splashy

So I have a 95 del sol s, It has been sitting about a year, I just tried to get it started, it was cranking weakly but wouldn't start. So I took the starter out of my 93, but it still wouldn't start, then it wouldn't even crank at all. So what else could cause it to crank weakly like that. I have my 93 del sol I can swap out parts to try things if it isn't too difficult, like I said I tried the starter, and distributor, and the battery so those things are good, what should I try next? I kind of need to get it going because the clutch on my 93 went limp so now I have no car,

B20DelSol

Battery! 99% its the battery

Also, before you start it:

Make sure you have:
-Good Fuel
-Good Oil
-Good Coolant

You don't want to get it to start and just let it kill itself in a few minutes (or seconds)!

Hope it works out for you!

splashy

I don't think it's the battery because I took the battery out of my 93 and put it in, and that battery still starts my 93 fine, but when I put it in the 95 it just cranks slow, actually now it's not even cranking

would it be possible to try to push start it to get it going or is that a bad idea?

BLKdelSol95

i would check all ur relays and fuses before push startin it, but no it usually doesnt cause any major problems...good luck!

B20DelSol

How long have you been cranking it? The battery is not an endless supply of power! lol

Checkmarks

Been sitting about a year.

1. Put a tablespoon of oil down the plug holes. Maybe 'light' rust in the bores (very bad news if this really helps but you know where you stand). My thoughts could be for potential head gasket leaked some anti-freeze and your car is on the short list. Worse thoughts, sitting car lonely and cold feeling neglected and not so pretty; gets really cold where you live (northern states?). Anti-freeze un-checked... Oil down the plug holes causes zero negative effects.

If the can cannot start with the starter, push starting is a huge mistake. The actual cause might allow it to start and run only long enough to drive to the crusher. Pretend you have an automatic tranny if that helps.

splashy

So I should put a little oil down each of the 4 spark plug holes on top of the engine? What if there is rust in the engine? Is it possible to hand crank the engine to loose it up, how do I do that?

strategy400

Make sure all your grounds, battery cables and other connections aren't corroded or loose. Trust me, it will cause the symptoms you describe.

NVturbo

Did you drain the gas prior to letting the car sit? Was it stored in a garage or left outside in the weather?

splashy

Make sure all your grounds, battery cables and other connections aren't corroded or loose. Trust me, it will cause the symptoms you describe.

Yeah those look clean, it does seem like its not getting enough power, but like I said I tried it with my working battery and tried jumping it too. What grounds and other connections are there to check

Did you drain the gas prior to letting the car sit? Was it stored in a garage or left outside in the weather?

No I didn't drain the gas, I don't know how, it was left outside, northern ohio, it does get cold. It is next to an acorn tree and there are chipmunks around so I'm worried they could have chewed something. I don't know what else to try, what else could affect it cranking other than the starter, what do you think about trying to push start it?

Checkmarks

Again trying to push start is a mistake. If the car will not start with the ignition switch pretend you have an automatic tranny. You do your car no favors push starting. I would say push starting is agreeable if you just left your lights on, parking on a dark mountain road while smooching with the girlfriend. Not in this case.

Yes you can put oil directly down the spark plug holes. Pull the four plugs and for goodness sake use a tube of some sort so the oil does not make a mess where you cannot clean it up.

The motor turning over slowly has nothing to do with chipmunks. It does have something to do with zero lubrication for a year.

A person can turn the motor over by hand using a 17mm socket and extension turning the crankshaft bolt directly (turn counter clock-wise). That seems silly since if the starter cannot turn the motor over you are really going to struggle trying to do it by hand. Use the ignition switch Luke. The force has a chance if you put oil in the cylinders young Skywalker.

Bad fuel will make the car hard to start and possibly not start at all. Fuel has nothing to do with "why the car will not spin the motor with the starter" Get it, Got it, Good.

Battery grounds: Still not causing your problem. Three letter word starts with the letter o.

strategy400

Had an accord sitting outside for at least 2 years and it fired right up with a new battery.

splashy

How do I remove the spark plugs?

Former User

Why are you not replacing or charging the battery?

splashy

Well I did try jumping it and put in the battery from my working del sol to try to start it.

