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new alt... still won't start

W

willy

New CEG'er
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
10
Ok, battery light was on for a while, then it died on me. I've replaced the alternator, the battery, the megafuse, and checked all the fuses. Is there any, any, ideas as to what this is? It's at a friends place, he's done all the work, but he's getting tired of this thing being in his shop. I can't afford having it towed again to where I can run a diagnostic (welcome to Calgary's economy folks)... let alone the diagnostic itself.
 
i would assume that you know your starter works. right? does it turn over? do your headlights come on? check your battery, alternator and starter cables. turn on your headlights and try starting the car. if the lights go really dim(not just a little dim, thats normal)you might have a voltage draw in your cables somewhere. inspect your battery, alternator and starter cables. if you dont have any of the above problems and the car doesnt turn over i would suspect the starter.
 
Yep, like I said, new batt, alternator, and we've gone through a ton of connections.
 
yes just doesn't fire up. fuel is pumping so the pump is ok.
 
Well the alt has nothing to do with the car starting up. Is the starting even cranking or clicking? Or just dead silence or power hum?
 
it cranks fine, turns over, but just doesn't fire up. starter is ok, otherwise it wouldn't even do that.
 
hmmm possibly a distributor coil issue? i'll recheck the wiring.
 
Did you rehook the coil when you removed it to check the mega-fuse?

What about a cylinder being washed out from sitting so long... (how long??)
 
My money is on the cylinders being "washed out". The cylinders lost compression.

1) Try pushing the gas pedal all the way down and crank. This shuts off the fuel injectors. If that doesn't work......

2) Remove 2 spark plugs, put a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder. Reinstall. Crank again. (the oil helps to build compression again).
 
It's only sat for 3 weeks. It was acting like this before I changed the megafuse. It was running before we changed the alternator (the battery managed a small boost and ran for about a minute) to get it into his garage. since the swap (batt., alt., m-fuse) it just does the "crank but no fire" thing. I wasn't around for much of what he's done, but I'll ask him to make sure he reconnected everything, and properly. I know in my gut this is something simple, just what it is is killin' me! Thanks for all the help, btw.
 
Geez thanks for making fun of me! Seriously though, I'm probably the most un-mechanical person in Canada. So the teaspoon of oil should bring back compression. I will have him try that.
 
chance the coilpack ground never got reattached from the alt-swap? also check and make sure the cable is snug.
 
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