hard to start

beberod · Sep 9th, 2003, 09:32 AM

the car is an 88 sport coupe and weve had it forever.ive gone through both old and new chilton manuals and they give me nothing. the motor will crank strong but wont fire off. its got spark through the coil and plug wires and gets gas. once it does finally fire up it runs fine. when i pull the plugs they are gas soaked but thats probably from all of the cranking. ive tried switching injectors in the hopes that it was stuck open but that didnt do it. replaced the o2 sensor, and a bunch of cracked vacumm lines, didnt help. i did a bunch of other things and it still has the same problem. im all out of ideas and some help would be great. sorry for a long winded post, thanks.

btw, its an e16i and the ecu gives code 55 (no malfunction detected)

Webfoot · Sep 9th, 2003, 09:45 AM

Hmmmm.... First thing that comes to mind is:
Will it bump start?
Did it slip timing or loose the timing belt?
Long winded posts are good as long as they help diagnose a prob.

beberod · Sep 9th, 2003, 10:40 AM

1)unfortunatly i cant bump start it cause its an automatic.
2)once it finally starts it runs great and is in time.
3)i could long wind all day and still be stumped(haha!)
thanks for the reply, anyone else?

racingnismo · Sep 12th, 2003, 09:28 PM

Gosh man I donno, are the plugs old? MAYBE change those....

One thing that I do to start the car is I put the key to ON for a few seconds to get the fuel pump running and then turn the key to START or (4). Yeah, in my own mind I know it is good for my car..........

Check your ignition coil too. See that the one plug is definitly on good. Just trying to run some ideas past......

Good luck

Myetball · Sep 12th, 2003, 10:20 PM

Well, I'd say it's time to get down to basics and troubleshoot each system. Air, Fuel, Electrical, and Mechanical. You have an E16i right?

Air is pretty easy, either filter is clogged or it isn't.

Fuel is more difficult. You need to make sure the pump is operating properly, the pressure regulator is working properly, and filter and lines are clear. See if auto zone has a pressure tester you can check out and see what kind of pressure you are getting to the injectors. Also need to make sure the other components of the TBI are working.

Electric could be tough. Check all components of the distributor as well as all connections. Make sure plug wires aren't old and worn out. A volt/ohm meter can help here. Make sure you have sufficient volts coming from the coil and that all connections are solid. Racingnismo's suggestion to change plugs is a good idea if you haven't already done it. Make sure they are gapped to .043

Mechanical. Do a compression check to make sure you don't have any internal problems. Check to see if there is any oil in the water and vice-versa.

The answer is under the hood somewhere....you just gotta find it.

Gsolo · Sep 14th, 2003, 12:08 AM

I can't be much major help but i can give you my thoughts...what little that is. Myetball has said all that needs to be said really, but it sounds to me like you have gas...and you said you had spark....have you checked oil?? i've never heard of this problem on nissan...or any import for that matter, but i know my chevy is a pain to start if its a few quarts low (dont ask how i know that

). once you crank for awhile it probably pumps enough little bit of oil around to get things to want to turn at the right speed. its a far off guess and i know i'm wrong but its a thought.

hmm..another thought.... have somebody else try to start the car while you are looking down the throttle body and see if it looks like a big waterfall...if it isn't then you have fuel problem for sure, maybe fuel filter? thats all i can think of, unless spark plugs are bad....could be really worn out and rounded. I wish you luck

SuperSentra4203 · Sep 14th, 2003, 12:20 AM

Sounds like the ignition is way too weak. You can easily see a spark from the plug, but it will look pretty much the same whether it's 15KV or 5KV

beberod · Sep 14th, 2003, 08:18 PM

after having my ohm/volt meter on the car all day, nothing seems bad. i didnt check the fuel regulator yet. changed the plugs just so i can get it started to try and figure something out, but nothing. interestingly enough, if i get the car up to operating temp, shut it off, and let it sit til the next day, the damn thing will fire off every time as long as it warms up before i shut off the motor. so for right now im just doing that til i can figure out what the problem is. thanks for all the help and suggestions guys.

edit: btw, the car runs like a top with zero probs after starting.

SuperSentra4203 · Sep 16th, 2003, 06:11 PM

Food for thought, check your igniton switch. I found out something interesting about them when I got my last B12. It had no keys, so I had to bust the igntion lock and cylinder to get the wheel unlocked. I then just surned the switch to start it. If you go too far, the car will turn over, get gas and spark, but won't start. I'm yet to figure out why. Just turn the key little by little until it starts to turn over and it should start up. The lock cylinder may be a little worn and letting the switch turn too far and it just won't start.