Thread: Car won't start NEEEEED Help

Hey everyone. I'm at CMP right now with Nasa Southeast. My car decided it does no longer want to fire up. I checked my fuses inside the car and they all had continuity. I checked the fuse box by the battery and they checked out too. I removed the fuel pump relay and have yet to check that.

My battery has 12.58 volts with the car off. I checked the battery voltage with the car on before I left atlanta and it was 14. 18 volts. I also checked the car again once I made it to CMP and the alternator seemed to be putting out the neccessary voltage.

Now my guess is i'm not getting fuel or spark.

Some questions All i have for electrical diagnosis is a multimeter. How should I check the fuel pump to see if its functioning to spec? How do I check for ignition at the spark plug ends? Any other things I should check would also be helpful. I made a bonehead move and didn't leave the house with my fsm.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I need to fix this up before the event ends on sunday night.

One last thing I tried starting it before I left today and it sputtered slightly but would not start. That was the last of it before I called it a night.

I check for spark by taking off the cable to spark plug and placing it on the valve cover and have someone turn it over to see if there is a spark, i check for fuel by disconnecting the fuel filter and seeing if fuel comes out when turning key on/engine off.

This might sound stupid but make sure your plugs are connected all the way in. I spent like 3 days with a friend trying to figure out why his car wouldn't turn and it was because the plug wire wasn't all the way in the coil.

Well I checked the continuity through my fuel pump relay. From connector 1 to 2 it had none. I bought a replacement at advanced auto and that one has continuity but it didn't help anything.

I'm gonna see if there is power going to the fuel pump relay terminals.

I checked spark at plug number one and it was there. Time to keep checking.

well i think i might have an electrical problem in the fuel pump circuit or the fuel pump is going bad. I ended up unplugging the fuel pump connectors to check for voltage at the pump. I didn't get a reading on the on position when I was looking for it at the terminals. I then checked for voltage at the fuel pump fuse but I couldn't read anything either. As I was doing all this the fuel pump was disconnected from everything else and it ended up making the noise it makes after you shut the car off. So I was like hmmm well if it made a noise it might be working. I reconnected it and the car started again and ran like normal.

I'm hoping it holds for my return trip to Atlanta. Weird problem though. I don't think it's completely resolved. I'm thinking that there might be something wrong that I need to investigate more closely.

One question for anybody that knows.

What voltage should you read at the pump ? Which connecter is the power source for the pump?

There is a two prong and a three prong. How is the pump grounded?

Would voltage show up at the pump connecter with the Key on ON or do i have to actually move it to start?