Hi, My 850 decided not to start a few months back in the extreme deep freeze we had here in Pennsylvania. Many days here were below zero, and winds dropping it further.

The background story;

The wife went out one morning and it would not start for her to go to work. She ground on it for 10 minutes and still nothing. Since it was the "spare" car, it sat until now, when warmer weather allows me to go fix it. [BTW.. This spare car was bought for my daughter as the college car last year..]

The attempt to fix it;

So, I went out to start it and found it to spin and "almost" catch and run. After reading up about it online, it sounded like the cylinder walls were washed out and it lost compression.. sounds plausible, considering the time she spent grinding away with it... I removed the plugs to find they were very old and worn, but the wires were recently replaced. As I read online, I squirted some oil down the cylinders, and checked for spark at the coil and out to the ends of the wires with the crappy plug.. plenty of spark. I then headed off to the parts house for 5 new plugs. I reinstalled the new plugs and gave it a try.. same thing, but the batt was getting a little weak. I added a second batt with jumper cables and tried again.. same thing... "Almost" catches and runs. I did hear the fuel pumps go with the key and I smell gas too..

So there's the issue.. has spark, has gas... will not start... WTF?

I don't know what else to look at.. could the 20 something below zero weather have ruined something else?

Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mike

 

Any codes? CEL?

 

I managed to beg a scan tool from a co worker... I extracted the following codes... OBDII..

PO117 - coolant temp switch.
PO440 - Evap
PO715 - Input turbine speed Sensor A circuit malfunction

My guess is the CTS...
I need to look up the others.. WTF is that last one? PO715...

Any insight/comments/suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks in advance!


Cheers,
Mike

 

My cold weather no start condition last January turned out to be a turbo intercooler that was frozen completely through. No air - No start. Over night in a warm garage - drain a quart of melted water out of the intercooler - lit right up! I now drive with a cardboard covering the bottom two thirds of the front of the AC condenser - no more freeze up - better interior heat also. Hope this helps.

 

I have seen this ruin your day.

 

Change the coolant temp switch, and charge the battery. Next, when it is ready to try again, turn the key to on and leave it there for about 5 seconds then turn it off. Do this a couple more times but do not start the car. Then un-screw the little cap on the schrader valve on the battery side end of the fuel rail (it looks like a tire valve stem and cap). Push in on the little stem (like you are letting air out of a tire). You should get a decent little squirt of gas if the pump is building up pressure. If that is good to go try to start it.

TIP: This has worked for me and a few other forum members when we had a hard start issue. Turn the key on and off a couple times without cranking to re-build up the fuel pressure, then crank it over. While you are cranking it over, hold the gas pedal to the floor and keep holding it. Crank for 30 seconds non-stop with the pedal floored. If it doesn't work, wait about a minute to let the starter cool a bit, and repeat for 30 seconds. Do this up to three times if necessary. If car still won't start, let starter cool for about 15 minutes.

A good way to determine if you have a fuel delivery issue is to remove the air filter and hose and spray a 1 second shot of starting fluid into the intake/throttle body. If it starts and runs briefly after using the starting fluid, you have a fuel issue, otherwise it is a spark or timing issue. Remember, a gas engine needs these things to run.....Fuel, spark, air, compression, and proper timing.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Depending on the actual temperature of the coolant you might be due for a thermostat if you need cardboard.

 

I would replace the Coolant Temperature Sensor first thing. It might not be the whole problem but it can be.
.

 

 

Thanks for the replies. I've watched the video and know exactly how to do it now. However, I've got to wait for the freaking monsoon weather we've just seemed to get here to subside. It's to rain for days now.. yay. At least it isn't snow I guess.

I'll keep you posted when I get the new switch in.

Thanks again,
Cheers

 

Break my heart, try living on the Washington Coast. Since March 1st we have had 19.36 inches of rain......and people wonder why we have catastrophic landslides.....As soon as the opportunity presents itself I'm outta here!