Every once in a while my car develops this no-start issue and I cant quite figure it out (not to be confused with a no-CRANK issue).
It'll crank just fine but during the no-start issue it feels like all the spark plugs have been removed and the ignition coil disconnected. I'll spin over but feels/sounds like little to no engine or compression resistance.

This has only happened a few times since I've owned the car and during those times it eventually would sputter back into action after cranking for several continuous seconds. This last time however, it wouldn't and left me "stranded", but I came back the next day to tow it and decided start it just to see... fired right up.

Car has a lot of miles but doesn't smoke or burn oil, and when its running it runs great. Normally its my commuter so that being said, other than this intermittent issue, its been very reliable.

I cant have it leave me stranded again tho. This is not the time of year for such shenanigans.

 

Keep a spare spark plug in the glove box to test for spark the next time the engine won't start. Also check whether the fuel pump primes and whether the CEL remains on steady with the key in ON(II).

In the meantime, check for cracked solder joints in the main relay and resolder if needed. Also check for CEL codes.

 

Starting Problems