Hi,
I left my car in the garage for over a month now after the upper radiator hose neck exploded on me (heat from the down-pipe) and all the coolant was everywhere; so I bought a new radiator and everything...after i was done installing everything, I tried starting up the car but it wouldnt start. I thought it was the battery so I used a spare one (brand new at 12.6v) but it still wouldnt start. It would crank but just wouldnt be able to turn over. I checked the spark plugs and ignition coil and everything looked fined. Could this be symptoms of a bad starter or alternator? I believe it shouldnt be the starter because I heard that it only has problems if you only hear clicks when turning the key. Any idea what it could be? Thanks

Does it crank normally or starts fast and gets slower quick?

You need to go to the starter with a multimeter and check the battery cable on the starter to see if the voltage is very close to what you have on the battery. Then check voltage on the starter while someone is trying to srart the car. If the voltage drops alot, test on the battery with someone turning it over to see if the drop is the same you got off the starter. If they are the same, check your ground from the motor to the battery, motor to the body grounds. If they are different, remove the + terminal from the battery and test resistance from the battery end of the cable to the end on the starter. There should be very little ohms, like 5 or less. If you get more then that, replace the cable. If all tested looks good and you can turn the motor with a ratchet w/o much effort then you need a starter. A easy way to test w/o doing all this would be to get some jumper cables, put the red end on the barrery+ and the other red on the starter where the big cable connects. This way you are bypassing the + cable on the car. If it starts, then you have alot of resistance somewhere between the battery and the starter. If it dont start, hook the ground from the jumpers to the battery and the other end to the motor. If it starts, you have a bad ground, if not, start at the begining of this post.

Originally posted by Erik
Does it crank normally or starts fast and gets slower quick?

It cranks normally but it simply wont start. And thanks 97xtc for that info...i'll need to give that a try and see if it'll help

Sounds more like a problem with the crank position sensor, or maybe the cam position sensor, or coil pack.

I just had a similar problem...see my thread in the general section "no spark" ..turned out to be the cam position sensor.

Originally posted by madhatter210
I just had a similar problem...see my thread in the general section "no spark" ..turned out to be the cam position sensor.

I havnt gotten a chance to test anything yet because of work but I will definetly consider replacing that part...how much does it run for? Thanks!

Autozone wants $60 for it.THe guy at the shop had one on hand to be sure before the new one was bought.

Its strange...so I tried to crank it one more time just for the heck of it, and still wouldnt start...so I pulled the sensor off of the "cam position sensor" and tried starting it up. It would crank for about 5 seconds and then sound like there was some hope of it turning over. But eventually it would just die. I plugged the sensor back in and I'm back to the same issue, cranks but no start. It seemed like I had a better chance with the sensor plugged out. Either way it still wouldnt work...so does this mean I should rule out the cam position sensor?

Could someone tell me how I can figure out whether or not my camshaft position sensor needs replacing? THe chilton is not helping very much, thanks!

have someone tap on your asd and fuel pump relays when you're trying to start it