Neomoogle

Hey Everyone,

I'm having a sporatic starting issue with my 89 EF Hatch. The first instance happened about a month ago with my car not starting. I parked the car at work around 9AM, then came out at 5:30PM to start it and the car wouldn't start. The engine would turn, and it would almost start, then it would shut off instantly and the battery light and check engine light came on. I checked the battery terminal connections to make sure they were tight and clean and they looked good. I then tried to start it again, and it almost started, so I gave it some gas to try to keep it going and I was able to keep it running. After it idled for a few minutes, I drove home with no issues. I hooked up the battery charger that night and it was reading pretty low, so I let it charge over night. Fast forward to today, I have the same exact issue. I go to start the car, it almost turns over, and comes so close to starting, then it shuts off and the battery light comes on. I grab my voltimeter and check the battery and its reading at 12.51 volts, which seemed a tad low. I wait a minute and try to start it again and it starts up with a little hesitation at first. Then I let it idle for a minute, and all seems fine, then I put it in reverse and give it some gas and it dies again with the battery light coming on. So I wait another five minutes, start it again, and it idles fine, then I'm able to drive it around the corner into the garage with no issues. Again I hook up the battery charger and let it charge while I'm at work right now. The battery is a 60 month battery, and is only about 6 months old. I'm leaning towards it being a parasitic drain issue on the battery, but I'm stumped as to why this only happens every now and then. Other than these two times, the car has always started with zero issues.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Neomoogle

Hey guys, I have an update from last night and this morning that may help diagnose my problem! So last night I tested the alternator, and it was reading 14.16 volts under no load, then with everything on it was reading 14.06 volts. I also checked it at the battery while the car was running and it was reading about the same, around 14.16 volts. So the alternator is working and powering the battery likes its supposed to. I also checked the battery lines for a parasitic draw and got nothing. As far as the battery goes, it's a Toyota 60 month battery that my Dad had purchased for his MR2 and never used, so he gave it to me since it's the same size battery. So I probably couldn't take it to Toyota to have them check it, but I will take it to Advance Auto tonight and have them test it. Anyways, since everything was testing fine, we thought maybe it was a clogged fuel filter since we had to give it gas continually to get it to start. So we replaced the fuel filter and everything ran great! Fast forward to this morning, I go to start the car and the same F'ing thing happens, it won't start and won't turn over. So I go to check the battery voltage and it's reading at 12.41 volts, which is way lower than it normally sits. To get it running I have to turn the key, and pump the gas for about 30 seconds to keep it running. Once it gets going, it's fine though, no issues at all on the drive to work. I haven't checked the main relay because I couldn't find it last night, but I just found a write-up on where it is, so I can check that tonight. Does anyone have any other ideas on this one? Is this just a simple bad battery situation and I'm making it way too difficult?

Riceburner247

iTrader: (1)

A parasitic draw would drain your battery completely. You wouldn't be able to sit and crank the engine over many times, so I don't think that is your issue. I was gonna mention Main Relay but it looks like you're headed in that direction anyways.

Neomoogle

So I wanted to update this thread because I finally fixed the problems. It turns out there were two problems going on at the same time, which made it harder to diagnose. So first off, I replaced the FPR, which seemed to immediately solve the problem. The car started up right away with the new FPR and it ran fine for two days. On the night of the second day, while driving home, the car started to miss a few times, but somehow I made it home. The next day I go to start the car and it won't turn over. So this time we narrow the problem down to the ignition system. After checking for spark, each cylinder was either getting no spark, or very little, which I'm guessing is what was causing the engine to miss. So we took the distributor cap off and I noticed that two of the four spade connectors were extremely loose and not even pushed down all the way. So we tightened the female spade connectors to ensure a tighter connection, and the car started right up! Now the car starts instantly, even faster than my fiancee's TSX lol. I appreciate the help.