Engine wont start up and run?

Tiny
JTAPPEN
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 PONTIAC VIBE
  • 203,000 MILES
The car has been sputtering and some time stalling when starting. If we do get it started it will run awhile and the when it is turned off it will not start. I was not hearing the fuel pump come on so I went ahead a changed it. Still not hearing the fuel pump come on. So I think it might be electrical. How can I trouble shoot this? I am lost at this point.
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 7:30 AM

23 Replies

Tiny
TY ANDERSON
  • MECHANIC
  • 684 POSTS
I would check the mass air flow sensor. Remove the sensor so you can see the small wires (don't do this with the car key on) and spray "mass air flow sensor cleaner" on the film in attempt to clean the small wires on the sensor. This sensor is the largest priority sensor in fuel delivery so having an accurate reading will allow the engine to run better ( assuming there is no check engine light or service engine soon warning light). If you have any question or help on how to do this let me know. You can get this mass air flow sensor cleaner from most retail auto parts suppliers.

These guides can help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/mass-air-flow-service

Please run down these guides and report back.
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 10:11 AM
Tiny
JTAPPEN
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  • 2 POSTS
Where would I find a mass air flow sensor? What does it look like?
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 10:28 AM
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,004 POSTS
DIS HELP?

THE MEDIC
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+2
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 5:00 PM
Tiny
KENBOAT2G
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
  • 2005 PONTIAC VIBE
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 273,414 MILES
As I was driving, my car felt like it was moving slower as I pressed my foot on the gas and I also heard a strange noise that was quite loud. I finally stopped the car turned it off, stepped out the car and saw some very dark brown fluid underneath the car. Afterwards, I tried to start it again and it would not start and up until now, it still will not start. Why is that?
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
  • MECHANIC
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In general conversation,

It sounds like you blew the motor.

Have you looked for damage on the sides of the engine block?

Have you found the origin of the brown fluid?

The Medic
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KENBOAT2G
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Well, I had a friend look at it for and he said it could be something with the ignition. He checked the fluids and said they seem alright and I had enough oil in the car.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,004 POSTS
How about the brown fluid?

Any clue where it came from?

The Medic
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KENBOAT2G
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Well it leaked from underneath the car and I suspect it could be from the transmission.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,004 POSTS
Any headway?

I suspect the fluid on the ground had something to do with the loud noise. Maybe not?

Was it a backfire?

The engine cranks/ turns the crankshaft but will not start up and run?

Does it "Try" or is it just Dry over and overs?

Let's check for spark, here's a link to one of our "Repair Guides".

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system

The Medic
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KENBOAT2G
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Well as of now, it just does not start at all. I turn the key over to the start position and no noise at all.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CJ MEDEVAC
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,004 POSTS
Reckon the battery ran down?

Here's a link to "Repair Guides"

https://www.2carpros.com/articles

Scroll down to "Electrical" and check out these pertaining to the battery.

Battery Cable Clean - Everything Goes Out
Battery Charge
Battery Flat Overnight
Battery Jump Start
Battery Load Test
Battery Replacement
Battery Symptoms

The Medic
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KENBOAT2G
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Well, the battery is actually good and all the lights work just fine.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,689 POSTS
Hi guys. I just stopped by to see if I could learn something, and I have a few observations. Mostly I was confused by the description of the symptoms. There seems to be at least two totally different things going on here.

First of all, when referring to "doesn't start", that can mean different things that have totally different causes and diagnostic steps. At issue is whether the starter spins, (cranks), the engine. If it does not, we have to look at the starter system or a seized engine.

The second "doesn't start" is when the starter cranks the engine normally and at normal speed, but the engine doesn't run. This is when we have to look at the things all engines need to run. That is fuel, spark, compression, and proper timing of those things.

The third observation is we have a list of symptoms that are occurring now, but we have the luxury of knowing the symptoms that occurred during the original failure. That is something we usually don't get when working with a mechanic who is working on a customer's car. Now we have to figure out which symptoms are related, and which may have been caused by improper or unrelated repair attempts.

If there was a puddle under the car, you either parked over someone else's previous puddle, or a fluid leaked from your car. For a dark fluid, engine oil and transmission fluid are the logical suspects. You found the oil level to be okay. That leaves transmission fluid. Was that checked? With the engine not running, that fluid should be quite over-full on the dip stick.

The next issue is you never fully described how the car slowed down. You said the car slowed down even though you pressed harder on the accelerator pedal. What happened to engine speed? Did it speed up too much or did it slow down? If engine speed increased while road speed went down, that is due to the transmission slipping, and that would correlate with loss of transmission fluid. If the car slowed down because engine speed slowed down, we have to look for an engine problem.

