Nissan 200SX S14 wont start
Discussion
I'm hoping that somebody here can give my dad and I some advice on getting his S14 200SX running again.
A few weeks ago he started it up and moved it a couple of meters from the driveway to the road. Then a couple of days later he found that it wouldn't start. The engine turns over, but just wont start.
- No fault codes
- He's checked for a spark
- We've got fuel coming through the filter
The only work it's had done recently was a new intercooler pipe a few months ago (old one was cracked).
Prior to this it was running pretty good, but dad thought he could detect a very slight misfire.
Any ideas?
A few weeks ago he started it up and moved it a couple of meters from the driveway to the road. Then a couple of days later he found that it wouldn't start. The engine turns over, but just wont start.
- No fault codes
- He's checked for a spark
- We've got fuel coming through the filter
The only work it's had done recently was a new intercooler pipe a few months ago (old one was cracked).
Prior to this it was running pretty good, but dad thought he could detect a very slight misfire.
Any ideas?
carjerk said:
I'm hoping that somebody here can give my dad and I some advice on getting his S14 200SX running again.
A few weeks ago he started it up and moved it a couple of meters from the driveway to the road. Then a couple of days later he found that it wouldn't start. The engine turns over, but just wont start.
- No fault codes
- He's checked for a spark
- We've got fuel coming through the filter
The only work it's had done recently was a new intercooler pipe a few months ago (old one was cracked).
Prior to this it was running pretty good, but dad thought he could detect a very slight misfire.
Any ideas?
Checking for spark is no good if you arent going to tell us whether it has spark.A few weeks ago he started it up and moved it a couple of meters from the driveway to the road. Then a couple of days later he found that it wouldn't start. The engine turns over, but just wont start.
- No fault codes
- He's checked for a spark
- We've got fuel coming through the filter
The only work it's had done recently was a new intercooler pipe a few months ago (old one was cracked).
Prior to this it was running pretty good, but dad thought he could detect a very slight misfire.
Any ideas?
And spark at all 4 cylinders and at an appropriate time to have a chance of starting the engine.
And you need fuel coming out the injectors to stand any chance of starting. That is not the same as fuel coming through the filter.
Check and confirm the basics. Without any real information, remote diagnosis is impossible.
It could be anything from a duff battery, flooded, wiring, fuel, engine, whatever problem
...and there I was thinking I'd put a nice concise post together, ready for some helpful hints from helpful members of the PistonHeads family. Instead I just get a aggressive response. Cheers!
If you hadn't guessed, we're not professional mechanics, merely people with an interest, trying to learn and run an interesting car on a budget.
When I said that he's checked for a spark I should have said that there is a spark on all four cylinders.
I guess we're looking for advice on how we go about checking "the basics".
closes PistonHeads and loads Google
If you hadn't guessed, we're not professional mechanics, merely people with an interest, trying to learn and run an interesting car on a budget.
When I said that he's checked for a spark I should have said that there is a spark on all four cylinders.
I guess we're looking for advice on how we go about checking "the basics".
closes PistonHeads and loads Google
I have a bit more info on this...
So we've worked out that by confirming we are getting petrol at the output of the fuel filter the fuel pump is working and the filter is not blocked. We realise that this doesn't mean that fuel is getting to the injectors or into the cylinders. Can anyone suggest a good way of proving that?
Since we know that the spark plugs are capable of producing a spark we know that the plugs are ok, the coil packs are working to some level and the immobiliser doesn't appear to be active. We realise that the spark may not be occurring at the right time but the lack or error codes suggest that the crank shaft position sensor may be working. Once again if anybody has a good tip for checking the timing of the sparks and checking the operation of the crank shaft position sensor we'd appreciate it.
The battery is in good state of charge.
Plugs have been removed and cylinders allowed to 'breath' for a long period so don't think it is suffering from being flooded although that was the first assumption. Did try starting it with the throttle fully open to try and fix that but it made no difference. Not sure if that's the best method with a fuel injected engine?
We don't know if there is any leak in the air inlet system and if that could cause this problem. Any suggestion that a fault with EGR could cause this problem? Any suggestions for finding air intake leaks - there is a lot of 'plumbing' on this car.
So we've worked out that by confirming we are getting petrol at the output of the fuel filter the fuel pump is working and the filter is not blocked. We realise that this doesn't mean that fuel is getting to the injectors or into the cylinders. Can anyone suggest a good way of proving that?
Since we know that the spark plugs are capable of producing a spark we know that the plugs are ok, the coil packs are working to some level and the immobiliser doesn't appear to be active. We realise that the spark may not be occurring at the right time but the lack or error codes suggest that the crank shaft position sensor may be working. Once again if anybody has a good tip for checking the timing of the sparks and checking the operation of the crank shaft position sensor we'd appreciate it.
The battery is in good state of charge.
Plugs have been removed and cylinders allowed to 'breath' for a long period so don't think it is suffering from being flooded although that was the first assumption. Did try starting it with the throttle fully open to try and fix that but it made no difference. Not sure if that's the best method with a fuel injected engine?
We don't know if there is any leak in the air inlet system and if that could cause this problem. Any suggestion that a fault with EGR could cause this problem? Any suggestions for finding air intake leaks - there is a lot of 'plumbing' on this car.
Were the plugs wet or dry when removed ? As a bare minimum, that can give an indication if fuel is being injected...but not lit.
Really...without any fancy equipment or knowledge. The easiest way to see if fuel is being injected is to remove the fuel rails with injectors still in them
Leaving all lines and wires attached. All you need is them clear enough so that you can see if fuel is being injected when cranking.
