Intermentent starting issue...

[Strongbad]

I have been having trouble with the Bonny for several weeks now. I will come out and try to start it and it will "Rrrrr rrrr rrrr rrrr" but not turn over. Usually after trying it 3 or 4 times it will finally fire up. Friday however, it left me stranded. I must have tried 50 times to get it to turn, but no success. She had plenty of juice, but just to be sure, I tried to jump start it. I ended up having her towed home.

I was thinking it might be a fuel issue (pump? filer?) but I wasn't sure, so I contacted a mobile mechanic to come take a look at it. He pressed in the valve on the fuel rail while I cranked it, and it sprayed fuel everywhere, so he said he didn't think it was fuel related. He also said it wasn't a stuck starter. He left stumped, and claimed he was going to do some research, but I never heard from him again.

Could this be a coil pack issue? The mechanic said if it was a coil pack issue, it would start but just run rough, however I have had one of the coil packs go out before, and it left me stranded at the grocery store, refusing to start.

In addition, although I am unsure if it is related, I am still having voltage issues. Sometimes it charges great (around 14) other times it drops to the top of the red area. Doesn't seem to be any reason or rhyme to it.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[RJolly87]

Let me clarify some things here. It sounds as if the engine is turning over <it will crank and crank> but not firing <never takes off on its own>. If it is a issue with a bad coil, the mechanic is right. 2 cylinders will not be firing. The engine will try to start, and may start, but will run horrible. As far as the low voltage, you may have issues with corrosion, that would only be revealed by cutting the cables open. Usually replacement cables are in order to correct that issue. I wonder if the no start issue is possibly related? The main line to the computer and everything could be corroded?

Any other suggestions from the experts?

[Strongbad]

Your summary is correct. The starter seems to be attempting to turn the engine over, but it doesn't. The starter is definately not stuck, but I thought perhaps it could be "weak"....

So the cables could be corroded on the outside and perfectly find on the inside? I didn't realize that. I am starting to think that perhaps you are right. If nothing else, putting new cables on there would eliminate that as a cause. Should I do the negative and the positive?

I will post a vid later of my trying to start it.

The mechanic that I stumped thought it might be the crank position sensor. Anybody have any experience with that?

[Strongbad]

Well I tried to take a vid of it trying to start, but the *dang* thing started...

[RJolly87]

The cables could be fine on the outside, but corroded on the inside. Crank position sensor usually rears its head on restart with a warm engine, but the worse they get, the more temperamental the car gets. It is also a pretty fun repair <NOT!>.
Harmonic balancer must come off, but the crank sensor is easy to replace after that. Just confirm alignment, and put it back together. It could be the issue, and the low voltage could be a separate issue.

[renchjeep]

Maybe a starter motor going bad, high resistance internal to the starter motor? Check amp draw from + battery cable to starter motor with an inductive pickup tester when attempting to crank. Draw over 150 amps or so (a general rule, from my experience) indicates a bad starter motor.

Please confirm or deny my testing method, guys!

I am not an electrical expert, by any means.

[Strongbad]

Maybe a starter motor going bad, high resistance internal to the starter motor? Check amp draw from + battery cable to starter motor with an inductive pickup tester when attempting to crank. Draw over 150 amps or so (a general rule, from my experience) indicates a bad starter motor.

Please confirm or deny my testing method, guys!

I am not an electrical expert, by any means.

Is that something I can check with an amp meter?

[RJolly87]

Is your amp meter able to handle 150+ amps? Most I know of handle 10 max, and would get blown sky high if you tried to run a starter with them.

[renchjeep]

You will need a large auto-shop style voltage tester with an inductive pickup that clamps around the large cable going to the starter, not your everyday hand-held multimeter. Try a local auto repair shop, hopefully they won't charge you an arm and a leg. That is if you can get the car started and to the shop.

[myfirstbonnie]

Check your battery cables first. Peel back the insulation and verify they are not corroded. Make sure all the grounds are connected and tight. If the cables look good, take the starter out and have it checked at the local parts store.

[imidazol97]

.....

[Popcorn]

My 94 se had this exact problem. It was very intermittant. Mine was fixed by having the
crankshaft sensor replaced. I hope this helps.


Pop

[renchjeep]

Any updates?

[Strongbad]

Finally got another chance to get under the hood with a guy who knows these cars pretty well.

After about an hour of working on her, he was able to start her right up. He did alot of testing with his ampmeter, and found an injector that was having issues.

He laid a screwdriver across the injector and touched it to the fuel rail while I started it. It fired right up and ran like a champ.

He figured the injector was bad, so we replaced the injector.

The next morning, the car wouldn't start again.

I can only assume at this point that the wiring harness that runs to the injectors is bad.

Anybody know where I could get my hands on one?