why won't my engine start?

You said there are new plugs. Has it been running since the new plugs were installed? Just checking.

 

Going to clean the cap right now after I enter this post. The car has run since new plugs, he drove it all up and down the backroads, and then drove it into my driveway off the trailer when i purchased it. Battery died because it was an old battery he threw in just to get the car moving.
Off to clean the cap, will report back eta 10 minutes

 

56PontiacPiano,

Mistakes only become stupid mistakes when they are made more than once. Most of us have repeated a mistake.

I was taught that when you encounter unexplainable problems with an engine not starting then you should start by checking the cranking compression. Gas and spark will not make an engine start if it has no to low cranking compression.

McGurk

 

Uh...dur how do I take the distributor cap off? I see clip-like objects in the front and back of it.

 

Those clips will just snap off if you pull on the top of the clip towards the outside (if that makes sense.) Just snap them loose and you should be able to pull the cap up enough even with the wires attached to see if you have any moisture in there. After you are done, place the cap back in the same position. There should be a little notch along the bottom edge of the cap so that you can fit it back in the same position on the distributor, then you just you just press on the middle of the clips and they should snap back in place.

 

Stick a screwdriver between the clip and the cap. Gently twist the screwdriver and pop the clips off. You may also be able to pop them with your finger

 

Safe to keep the battery in while doing this or should I unhook it

 

Should be safe. Make sure your ignition is off though.

 

The way I suggested you don't have to remove the cap.HRP

 

You can leave the battery connected. Pry the clips away from the cap, lift cap off carefully (don't pull the wires off) and look inside. Should be clean and dry. You can wipe it off with a clean rag. If you want to be really thorough you can use some alcohol or brake kleen spray to remove any moisture or greasey dirt.

Put the cap back on, there is a notch that lines up the cap in the right spot. You can tell where it goes by lining up the clips then turn slightly until the notch lines up. Then snap the clips back on, you can push them on with your finger or a screwdriver.

Check the plug wires are in place by pushing them down one by one.

Do not spray WD40 on the inside of the cap but you can spray it on the outside of the cap and wires. It will displace any moisture that may be shorting out the spark.

Check for spark as described above, or if you have an old spark plug stick it on the plug wire, lay it on a metal part of the engine and see if it fires.

Any engine to run, requires 3 things:

Compression

Fuel

Spark

If it has those things, in the right combination at the right time, it will run. Because your car was running not long ago we know there can't be too much wrong with it.

Take your time and diagnose one thing at a time. Resist the temptation to tear things apart and replace parts, if you do that you can get things messed up so bad you don't know what the problem was.

Diagnose the problem first, when you know what is wrong then fixing it is easy.

 

This distributor cap is in a very awkward place. Seems like whoever did the engine compartment for Pontiac this year was an idiot...the cap can barely go back on right, a hard tube is in the way. The brake fluid is all the way below the steering column, barely reachable...just trying to put the cap on now. I wiped it clean with a rag with a little wd-40 in it, will spray it on the outside as well. Will report back when I have news.

 

It sounds like you should find a local guy who can tutor you while you learn some basics. Getting on here for advice is fine but an experienced guy standing right there can be a big help

 

That would definitely be best. Sometimes you gotta go with what you got.

 

It still beats trying to work on something new.

 

I have the old owner who I can talk to and a few of my mom's friends and my friends know how to work on cars. And yea, right on! I don't see how it's even possible to work on newer engines...

 

Everyone with an old car needs a test light.

For rookies, The screw driver in the plug wire trick is dangerous and can mess up the wires end if your not careful. Most guys who have done this routine in their rookie stage have gotten bit , so they learned the hard way how to avoid this and they have mangled the wires end inside the boot and had to buy new ones. Until you've made these mistakes you won't know, but I assure you they aren't pleasant.

A better way is to just stick another spark plug into the wire and observe the spark, but you need a helper or a remote starter trigger. The best way is with a $5.00 gizmo the spark tester doohickey. It goes between the plug and the plug wire and flashes a light bulb that you can see from the drivers seat. Trust me on this, should you get bit by the ignition system you'd gladly throw 5.00 on the ground to take it away and pretend it didnt happen.

So that brings you to 10.00 investment and now you can do the basic ignition system trouble shoot.

First and easiest thing to test is fuel delivery problems .
Spray starting fluid into carb and try to start. If it putters on fluid , then find out why you lost fuel delivery.

If it doesn't putter run a basic ignition check below.

