I live in Maine and its been rather cold (zeroish) the last couple days. I went to start my car and it just kept turning over and would not catch. Its a 97 base model and the battery looks to be pretty old. I tried getting it jumped today with it being about 20 out and it did the same thing. I dont have a lot of options and before i try buying a new battery i wanted to know if this sounds like the cause. When cranking with a jump the battery symbol with flash off and on irregularly and it sounds like it is almost about to start and it just doesnt. I know there is no way to know for sure without replacing or at least testing the battery, but i do not have triple a nor do i have a lot of money to waste on buying things. If any other info is needed to help me, let me know. I need my car, but its just sitting in a parking lot right now.


Modified by DOHC4VTEC at 7:41 PM 1/18/2007

 

If it turns over at a reasonable rate, the battery is not the problem (especially when a jump has no effect). Maybe the engine is just in a poor state of tune. How old are the plugs?

Or possibly the plugs got wet with all the cranking. You said it almost starts, so try this... Hold the pedal to the floor while cranking. It might clear the flood and fire up for you.

 

I replaced the plugs this summer, the cars been running fine. I tried the gas pedal trick and it had no effect.

 

Do you know your coolant mixture? Hopefully your are running atleast 50/50 ration or more antifreeze to water. Take out your plugs and take a look. Has the car been or is still sitting out side? You might have to take a hair dryer and heat up the plugs, point it down into the cylinders, heat up your ignition wires. Stuff could be frozen up and not letting good spark. Sit in your car and turn on the ignition and listen for the fuel pump to make sure its working.

 

im at school 2 hours from home, the car is sitting in the parking lot. The car was running the day before and then i parked it and the next morning it wouldnt start. i have a video of what it sounds like trying to start, ill host it and post the link.

 

http://video.google.com/videop...hl=en

sorry for the crappy phone video but thats all it does

 

bump for video

 

To me it seems like its not turning over like it should. Swap out the battery with a known good one. It sounds like a weak battery. Also, have you checked fuses?

 

are there specific fuses i should check for ? Nice just got more snow this should be fun! Thanks for the help

 

Just check the fuses related to the whole starting system like fuel pump, ignition, ect.

 

fuses checked out... i think im going to try buying a battery today.

 

bump for a new battery... still no start, sounds about the same. could it be the spark plugs maybe fouling, i think they are the ngk iridium plugs, i dont know if they foul easier in the cold.

 

bbbbbbbbbbbbbuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmpppppppp ppppppp

 

You got gas homie? I'm in the NE and it finally got cold up here. You know they say your supposed to have a 1/4 tank of gas at all times in the cold. I mean gas is never supposed to freeze, but neither is liquor but I've seen that freeze too....

 

a little over a half tank, and its from Mobil.

 

Did you check to see if you are getting a good spark to all the plugs?

 

bump for this man b/c mine is doing the same ****. and it all began when the cold weather moved in i as well am running ngk iridiums.

 

bump pleaseeee

 

just went outside to check a few more things... my ignition coil seems to have a crack in it, i dont know if this could be the cause, and they seem pretty expensive to replace. Fuel pump is turning on also. pic of the crack

http://img156.imageshack.us/im...k.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/im...k.jpg

 

sorry to sound stupid, but with lack of tools whats the best way to test for spark ? i dont even have a socket to remove plugs, however i could buy one

 

You should be able to pull a plug wire and stick your plug in it and crank it over and see spark, i might be wrong.

 

can u check your ICM i had same problem, Ignition control module it is in your distributor





Modified by DfwBB6 at 3:54 PM 1/22/2007

 

When checking the plugs make sure the electrode is sitting on a source of ground. i.e. valve cover. If the distributer has a crack it could alow moisture into the distributor and produce a weak spark or no spark.

 

Hey, This sucks my car is doing the same thing. I have a real weak battery that needs replacing but I tried to start it with my friend giving me a jump and it still wont work. My situation was that I have been getting real crappy gas mileage recently and my crank when I try to start the car sounds fine but while I was driving it died on me today and wouldn't start could someone help me!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DfwBB6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">can u check your ICM i had same problem, Ignition control module it is in your distributor





Modified by DfwBB6 at 3:54 PM 1/22/2007</TD></TR></TABLE>

how exactly should this be checked?