Hello all,

I have this Del Sol 95 Vtech at 180k miles. I bought it when it was at 170k miles. I did timing belt and water pump change right after purchasing it. Ever since I bought it, it would sometimes take longer to start up (in term of cranking time) but never failed to start. Recently, it happens more frequent and finally won't start. Right now, it will crank but fail to start. I did everything I could to troubleshoot it but can't figure out why. Please help.

- Used start fluid and that did not work, can't start
- Check air intake to make sure it is not logged --> air is fine
- Test all four spark wires using spark tester, nothing wrong --> all four provide steady spark --> ignition distribution is fine
- Check fuel pressure at service port --> 42 psi when fuel line disconnected from pressure regulator and 38 psi when connected --> normal based on service manual --> fuel pump is fine
- Listen to fuel injectors and all four of them click and I can smell gas every time trying to crank --> fuel injectors are fine
- Test main relay following service manual --> it passed
- Test main relay harness following manual --> it passed
- Check engine line goes out after 2 seconds when key turned to ignition and there is no error light so I assume ECM is fine but I have no spare ECM to test
- Compression in one of the cylinders is low about 40-70 psi when dry tested. Wet test would bring it up to 150 psi. Other cylinders' compression is within 150 psi range

For now, I narrow down to 3 things that might cause the issue:

- low cylinder compression: i did some research and 1 low compression cylinder should be able to start the car
- ECM issue: since no check engine light comes up, I am not sure if ECM is the problem here
- Timing belt: Belt was changed 10k miles ago by a good local shop so it is very low chance that it fails now

I am really lost. Please help

 

- Compression in one of the cylinders is low about 40-70 psi when dry tested. Wet test would bring it up to 150 psi. Other cylinders' compression is within 150 psi range

it's time for a rebuild

 

Nope. Bad research will mislead you.

Do a cylinder leakdown test to determine where compression is lost. Then decide whether to rebuild or replace engine or sell car.

 

I have had one bad cylinder make starting difficult.

Check the valve clearance before deciding there's a major problem with the engine.