Take your test light, with one on each end touch both terminals of battery.
Light proves light function and battery power
Touch positive battery post and engine block.
Light proves engine has ground
Touch positive post and distributor body
Light proves the distributor has ground
Key off, Touch positive + side of coil and engine block ( no light is correct)
Key on, touch positive + side of coil and engine block ( light on is correct)
Both proves ignition switch is sending and stopping power to coil
Alligator clip on positive side of coil, and the probe semi securely into ground, should stay hands free and be where you can see it from drivers seat.
Go from key off to key on.
Light proves your test light is correct
Go from key on to start/crank
Light proves you do not loose power in crank position
Re position leads to alligator clip onto negative - side of coil and probe semi secure into positive side of battery. Should be hands free and visible from drivers seat. Turn key to crank position.
Light should flash proves points are functioning

FYI, it takes longer to type and read that than it does to actually do this.
If all that is good, then on we go. If any of that doesn't give the required result then you need to figure out why. They why can get quite detailed so once you find out we can pinpoint it with more input from you.

Take the whizz bang spark tester doohickey and install it between the coil and the cap.
Crank engine.
Should have a rapid flashproves spark is being delivered from coil into distributor
Take the WBSPTD out, replace coil wire and then install the WBSTD between the cap and a plug wire.
Crank engine.
Should flash at 1/8 speed of previous test. proves spark is being delivered from the distributor
There is a possibility that out of the 8 to choose you chose one that works and one or more of the other 7 aren't so I'd recommend repeating this on a few others just to eliminate chasing your tail.
Replace all wires as you go.
Now take the WBSTD and install it at the plug between plug wires and spark plug.
Should flash at same 1/8 speed. proves plug wires are delivering spark

All of that takes around a whole 7-1/2 minuets to do.

If everything passes the test at this point, and still no start - we need to make some more inspections. The results of further inspection generally involve general tune up and regular maintenance items. Any place that doesn't provide the proper result needs to be corrected.

Hope that helps.

 

Ha ha ha and you thought we were having fun all these years.

 

No luck getting the cap back on, will try again in a bit -_-

 

Oh also, about the starting. The condensors and points are all new he said. So it should start right up.

 

On a Relatively speaking basis,
This statement is about equal to "the key is in the ignition so it should start right up"

It's not overly complicated but there are many other things that need to function simultaneously and correctly.

 

if you left the key on without the engine running you could have burnt the points, it doesn't matter if they're new or not.

 

If you have replaced the points and condenser and have spark,my guess it jumped time and the timing chain is NG.

 

did you see any moisture on inside of cap? have you got an old spark plug lying around? a 12 volt test light ? 31 Vicky has listed a good trouble shoot guide, I suggest you use it.

 

You said earlier you replaced the points and condenser,,did you set the points? HRP

 

56PP : A few words of advice!! Get a "Motor's" or "Chiltons" manual that covers the year of your ,any one with a 56-62 date will work. They will have trouble shooting info and info specfic to your car. Everybody has to start somewhere but no sense doing it blind. Most likely your problem is something simple but you need to know if what you are looking at is correct or not.

 

There are few absolute truths in this hobby, but this one ranks right up there with "Knowledge of operation is the first step to proper diagnosis".

Look for a notch in the top edge of the distributor housing. Look for a similar sized lug molded into the outer edge of the bottom of the distributor cap. Or it might be a tab on the housing and a notch in the cap. Either way, make sure the two line up when you set the cap down on the distributor. Don't force things together!

 

If all the basics are okay, then the timing chain may have jumped. It is a Pontiac.

 

Ok...so there I was with my buddy in his 56 Pontiac. We went to breakfast with the boys in the car and when we came out, the car wouldn't start! Turned over fine..no start.
I yanked the distributor cap and had him turn the engine with the starter....saw no spark from the new [prolly chinese] points.[car had been sitting all winter] I had him turn the engine till the points were closed and had him leave the key "on". Opened the points and let them slap shut a few times 'till I got a spark by doing that. Had him crank the engine and had a good spark. Put the cap back on [don't forget the rotor] and the engine fired right up...never gave him trouble again.
If you're gonna drive this car, you need to know how to do simple repairs like this and the best way to learn is by doing...try what I did and it just may start. Dirty points are a very common problem with these cars and "slapping" the points usually fixes it.

 

Excellent post.

Good job.

 

I'm gonna go f*****g nuts! This damn spring clip won't go on the distributor cap! I got the front one which was the harder of the two, but now I can't get the rear one. And I cannot get this thing to flex and bend upwards at all, unless my hands are really that weak, and i'm 6 foot 257 pounds.
Anybody got tips on getting this stupid clips on?