So the story goes that my car ticked like all hell. This was because all 10 lifters had collapsed. These have now been replaced, and the car purrs.. well almost. Everything was running well for a while, two weeks actually with a clean bill of health from the local specialists. And then on Tuesday the car failed to start. It started and ran fine the day before, but no longer. I've checked the plugs, wires, rotor, distributor, ignition coil and fuses; and I'm getting a good strong spark. The fuel pump is running, there is a new fuel filter, and the fuel rail is presurized. Upon removal of the spark plugs, they were damp with fuel. I've since let them dry out. the car cranks, so it's not the ignition switch, battery or starter. Just for fun I've also checked the MAF sensor (clean) and all electrical connections in the engine compartment that I could find (no loose, rusty or unconnected wires). Does anyone have any ideas?

Cheers.

 

Are you getting good strong spark at the coil or at the plugs?

 

At the plugs. Pulled them all, cleaned them and re-gapped them too.

 

Well if you're getting fuel and getting spark, the next thing I would check would be the timing. Hopefully you didn't break the timing belt.

 

Are you positive that you are getting good spark at the plugs? I don't mean to doubt you, I just find it odd that the plugs are wet if you have spark.

 

The only other reason I could think of that they would be wet is that you're getting too much fuel. But I don't really see how that would happen.

 

Hopefully that's not the case. I have a feeling that if he broke the timing belt, he would have a lot worse issues than wet plugs.

 

True that. I think he would know if the timing belt popped. At least I hope he would.

 

Could a crank/cam position sensor cause it as well?

 

I've checked the belt, and the timing, it all seems to be correct. The belt is tight, and anually cranking the engine over using the crank shaft nut results in no binding at all. The scribe marks on the cams appear to be lining up correctly as well. As proposed by ibified, could it be a sensor, either to do with timing or perhaps airflow? I have someone coming to pull the codes today, I'll let you all know the outcome.

 

For explosions, you need three things; spark, fuel and air. Sounds like you have two of them, so you gotta review the air situation. If the MAF is clean, you can disconnect it to verify it’s not a problem, but I’d take this a step ‘lower’ and make sure that your airflow isn’t getting blocked. How’s the air filter look? If a hose was loose, you should still get enough air to turn it over so I’m guessing there’s a blockage.

If everything looks good ‘input’-wise, then take a look at ‘output’ – slim chance, but is your cat plugged-up?