strange starting issue, possibly caused by snow buildup?

[Thighs]

well i was driving last night and the oil pan was dragging in the snow that builds up in the center of the lane, which i thought would be no big deal. however all the snow it hit ended up collecting in the lower right half of the engine bay, and getting caught around the rad fan to the point that it will no longer move. however, i cant see this being the cause of the engine not getting spark. i know the ignition and dizzy are on that side, but the snow never came up that high. one thing im gonna try to replace is all 3 of the relays on the car outside of the ones in the fuse block, because i cant hear them clicking like they should. the car will turn over, i pulled a plug out to check for spark but got nothing. if anyone else has any ideas on this problem it would be greatly appreciated.

[jlevie]

The crank position sensor is on the bottom right front of the engine. If you packed enough snow into the front of the car to stop the fan there's a decent chance of damage to the CPS or its wiring. No CPS signal means the engine won't run.

[Thighs]

thats the sensor that has the toothed flywheel on the front, correct?

[Thighs]

actually, if its the cps, would the engine still turn over?

[jlevie]

thats the sensor that has the toothed flywheel on the front, correct?

Yes

actually, if its the cps, would the engine still turn over?

Yes, but there would be no spark, injector firing, or fuel pump operation.

[Thighs]

well i can hear the fuel pump when they key is in the on position, and after turning it over for 30 seconds or so i can smell fuel.

[Thighs]

any other ideas?

[jlevie]

Unless someone has done some creative wiring, the pump should only run when the engine is rotating and timing reference data is presented to the DME. Simply having the key in the on position should not result in the pump running.

[Thighs]

well i did some troubleshooting. results are as follows:

coil is making power, i shocked the shit out of myself with it. lol. the lead running into the distributor is where i tested it. the output leads on the distributor are making no power. took apart the distributor and tested it, electricity runs through the cap, but not through the rotor. bought a new rotor, no change. tested rotor outside of distributor assembly, when the end of the rotor is grounded and i touch a 12v+ wire to the contact that is in the center of the distributor, no spars are generated. this should meant hat the rotor is bad, right? if i touch the end that is grounded out it sparks, but if i touch the center contact i get nothing.

also notable, when the motor turns over, it doesnt make the same fast "dundundun" that it always has, its more of a slower "duuuunduuuuunduuuuun". but it sounds strong, not like the battery is dead or anything, just a different rhythm.

i dont understand what happened. i have checked every wire i can, changed the CPS, made 100% sure that everything electrical is plugged in properly, etc. is it possible that a sensor could have gone bad and the DME isnt getting any signal from it? i need help ASAP on this one, i cant go too long without a car.

[jlevie]

What is the voltage across the battery both with the ignition off and while cranking? Is the ground strap from the frame to the left side of the engine block in place and making good connections? Does the camshaft turn when cranking the engine?

I've never check one of these rotors, but in many cases a rotor will incorporate a resistor to reduce RFI. So that check may not be meaningful.

[Thighs]

the ground strap is there but it might not be making a great connection, ill re-check that when i go over there later on today. if the camshaft doesnt turn, i think i have bigger problems. im pretty sure it does though, since every time i had to remove the rotor it was in a different position. ill check the voltage again too, although the battery has been starting to die and i was using a jump box towards the end of last night.

[Keanan]

What? Atlanta doesn't get that much snow in march. You are making this up.
Check battery voltage. It sounds like your battery is low. With the engine off voltage should be 12.6 when you crank it voltage shouldn't drop below 9 volts. Take it to a shop and have them test the current draw when you start it. It only takes 5 minutes to do and they will be able to test to see if your battery is weak or if your charging system isn't charging properly.

[jlevie]

What? Atlanta doesn't get that much snow in march. You are making this up.

I think it did this year...

[SeanS]

I just got my car back from my mechanic's shop after a whole week... car kept cranking and cranking (15-30 seconds) and didn't start most of the time, but it did randomly regardless if it was cold or warm. It ended up being the crank shaft/position sensor. I was told the new one puts out about 500 ohms where the old (original) was putting out 1100 ohms.