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Cranking but not starting

Tiny
BLESSING EWOBOR
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 SUZUKI GRAND VITARA
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 211,567 MILES
Hi, I have checked the fuel pump pressure, the ignition coil and spark plugs, they are okay. The fuel injectors nozzle are working properly. I have scanned the vehicle I couldn't find any code on the engine. Sometimes when cranking the engine it will behave as if it want to start but it won't start. What could be the problem?
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Monday, September 7th, 2020 AT 1:24 PM

15 Replies

Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
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The engine needs three things to start, compression, ignition, and fuel. It is unlikely that it is compression as this is pretty obvious but we can come back to it if needed.

So let's double check fuel and ignition. Have you pulled a spark plug and held it against the block to see if it has spark at the plug? Then we need to use some starter fluid in the intake just to see if it fires.

Also, when you say it seems like it is going to start, does it backfire or make other noise? Can you get a recording of it doing this because that may point to a timing issue?

https://youtu.be/dCjmRL3p4Cs

Let me know this info and we can go from there. Thanks
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Monday, September 7th, 2020 AT 5:34 PM
Tiny
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Hi, see short video below.
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Thursday, September 10th, 2020 AT 5:43 PM
Tiny
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It seems that it want to start but it won't, if I decided to depressed the gas pedal with the way it is behaving on the video shown above, It won't show any attempt to start again, it will just be cranking.
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Thursday, September 10th, 2020 AT 5:50 PM
Tiny
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Did it start at the end of the video?

This sounds like we have a number of issues. However, let's start with pulling the plugs out and change them unless they look good. With all this cranking I am wondering if we fouled the plugs which would cause a long crank/hard start.
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Thursday, September 10th, 2020 AT 7:45 PM
Tiny
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No, it didn't start at the end of the video. I have checked and replaced the plugs.
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Saturday, September 12th, 2020 AT 5:22 PM
Tiny
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Okay. Is there any history to this? That sounds like lack of fuel or a timing issue. Did something happen to this vehicle or did this just start happening one day?

I would suggest we need to check compression at this point just to make sure because that will show a potential timing issue as well.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression
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Sunday, September 13th, 2020 AT 6:57 PM
Tiny
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Thank you, the vehicle is working fine now.
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Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 AT 1:24 PM
Tiny
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Oh that is great information. Can you share the repair you made so that others can benefit from your success? Thanks for any info.
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Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 AT 7:15 PM
Tiny
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The vehicle problem was the transponder key or the ignition switch cylinder. I realized that when ever I depressed the gas pedal the vehicle won't show any sign of starting (as shown in the video above) and the vehicle security light would be very dim and not off while cranking the engine. I decided to disassembled the ignition switch cylinder, with the key in the cylinder (second picture), I used the screw driver to turned the switch to start position (first picture), it responded, I turned it off and start again. Now I know that the problem is the transponder key or the ignition switch cylinder.
One of the major reason that I didn't check these on time was that the fuel injectors nozzle were pulsing and the spark plugs were sparking. The question is that is there inadequate sparking and inadequate pulsing? If I didn't saw the sparking of plugs and the pulsing of the injectors, I would have troubleshoot the problem before now.
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Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 AT 9:33 PM
Tiny
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Wow. Pictures and everything. That is an excellent post. Thank you, as I am sure that will help others. Talk to you next time.
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Thursday, September 17th, 2020 AT 5:38 AM
Tiny
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Thank you very much.
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Thursday, September 17th, 2020 AT 7:17 AM
Tiny
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Hello, the article you sent me earlier "https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression" one of the sentences in the article says "You can't find the fuel pump fuse by checking the fuse panel or your owners manual" then were can one find the fuse or is it an error?
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Thursday, September 17th, 2020 AT 8:00 AM
Tiny
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Great catch. I have read this many times and never caught that. It should say you "can find the fuse" so I will send that over to the site administrators and ask they change that. Thanks!
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Thursday, September 17th, 2020 AT 5:08 PM
Tiny
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Thank you.
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Friday, September 18th, 2020 AT 12:21 AM
Tiny
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Thank you. The site owner got back to me and corrected it. He said thank you as well and really appreciates you saying something and not just moving on.
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Friday, September 18th, 2020 AT 6:27 PM

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