The first thing to do is shove someone underneath who is familiar with what is engine and what is transmission, and determine which one leaked fluid. The two can be hard to tell apart for anyone not familiar with cars. Be aware that cars with automatic transmissions have a fluid cooler up front, usually built into one side of the radiator, or it could be a separate cooler. The steel and rubber lines going to that cooler can develop a leak and cause engine speed to increase when the car slows down. The puddle will be close to just behind the front bumper. Repairing a leaking cooler line is a relatively minor repair. Trying to drive the car with low transmission fluid, however, will cause severe slippage in the transmission's clutch packs, and that can lead to the need for a total rebuild very quickly.

The place to start now if the engine doesn't crank is to suspect the battery is run dead. Use an inexpensive digital voltmeter to measure its voltage. If the battery is good and fully-charged, it will measure 12.6 volts. If it is good but fully-discharged, it will read close to 12.2 volts. If you find around 11 volts or less, it has a shorted cell and must be replaced. To add to the misery, by 2005, GM had added more unnecessary computer controls to complicate the starter system. In the past, a weak or discharged battery would cause slow cranking. With these computer controls, some computers will prevent the starter relay from engaging at all when battery voltage is just a little low. That injects a totally inappropriate symptom for the cause. For that reason, start by measuring the battery's voltage, and post your findings. If it is even a little low, connect a portable charger and charge the battery at a slow rate for an hour or two, then see if the starter will crank the engine.

The noise you heard can be caused by a broken connecting rod in the engine, and that can break a hole where the oil leaks out. We'll discount that for now based on your findings the oil level is okay. A loud noise from the transmission is much less common. A better suspect is the transmission's bottom pan hit something in the road that punched a hole in it. The fix for that is typically to replace the pan and refill the fluid. The damage should be obvious, and there will be fluid dripping from the hole for some time.

One more thing to consider is if a CV joint broke. The car will coast to a stop, probably with a clunking noise, but more importantly, transmission fluid will spill from where the inner CV joint slid out of the transmission. That spillage would be minor and it would not be the cause of the car slowing down. When one front half shaft becomes disengaged or broken, neither will rotate to drive the car. That's a simple matter of replacing the half shaft and replacing the one or two quarts of transmission fluid that spilled out.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:20 AM (Merged)
Tiny
AKENADY
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2003 PONTIAC VIBE
  • 1.8L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 230,000 MILES
I replaced the timing chain, tension-er, guides and sprockets. I changed the spark plugs and one coil as well. Now that I have got it back together it still will not fire, just the occasional sputter and my spark plugs smell like gas. Could it be the crankshaft position sensor not sending the fuel at the correct time?
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:24 AM (Merged)
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Good afternoon.

The first thing I would do is check the compression to be sure the engine internals are okay from the chain replacement.

Did you verify spark to all the cylinders?

The crank sensor controls fuel delivery and spark. It does not control the firing of the injectors. That is controlled by the PCM.

Roy

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:24 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KIARRAP96
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2003 PONTIAC VIBE
My car will not start. We thought it was the alternator so I replaced that but it still won't start. Others have told me it could be different things. The lights and horn work but when I try to start it just cranks over?
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:24 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,689 POSTS
The alternator doesn't do anything until the engine is running. If it has failed, the battery would be run down after about an hour of driving, and a jump-start or charging the battery slowly for an hour or two would get the engine started. When you turn the key to the on position without cranking the engine over can you hear the fuel pump run in the tank for 5 seconds? If not it sounds like the fuel pump has gone out which is common here is a guide to help walk you through the steps with instructions below to show yo how on your car.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-an-electric-fuel-pump

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.

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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:24 AM (Merged)
Tiny
NATASHANOLT
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2003 PONTIAC VIBE
  • 175,000 MILES
The car just stopped starting. It turns over but will not start. I did have a friend look at it and he managed to get it started two times but it popped and carried on. The check engine light is on as well.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:24 AM (Merged)
Tiny
TY ANDERSON
  • MECHANIC
  • 684 POSTS
When you turn the key to the on position without cranking the engine over can you hear the fuel pump run in the tank for 5 seconds?

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Please run down this guide and report back.
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:24 AM (Merged)
Tiny
EDGE88
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2003 PONTIAC VIBE
I noticed a few days ago when I tried to start it, it was kinda hesitant to start, but would, then 2 days ago we tried to start it and it will not do anything. The radio, lights and everything else seemed to have plenty of juice, but I cleaned the cables changed out batteries, tried to jump it off, and still nothing. So then I took the starter and had it checked, thinking this is got to be the problem, but unfortunately it was not, I have even checked all the fuses, were do I go from here?
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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 AT 10:27 AM (Merged)

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