why won't my engine start?

Grr still no start. I'm currently trying to get a hold of someone nearby with experience in testing for spark and such. I gotta get this. and I will. @Mashed na don't worry you're not being a dick,if worse comes to worse I will get a tow truck.

 

Let us know what you find out!

 

Get your ass to autozone and grab a test light and spark tester.
If it takes you 10 times as long as a experienced mechanic you'll know where the problem is in an hour and 1/2.

How long have you been messing around blind now ?

 

And always remember, new doesn't mean it's good.
Sad but true

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhh yeah.BTDT.Many times.STILL get frustrated at times.Step back.Have a favorite beverage.Beer,iced tea,coffee what ever.Recheck everything.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Test light I will go buy tonight, and I know about new not meaning it's good...I've experienced with rebuilding player pianos so I know the quality of old vs new parts. I would imagine it's nearly the same in the automotive field.

 

I can't stop watching this thread... It's like a really crappy Matlock, I just wanna know who done did it.


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Maybe you can talk the other owner to come to your place and trouble shoot, then find out what is wrong and you can learn too

G Don

 

Other owner lives an hour away. But he said call him anytime I need help, and I have been, he's been helping alot. He says he's very proud of what I've done to the car within only 3 or 4 weeks of having it.

 

Sorry if someone else mentioned this (I didn't read everything), but a quick way to see if you have spark is to pull the coil wire from the distributor and hold it maybe 1/8 inch or so away from the block, then have someone crank the engine. If there is electricity coming out of the spark, you should see a nice blue spark. If there is, replace and do the same with a couple of plug wires. You may have to stick the end of a screwdriver in the plug wire and then hold the screwdriver away from the block. That too will show if you have spark.

Be careful with the gas down the carb. Every once in a while, an engine will fire back through the carb and that gas will ignite. Usually, if you are cranking, the next intake stroke will pull the flame back in where it belongs. However, if you happen to be over the carb when this happens (like my father-in-law was one time) you can get a nasty burn.

Don't get carried away with the starting fluid, too. I saw the insides of a lawn tractor engine recently where the owner used a tad too much. I only counted the pieces of the connecting rod and piston that were larger than 1/2 inch square and there were about 20 of them in the crankcase.

 

Breaking it?

 

I didn't do it!
I blame the dog. Oh wait I don't have a dog
Really though, all it did was sit for 3 weeks because of no battery. In the meantime I killed all the critters, inside cleaned it up, painted it (rattle cans ) put brake fluid in, put new horns on, did interior work and did some electrical work. She would always immediately turn on and ran fine, other than the strong smell of exhaust since I don't have my exhaust system welded on yet. So I don't know...if i remember right he said earlier to check the coil, like many of you are saying. So I will do that whenever I can get to the store and get a tester.

 

Hey, yours it still closer to hitting the road than mine, and I've had mine for 4 years.


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If you read post 100 spark out of wire from cap sould jump 1/2" nice sharp sounding sparke. if you have spark it could have jumped timing. bad timing chain.

 

Dun worri evrybodi
It all gon be k

 

This is a very likely suspect,it`s the only thing you really changed.

 

Well, then he should go buy a new cap! My guess is he cleaned it up at one of those do it yourself spray car washes. And when he shot the disty, he either cracked the cap or the ballast resistor.

 

Is the battery you installed 12 volt? did a 12 volt battery come out? Not even sure if this year poncho was 6 volt but thought i would mention it

 

Is a 12 volt battery, and I cleaned the compartment by spraying simple green on the engine, avoiding the distributor cap, alternator and other electrical places. Then I used a garden hose with a controllable pressure nozzle on the end. The distributor cap is not cracked, it was dry when I took it off, and all the plugs are new.

 

Here's some great advise:

1) You're going to need some good tools:
(a) A multimeter
(b) a spark tester, something like this one
(c) a timing light
(d) a compression tester. This is a gauge that threads into a sparkplug hole to check how much compression the motor has after cranking.

2) You're going to need a shop manual.l
It's better if you find one in print, rather on the internet.

3) You're going to need to google. Believe me, this WILL get easier as it goes. Starting from scratch is tough, but very rewarding. For example: THIS is a life saver.

What you want to do is learn to troubleshoot and think logically.

A motor needs 3 things to fire: spark, fuel, compression. Start by figuring out if any of those are missing.

Now, think back- you said that:
* You degreased the engine bay. Are you sure you didn't knock anything loose?
* You did some wiring. What did you wire? What did you change exactly?
* You said that it started right up a few weeks ago- list EVERYTHING that you've done to the car since it last fired up, and trace your footsteps backwards.

If you lived near me, I'd be right over Keep us posted, we'll help as much as we can from here ;D

 

how does de-greasing treatment make your sled run better ?
Start with the basics Fuel : Spark : Timing

 

I has multimeter. Just need to get that other stuff.
I did not knock anything loose while cleaning the engine bay.
I simply finished wiring the stop lights in the rear. It's all correct. Also wired in two new horns, and I cut a small corroded section of battery cable off and put a new striped section into the positive terminal. Very good solid connection now.
Everything I've done since it last fired up? Removed seats, removed headliner, installed new headliner, put in a front rug, cosmetics, painted the car, put on a new headlamp in a few new bulbs here and there. Also tightened the alternator a bit. That's it...the car never started again because of a dead battery. I did nothing to the engine mechanically during that time. It was mostly cosmetics and the wiring that I did, and none of that should have affected the engine at all.

 

Can you do me a favor? There's a wire coming off the top of the distributor to the coil. I need you to make sure it's properly seated. It should sort of dent or click quietly when it's on properly. Please check BOTH sides.

 

Do you have the battery terminals on correctly? Pos to pos and neg to neg? I will turn over but it won't fire.

 

have you poured gas down the carb? after you do then hold the gas pedal to the floor and start turning the engine over, don't kill the battery but keep it rolling for a good length of time.

 

That otherstuff is a bit of a lifesaver. Ask me how I know

It's amazing how something can burp while doing something else. What section of battery cable did you replace?

Here's why I'm asking- we're sort of leaning towards a 'no spark' condition, which means it's electrical.

Now I want this thing to run, dammit

 

I degreased the engine for cosmetics purposes and mostly to reduce the risk of a fire should anything bad occur. Still have a lot of degreasing to do as there are thick glops of hardened grease that I did not notice until now down by the wheel axels and on the lower portion of the engine.

 

So I keep seeing timing chain. It only takes a few things to cause an explosion in the combustion chamber. If the timing belt or timing was off you would have some backfires thru the exhaust or carb. You have fuel, air is a given 1 bar min pressure
So sounds like spark issue.


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Yes the battery terminals are on correctly, I'm not that dumb
I cut new sections for the two positive side cables. They are both cut correctly and attached to the terminals correctly. I do have experience with electrical work such as that. I will check the wire to the coil tomorrow when the sun rises again. I put not gas, but rather starter fluid down the carb. Not putting anymore as I've put a good amount and don't want to fudge things up by putting too much.

 

Have you tried my suggestion?

Take a piece of wire and connect one end to the small + connection on the coil, and the other end to the + of battery. Spray starting fluid down carb and try and start. If no go, then coil is either bad or something in distributor is bad. That is a very simple way of narrowing down the problem.