How did you verify no fire?

EDIT: Do you mean it will not fire up, or do you have no spark?

 

You are Now who You are or Want To Be

WheelBrokerAng

 

The car doesn't start now "no fire".
Sorry for the confusion...
I don't know how to check for spark. i took a plug wire out and saw nothing while my gf cranked the car. (it was late at night)

I guess I'll get it towed to an over priced mechanic.

I have a list of things I have found in my research while looking for similar stories.
1) Fuel Filter
2) "Main Relay"
3) Ground on fuel pump
4) Timing Belt ??? (very doubtful)
5) Distributor
6) Idle Air Control.

But no ones car went from "running poorly" to "not running" over night.
I'm wondering if its something stupid like an 02 sensor or EGR valve or maybe a plugged cat.

IDK kids... With no codes to go by its a real flippin' guessing game.

Why would my car run when in Park or Neutral but die in Drive!?!??!??!!!!!?

 

Thank you!!! :-)

 

O2 sensor or EGR valve won't cause a NO-start. They'll make it run badly or simply get poor MPG.

You "took a plug wire out"... Put any old sparkplug in the end of that wire & lay it on a good engine ground where you can watch the spark. (I'm guessing that's what you did). No spark is not related to main relay, fuel filter, fuel pump, idle-air, etc. So you need to figure out why the spark isn't firing.

Simple test for timing belt... Open the oil fill cap & watch the camshaft while cranking. If the camshaft skipped teeth it might still spin. That's not good, but if it spins at all it's not at fault for a NO-spark condition.

If it starts in Park, can you use the gas pedal to keep it running when you shift into Drive? I'm guessing from the rest of your post that NOW it doesn't even start in Park?

 

I didn't know how to check for spark so...
Now I do haha. Ill remeber that for next time...
So the car is spending the night at the garage.
Ill let you all know what I find out.
Pray that its something stupid.

Thanks again!

 

Well.. I delayed the towing guy to check for spark like JimBlake said.

I could only get one spark plug to light up.. but just one spark.
Then, I tried to test the coil and apparently I make a great conductor cause, WOW did that hurt!

Cam shaft is still spinning... I see the rockers going up and down..

I stuck my nose to the tail pipe and its like sniffing a gas pump.

Fuel + Spark = Nothing?!

Mk...
Tow truck shows up in 45mins...

I'll know something Wednesday or Thursday.
Let you guys know whats up.

 

When i hear about something like this i always check the ground wire to the motor. especially if its haveing a harder time when drawing power on something like the brake lights. just a guess.

 

So my mechanic calls me after a few hours of messing with it.
He says the coils throwing a weak spark..
Replace that...
Now we have PROPER spark out of the coil...
Nothing out of the dist. cap.... unless all 4 wires went bad simultaneously...
I mean come on! I just changed these parts less than 4000 miles ago...
They're under warranty so I'll get new ones...
Advance Auto Parts FTL. (for the loss)

Keep you posted as my bill goes higher. :-)

 

got the car back...

distributor cap....... *face palm*

I guess the moral of the story here is... "When you want the small parts.... buy original"

Don't buy tune up stuff from Advance Auto..
Some kid in Korea assembled it.. and doesnt know how it effects someones life.