it out and visually inspect it for cracks or other damage)
5 Cam Angle Sensor
6 Connectors and wiring to those sensors
7 Fuel Injector harness
8 Connections at all 4 injectors (though this is a very long shot)
9 Timing (check your belt and make sure you didn't jump a few teeth)
*edit*
10 don't forget to check ASD and Fuel pump relays

On the CAS I had one that tested good 4 times on a snap-on scanner but was still bad. It would only act up above 5500 rpm and it would give me a very harsh misfire. I swapped it out with one that I had on a parts car and I was good as new.

-Kevin

Sounds like your running lean. Check for fuel delivery issues, rail, lines, pump, injectors (although not a very good chance all injectors will stb) etc. As for your plug soaked with oil... You might want to check your rings and valve seals.