Sr420Det

def sounds like the battery or bad connection at the battery. Dont worry about oil in the spark plugs, uv already turned it multiple times. Get the battery charged and checked at a local autoparts store. Let the battery sit for five hours after u charge and before u test it. All battery terminals must b completely tight and clean, also make sure ur started wire coming from the battery is completely tight. be careful when working around these wires because they r connected directly to the battery and if u ground anything to them (like a ring or tool) it will spark, get extremely hot, and possibly blow up ur battery and pop fuses

splashy

Well I've been continuing to crank it, I think it's cranking better now, still not starting. How long can you crank it each time without hurting stuff, In the book it says no more than 15 secs, but that seems like a long time to crank. I did notice the headlights do dim when cranking, doesn't that mean it's a power issue. The battery connection are perfectly clean and very tight,

eamonn

Battery try a battery with higher amps

Sr420Det

if its turning for 15sec its not the battery, the battery does the turning so u have a fuel, spark, timing, or compression issue. Listen for the fuel pump to prime, check spark and timing

splashy

So here's the update, I tried jumping it with higher amp battery as suggested, & After cranking and cranking it finally roared back to life, it wanted to die, but I gave it a little gas to keep it going, then I started seeing white smoke, so I shut it off, it looked like it was coming from the alternator, then I found the alternator belt on the ground. So do I need a new alternator or just a new belt. It kind of makes me worry the timing belt might snap too. At least it starts now,

B20DelSol

Good to hear...how many miles is on the car/engine? You may need to change it if it is time. A good interval is 80-100k miles per t/b change.

Checkmarks

White smoke? Did this come from the tail pipe or the engine compartment?

Can you spin the alternator by hand. You may have just had a rotted belt. The belt does not cost that much. After the alternator spins by hand and you replace the belt put a volt meter on the battery. If you register 14 something volts then good to go. On the other hand if your volt meter reads in the 12 volt category, its bad news for the alternator.

What does it cost you not to change your timing belt? Sounds like your alternator belt was at its end of service life. When did you change your timing belt last?

If you decide to change the timing belt the water pump is only four bolts from out. You would be the fool not to change the pump also at $25. The owner of the Honda that I now own was saving money not replacing the water pump. Take a guess what failed, overheated the motor, jumped the timing belt, broke the camshaft gear key, bent valves, and warped the head. Not hideous money to fix $500, but then I am the mechanic and I have yet to figure how to charge myself.

How do you remove the spark plugs, you ask. Pull the spark plug wires use a 5/8th spark plug socket with a six inch extension and a ratchet. Compared to pulling plugs to take the wise choice and put some oil in the cylinders, changing a timing belt is way more complicated.

A little inside information. When the motor is turning over slowly and will not start it is because there is not enough compression to cause the explosion in the cylinder. But why my son might ask. A diesel motor compresses its air/fuel until spontaneous ignition hence no need for spark plugs. A gasoline motor compresses the air/fuel to a point just before spontaneous ignition and then uses the spark plug to fire. When starting the car the motor must spin the engine not only "over" but fast enough to generate the compression. Another cause for a compression gauge >90psi might be enough to start the car 110-150psi and you are good for ignition.

splashy

The white smoke was coming from the engine bay, I'm pretty sure from the alternator or belt, the belt did look slightly burnt/melted in one spot. I tried turning the alternator pulley wheel by hand, it doesn't move at all, should I be able to turn that by hand? I don't want to put another belt on just for it to snap again. The timing belt only has 33 thousand on it, but it's 8 years old, is it still good? How hard is it to change the alternator?

Sr420Det

with no belt attached, the alt should spin freely. its probably y it was so hard to turn over and wanted to shut off. u need a new alt if the pulley doesnt spin freely. timing belt is fine, id ride on it til it broke.

salaamq

Yes, the alt should spin very easy by hand as said before.
Swap the alt and belt. While you're there, I wouldn't hesitate to take off the timing cover and just visually inspect the timing belt, it's only held on by a couple bolts. Just make sure you slide it back on correctly.
Alternators tend to seize up when sitting for a while. I had the same problem on my truck before I sold it.

Maybe the alternator being stuck slowed the cranking down enough until you got a more powerful battery? not so sure on that one.

I wouldn't hesitate to run a compression and leak down test on the cylinders either. Look up Ericthecarguy on youtube; he has guides on how to do those.

Also, what's wrong with roll starting?