! I don't know much about cars, sadly, yet.

ANONYMOUS

MEMBER
2007 CHEVROLET IMPALA
107,680 MILES

Hi! I don't know much about cars, sadly, yet admittedly, and my car broke down on me yesterday! I was driving home from school when my car started to decelerate. My steering wheel locked up and I barely made it onto a residential street before the car totally lost power! I tried to restart the car and it just cranks! It has full power behind the crank, it won't turn over though! I don't know what the problem could be, I just wanted to ask here before I went somewhere else. I don't want to be ripped off because I'm a college student. Thanks for any help that you could lend me!

Thursday, April 11th, 2013 AT 1:39 PM

1 Reply

JDL

MECHANIC
16,098 POSTS

If it cranks good but won t start, get it towed home. Trying to work on it, on the side of the street, isnt safe or fun.

Have a helper crank it while you visually check for spark at the spark plugs. If you have spark everywhere, use a gage and check fuel pressure. To check for spark plug a spark plug boot off the plug, use a spark tester in the boot, ground tester to metal part of engine, engine cranking watch for spark, check more than one. Just in case there are no plug wires, you remove the coil, put tester in the boot. You could use a phillips screwdriver in the plug boot instead of spark tester. Hold screwdriver shank close to engine ground/metal part of engine, watch for spark to jump. Just make sure that screwdriver has a good insulated handle, dont get your body grounded to vehicle. In my opinion, that secondary ignition voltage is no fun.

To check fuel pressure, some of the national brand autostores will loan out a fuel pressure gage. You may have to put up a deposite, but, you get it back when you bring the gage back.

Let us know what you find.

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Thursday, April 11th, 2013 AT 3:40 PM