Long time lurker. First...or second time poster.
Backstory:
1990 Nissan Pulsar XE 1.6L SOHC. Rebuilt at 150,000 miles. Roughly 30,000 miles on the engine now. Car has never given me a problem. Always started up.
The Problem:
I left last friday to go down to out of town and left my car parked in the road outside my house. Getting home rather late on Sunday night I didn't have any need to drive my car until the following morning when I tried to go to work. I got in and the engine kicked, but just wouldn't start. Dashlights were working and not dimming when I hit the ignition, so I know it isn't the battery.
I popped the hood and everything looked normal. A bit of moisture on the motor, but we'd had a rainstorm, and rainstorms never caused my car not to start in the past. Checked to make sure plugs where connected, which they were. Got a screwdriver and checked for spark, which I was getting.
Got back in the car and turned it on, but didn't start it and heard the fuel pump turn on and build up pressure.
Took of the air cleaner to be sure that my injector was working, sure enough it was spraying fuel, but the fuel did look odd. Sprayed some starter fluid into the intake and kicked it over. Still nothing. I then took a ride up to the local Autozone and picked up some new plugs, figuring they might be fouled. Gapped and installed the new plugs...still won't start. Now the old plugs were covered in a bit of crud. On a whim I used a match to try and light the liquid on the end of the plug, i.e. gas will burn, and it didn't.
The only thing I can think is that I've somehow gotten a tank of bad gas, which is odd because I filled up on Monday of last week and drove for five days on the tank (still have 3/4 of a tank). This has led me to think something may have been 'put' in my gas tank, but before I start kicking some teenager ass, I'd like to get a second opinion.
I'm out of ideas and any help would be appreciated. This car has been wonderful since I bought it and I would really like to get her on the road again. That and its hard to buy parts when you can't get to work.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
Backstory:
1990 Nissan Pulsar XE 1.6L SOHC. Rebuilt at 150,000 miles. Roughly 30,000 miles on the engine now. Car has never given me a problem. Always started up.
The Problem:
I left last friday to go down to out of town and left my car parked in the road outside my house. Getting home rather late on Sunday night I didn't have any need to drive my car until the following morning when I tried to go to work. I got in and the engine kicked, but just wouldn't start. Dashlights were working and not dimming when I hit the ignition, so I know it isn't the battery.
I popped the hood and everything looked normal. A bit of moisture on the motor, but we'd had a rainstorm, and rainstorms never caused my car not to start in the past. Checked to make sure plugs where connected, which they were. Got a screwdriver and checked for spark, which I was getting.
Got back in the car and turned it on, but didn't start it and heard the fuel pump turn on and build up pressure.
Took of the air cleaner to be sure that my injector was working, sure enough it was spraying fuel, but the fuel did look odd. Sprayed some starter fluid into the intake and kicked it over. Still nothing. I then took a ride up to the local Autozone and picked up some new plugs, figuring they might be fouled. Gapped and installed the new plugs...still won't start. Now the old plugs were covered in a bit of crud. On a whim I used a match to try and light the liquid on the end of the plug, i.e. gas will burn, and it didn't.
The only thing I can think is that I've somehow gotten a tank of bad gas, which is odd because I filled up on Monday of last week and drove for five days on the tank (still have 3/4 of a tank). This has led me to think something may have been 'put' in my gas tank, but before I start kicking some teenager ass, I'd like to get a second opinion.
I'm out of ideas and any help would be appreciated. This car has been wonderful since I bought it and I would really like to get her on the road again. That and its hard to buy parts when you can't get to work.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.