Car cranks but doesn't turn over.

[Andy348]

1986 325 M20B27
Ran fine until I stalled it, now it won't turn over. There is fuel going to the engine (checked the fuel line), there's electricity at the coil and the coil tests fine. When I first picked the car up I was told that sometimes I needed to move the battery around a bit before it'd start at all (without moving it it wouldn't crank). I tightened the connectors on the battery and it made no difference. I traced the wires from the coil and nothing is broken.

I know that my temp sensor is broken, but I doubt that could cause it to not start like this. Any other ideas?

[jlevie]

Fuel reaching the rail doesn't mean that the pressure is correct. Tee in a gage and see if correct pressure is attained. And check for spark when cranking over the engine. Oh yeah, look in the oil filler cap opening and see if the cam is turning when cranking the engine.

A better way of describing this is to say that the car cranks, but doesn't fire. Cranking and turning over are synonymous.

[handysmurf59]

A better way of describing this is to say that the car cranks, but doesn't fire. Cranking and turning over are synonymous.

^^ What he said.

Additionally, check your batter terminals for corrosion. If you follow the previous posters advice and check for spark while cranking and don't get any, then look to your crank angle sensor. Mine went bad over about a years time when occasionally she would not want to start after warmed up. Good luck...

Jason

[Andy348]

The cam is turning when cranking the engine.
We don't have spark when cranking.
Just checked the crank position sensor located on the bell housing that reads off the flywheel and got 1002 ohms (1.002 @ 2K).

[Len013091]

Make sure the timing belt didn't jump any teeth. Did the motor spin backwards at any time during the stall (spinout). Also, take a test light and hook one side up to the (-) and the other to the (+) terminal and have a friend crank the car. If the ecu is grounding the coil properly, the light should pulse. If you're not getting a pulse, the crank triggers would be the first thing I'd check, then on to the ecu.

[Andy348]

Make sure the timing belt didn't jump any teeth. Did the motor spin backwards at any time during the stall (spinout). Also, take a test light and hook one side up to the (-) and the other to the (+) terminal and have a friend crank the car. If the ecu is grounding the coil properly, the light should pulse. If you're not getting a pulse, the crank triggers would be the first thing I'd check, then on to the ecu.

Where do I hook up the test light? At the coil or at the battery?

[Len013091]

At the coil.

[Andy348]

Tested power at the coil, nothing.

Its the end of semester and a busy time for my dad so we really don't have time to fix it. We're sending it to a mechanic we know very well who should have it fixed by tomorrow night or early next week. I'll post here what the problem was for people searching later on.

Thanks for all the help.

[Andy348]

Tested power at the coil, nothing.

Its the end of semester and a busy time for my dad so we really don't have time to fix it. We're sending it to a mechanic we know very well who should have it fixed by tomorrow night or early next week. I'll post here what the problem was for people searching later on.

Thanks for all the help.

[Andy348]

Ended up being a corroded relay.

[LancE30]

which relay was bad?