Alright, the problems started after I took out my IAC to clean it with carb cleaner and put it back in. Car ran like ass, and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out I f'ed up the sensor, so I replaced it with one from a 420a neon. Great.

Tried to start it up to no avail, showed all the signs of a flooded car (took off the throttle body and pulled the throttle body cable, most likely flooded it then). So I took out my plugs and let it sit over night to let the gas evaporate. Next day I still can't get it startedl, so my friend sprays starting fluid into the TB (throttle body) and that gets it going again. The new IAC works and it no longer sounds like a lawnmower.

I get the idle up to normal, and (stupidly) I decide to rev it up. I guess I took it up too high, because the intake backfired and my rpms dropped like a rock. I am guessing that is because there was too much volume of pressure going through the exhaust. Anyways, it hasn't started since. The car will crank but will not turn over and start. I've taken out my plugs 5 or 6 times, reeking of fuel every time, each time cleaning them and putting them back. Its been close to starting a few times, but to no avail.

The last time I took the plugs out, I followed board advice and turned the car over with no plugs in and the ignition/fuel pump relays unplugged, and even blew compressed air into the spark plug holes to dry them out. Also cranked over with FP relay removed several times to remove gas in the engine. It will be close to starting once or twice, but then just flood again.. I'm not even flooring the gas pedal or anything. Should it be able to flood this easy?

I am at a loss here guys. I need to get to work, and the car has been down for 3 days now. I am letting it sit over night again with the plugs out. Any ideas what I should try next if it doesn't start in the morning? Also would pop-starting it be a bad idea? TIA, guys.

Edit: Damn, sorry for the long ass post.. didn't even notice till now how long it is :twitch

Edit2: Also did a compression test, came back ~200 across the board (better than last time I might add)

Just tried starting it again, same situation - cranks and cranks, plugs reek of fuel. I am getting really sick of this.. Any ideas??

Originally posted by j_eclipse96
I decide to rev it up. I guess I took it up too high, because the intake backfired and my rpms dropped like a rock. I am guessing that is because there was too much volume of pressure going through the exhaust.

Eh. Intake backfire is a sign of a stuck injector. Get the car to idle, then use a stethoscope (long screwdriver or extension works well, too) and listen to your injectors at idle. They should all sound the same. You're listening for a ticking sound. Should you find one that's not ticking, or ticking obviously different from the other three, that's your culprit, imo.

Yank the injectors, take them all down to be cleaned. Should run around $60 or so, depending on your options.


EDIT: Here's some more info.

You can also diagnose a sticking injector, imo, by slowly increasing throttle to bring the engine speed up. It's flooding because it's getting too much fuel at idle. You should be able to bring the speed up high enough that the stuck injector provide the correct amount of fuel to that cylinder and find the engine runs like normal.

If you have access to a heat probe (thermocouple on a multi-meter or thermometer that won't melt at 150* or so), let the engine idle for a while before checking the temperature of each runner on the header. The cylinder that is too rich will be noticeably cooler. You could try it with your hand, but that's serious shit.

Finally, try a power balance test. With the engine idling, disconnect a single spark plug. If you have one bum cylinder, pulling that plug wire shouldn't do much, if anything to the way the car runs, since it's shitty anyway, but pulling the plug wire off a good cylinder will make the car run like shit. Make sense? Just be sure to wear some gloves. Should be hot. Could get a nice zap. ;)

Originally posted by DR1665
Could get a nice zap. ;)

Dun be scurred. It builds character. :P

Well, I got it to start and idle. Turns out some wise guy unplugged my coil pack halfway (I probably bumped it), but rather than sit here and bitch about how stupid I am for not checking the coil pack, I'll move on to the next problem: it sounds like a lawnmower again. A sticking injector would make sense, since I sprayed a bit of carb cleaner into the bottom port of the intake mani. So I'll go check that right now, thanks DR1665. I'll update later.

Well, I did the power test, and my #4 cylinder seems to be the problem, which is coincendtally where the dirt/carb cleaner would have gone when it dripped down. I'm guessing the #4 injector got clogged, so I yanked the rail (those 2 bolts under the intake manifold are a bitch!) and am having the injectors cleaned on monday. I'll let everyone know if it works or not.

Originally posted by j_eclipse96
Well, I did the power test, and my #4 cylinder seems to be the problem, which is coincendtally where the dirt/carb cleaner would have gone when it dripped down. I'm guessing the #4 injector got clogged, so I yanked the rail (those 2 bolts under the intake manifold are a bitch!) and am having the injectors cleaned on monday. I'll let everyone know if it works or not.

Excellent! I love it when a thread goes right. :thumbsup

AAAAGH! Put the fuel rail back in and it was still making the same sound. I decided to unplug another plug wire besides #4 to see if there was a change.. Unplugged #1, no change. Yes, both my #1 and #4 cylinder wires were unplugged at the same time, and no change. Deciding to go for broke, I pulled the #3 plug wire off the coil pack and promptly learned why you're not supposed to do that, as it shocked the shit out of me 3 or 4 times. The engine stuttered and died. So wtf, I wonder, what could be causing this? Everyone remember the loose coil plug harness?

I put all the plug wires back in and turn the engine on again. Lawnmower sound once again. I decide to be adventerous and jiggle the coil pack harness, and surprise: when moved towards me, the car returns to its normal, sexy purr. So, coil pack harness it is.. Any ideas on where I could get a new one or how I could hardwire it?

What a gigantic pain in the ass for such a small problem. I'm just glad I finally figured it out.

Originally posted by j_eclipse96
So, coil pack harness it is.. Any ideas on where I could get a new one or how I could hardwire it?

The fast and easy way to do it would be to go to the dealership, but you might also check with Autozone. Be sure to disconnect yours and take a good look at it. Some have flat pins, others have round ones. You might be in luck.

You're almost there!

Got her back up and running again, turns out it was the wiring leading to the harness, not the harness itself. The wires were covered in electrical tape, and when I took it off I found that each of the wires had been spliced (badly, I might add) in two seperate places on each wire. The wire leading to the #1 and #4 coils had broken, and so the car was running on two cylinders. Anyway, I soldered the connection and now shes back up again :D Runs alot better with the new IAC and cleaned fuel injectors too. Thanks for the help man :thumbsup

I love stories with happy endings.

Originally posted by djtrickee
I love stories with happy endings.

As do I. :thumbsup