It will be a fine spray at each injector, but it should be quite visible.
Sparks...to verify correct timing...really a timing light is needed.
Air leaks, best just to do visual on a non runner. But if nothing was tampered with to cause a leak...then there shouldnt be anything that would prevent starting.
Lack of fault codes doesnt really mean anything. There can be plenty of faults that wont throw codes.
Whilst awkward to do, the visual check on fuel is good, because if it is present and all injectors triggering, it rules out quite a few potential issues.
Really...without any fancy equipment or knowledge. The easiest way to see if fuel is being injected is to remove the fuel rails with injectors still in them
Leaving all lines and wires attached. All you need is them clear enough so that you can see if fuel is being injected when cranking.
It will be a fine spray at each injector, but it should be quite visible.
Sparks...to verify correct timing...really a timing light is needed.
Air leaks, best just to do visual on a non runner. But if nothing was tampered with to cause a leak...then there shouldnt be anything that would prevent starting.
Lack of fault codes doesnt really mean anything. There can be plenty of faults that wont throw codes.
Whilst awkward to do, the visual check on fuel is good, because if it is present and all injectors triggering, it rules out quite a few potential issues.
a common problem on some cars. Had a jag 3.2V8 which if you started it from cold and ran it for less than a minute then turned it off there was not a chance in hell of it restarting. Fouled up it's plugs every time and washed the bores so bad it lost most of the compression. It cranked like the plugs were out. Two of the chaps I work with have the same cars (or at least same engines) and both have got caught out by it.
Maybe totally unrelated on the Nissan 200SX but I would take out the plugs, crank it for a while with accelerator to the floor which turns of injectors for flood clearing then put in new plugs and maybe a dribble of oil down each plug hole to wet the bores a little and try to start it again.
Maybe totally unrelated on the Nissan 200SX but I would take out the plugs, crank it for a while with accelerator to the floor which turns of injectors for flood clearing then put in new plugs and maybe a dribble of oil down each plug hole to wet the bores a little and try to start it again.
Surely sniffing the plug hole will tell you if there's fuel in there or not?
Why so sure it's not immobilising? What does the immobiliser light do (i) when you unlock (ii) when you poen the door (iii) when you put the key in (iv) when you turn the key?
Could be it still runs the pump but disables the injectors.
Why so sure it's not immobilising? What does the immobiliser light do (i) when you unlock (ii) when you poen the door (iii) when you put the key in (iv) when you turn the key?
Could be it still runs the pump but disables the injectors.
ECU relay..
Id go back to basics with a multimeter and make sure you have power at the pump (not just fuel falling out of the filter) and at the ECU. Is the spark constant or intermittent.
Have had similar issues before, and even re-joined a wiring loom to remove an immobilizer only to test an ECU relay and find it was that. If the ECU has no power it will not run.
Id go back to basics with a multimeter and make sure you have power at the pump (not just fuel falling out of the filter) and at the ECU. Is the spark constant or intermittent.
Have had similar issues before, and even re-joined a wiring loom to remove an immobilizer only to test an ECU relay and find it was that. If the ECU has no power it will not run.
Thanks for everyone's help with this, and sorry I was a bit arsey with my first response. I'm just so used to posting stuff on other forums and getting really unhelpful replies.
Sounds like dad has managed to get it running. Looks like the cylinder bores were dry, and a squirt of oil in each cylinder got it going.
Thanks again!
Sounds like dad has managed to get it running. Looks like the cylinder bores were dry, and a squirt of oil in each cylinder got it going.
Thanks again!
carjerk said:
Thanks for everyone's help with this, and sorry I was a bit arsey with my first response. I'm just so used to posting stuff on other forums and getting really unhelpful replies.
Sounds like dad has managed to get it running. Looks like the cylinder bores were dry, and a squirt of oil in each cylinder got it going.
Thanks again!
Or more likely it was flooded, having the plugs removed for a period dried them out, and refitting it started as normal.Sounds like dad has managed to get it running. Looks like the cylinder bores were dry, and a squirt of oil in each cylinder got it going.
Thanks again!
You can be sure squirting some oil in the chamber will have had no effect on it starting or not starting.
stevieturbo said:
Or more likely it was flooded, having the plugs removed for a period dried them out, and refitting it started as normal.
You can be sure squirting some oil in the chamber will have had no effect on it starting or not starting.
Precisely. Or what is more likely is you have an electrical problem that manifests in certain conditions. You can be sure squirting some oil in the chamber will have had no effect on it starting or not starting.
stevieturbo said:
Or more likely it was flooded, having the plugs removed for a period dried them out, and refitting it started as normal.
You can be sure squirting some oil in the chamber will have had no effect on it starting or not starting.
He initially thought the problem was that it was flooded, and had tried leaving the plugs out to dry. He even tried new plugs because they weren't in the best condition.You can be sure squirting some oil in the chamber will have had no effect on it starting or not starting.
I honestly think the squirt of oil into the cylinders did the trick.
Thank you Fatjon you were right on the money with a few drops of oil down the spark plug hole. I have been a Diesel Mechanic for over40 years and it never occured to me that it might solve our problem.Cause of the problem, start engine to turn steering then turned off after less than 30 secs, next day no start. We tried all the normal things, fuel flow and pressure, spark, plugs, connectors, air flow, crank angle, still nothing. Fatjons suggestion of a few drops of oil sounded like it was worth a try. Oil in, turned over a couple of revolutions on the starter then fired straight up. It smoked a little until the oil cleared and now no problems at all. Thanks again.
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