Hoping someone could help me diagnose this issue. It’s a car I’m thinking of buying as a project car. Changed the spark plugs and wires, still not starting:

 

Any thoughts??

 

Fuel pump or main relay. Perhaps charge the battery, because tumour cranking is really slow

 

thanks! Battery is brand new (installed it right before the video). I have a main relay on order.....which is more likely to fail first, the pump or the main relay?

also I’m going to post a picture in a few which may provide another clue.

 

This wire circled is missing. I’m not in front of the car now but found a pic of the same engine.

 

I think that tube you have circled attaches to the PCV valve. You'll want it before you drive the thing but I don't think that'll have any effect on startup.

It sounded to me like your starter isn't getting enough power. I believe it should make a faster tempo sound than that when cranking but failing to start. You can test to see if the battery is fully charged. Maybe the connections to the terminals aren't clean. You could try a different known good battery as well.
It should sound like this one does at 12 seconds in.

Knowing the situation behind the car might help as well. I'm guessing it has been sitting a while since you're troubleshooting startup before buying. The gas in the tank might be bad if it has sat long enough. Considering how low it shows on the gauge the chance of this being true is higher. If the gas is bad then the chance of it being a problem with the fuel pump increases a bit. The main relay is a much more common issue than fuel pumps are though.

You can tell if it is the main relay causing the startup issue by turning the key to the on position to get the bulb check without trying to start it. The fuel pump should run while the check engine light is on and turn off at the same time as it as well. If you do not hear a little click at the same time the check engine light turns off then the main relay is at least one of the problems. It's very easy to fix yourself with a soldering iron.
shows how this is done if you wanna save yourself the wait and the 30ish bucks.

 

Thanks, I think I’ve narrowed it down to possibly the fuel pump. I changed out the main relay and still no buzz from the pump when I turn the key to on position.

the starter should be good as the owner says she had it replaced already. But the car has been sitting a long time (possibly several years).

is there anything else (beside the main relay or bad pump) that would cause the pump not to turn on?

 

Make sure you check all the fuses!! Double check to make sure you are getting power to the main relay.

 

any specific fuses I need to check?

 

Ecu fuse under hood and fuel pump fuse under dash. But I'd check them all. I recommend using a voltmeter or a multimeter to check. Sometimes just by looking at them they can be misleading.

 

ok I’ll try those. So the fuel pump fuse/main relay aren’t one and the same?

 

There is a seperate fuse for the pump also. The fuel pump fuse routes directly to the main relay from the fuse panel

 

Also, just watched your video.. it seems there may be an issue with your ignition system. It should be cranking faster than that. As previously stated check your battery terminals make sure there's no corrosion and they're tight. Check starter connection, make sure it's tight. Check all fuses and relays.

 

thanks. I’ll check all those tomorrow and update. It shouldn’t be an ignition distributor issue though right? Because I’m getting spark when I test the plug wires.

 

Yea, definitely more likely to be related to the battery/starter or fuel at this point. I'm still leaning towards battery since the starter cranking doesn't sound right. If you had info about how it acted or what sounds it made when trying to start right before it was left to sit that might help. If the previous owner tried a bunch of stuff and it didn't start then I'd guess fuel pump since you're getting spark now. The complete lack of it even trying to start suggests the starter isn't turning it or no fuel. You can probably test for fuel pressure by loosening a bolt on the end of the fuel rail and seeing if anything sprays out when you put the key in the on position. If that does nothing then I'd double check all the wiring related to the fuel pump before buying a new one and going through the hassle of replacing it.

 

Thanks. The battery is brand new (replaced it right before I recorded the video), so I’m thinking if it’s a battery issue than it must be in the connections somewhere.

I unfortunately don’t know how it sounded before but the owner said she had the starter replaced and it ran fine but then she got a new car and this one sat for quite awhile.

Would a spark plug issue cause the starting to sound like that or no?

 

Ok, I checked the fuses and cleaned the battery connections, still no dice. I’m going to check the power going to the fuel pump later today. Anybody have an idea on the wiring for the harness? I need to know which color supplies power/ground/etc. I can access it pump harness from the trunk and there is a connector there.

 

See if it will fire using starting fluid through the PCV hose. If it does then you have a fuel issue.

 

thanks I’ll try that because going through the air intake wasn’t quite getting it to turn over.

 

If you didn't have any spark it'd still crank, just wouldn't fire. Easy check is to take one of your plug wires out and your spark plug. Put the spark plug in the end of the plug wire and ground it to the body and see if you spark. Id check your connection to the starter. The cranking is slower than normal so it's got to be a weak connection somewhere between the battery to starter. If it doesn't crank with starting fluid through the intake then it's not a fuel issue. Doesn't matter where you put the starting fluid as long as it's going through the intake.

 

Ok I’ll focus on the starter connections....what are all of the areas I need to rule out that could interfere with power to the starter?

Oh and I did check all the plugs and they spark.

There is a definitely a fuel issue as well as there is no power to the pump (or it’s bad) so it seems I’m dealing with two issues.

 

Check cable coming from battery and then there will be a connector as well. But make double sure the battery cable is tight and clean

Check to make sure you have power going to the main relay. Check specifically the red/white pin for power and the green/white with key in the on position.

 

checked battery cables and connections, all look good. The main relay is new though, so should I be checking wires at the relay point or somewhere else?

Also, I think it’s safe to assume this fuel pump is shot (pictured)

 

Would a bad ECU cause similar slow starter issues?

 

Yikes, if it was bad before she parked it then you probably wanna clean the whole fuel system. New filter, pull and clean the injectors. None of which is too hard. You can get it running before doing that if you want though, after you change the pump. I'd get it making noise on starting fluid before buying a new fuel pump assembly though if you aren't positive you're buying this car.

I don't think the ECU would affect it. The starter is getting some power for sure, it just sounds like it isn't turning the engine. The cause of it I don't know. You could keep the hood popped while trying to start it to watch the belts. If they aren't moving then you aren't even cranking and fuel/spark haven't come into play. Maybe you could try hand cranking the engine. I don't know what it would sound like trying to start if the engine was locked up, but that's a possibility if the fuel pump was that corroded. The chance also increases if it sat with the plug wires and plugs removed. Might have had moisture in the engine that made it rust and lock up. I hope that's not the case and I honestly don't know what your next step would be. If you haven't changed the oil yet I'd drain some to see if water or slime comes out. You can also pour a little oil down the spark plug holes to get the piston rings lubricated. This won't unstick an engine but it'll reduce a little wear from startup after sitting for so long.