vp 5L wont start

[travo]

i have a vp 5L wagon that wont start, its been driving fine lately exept twice i had a little bit of trouble starting it, but now it just cranks but doesnt sound like it wants to start, i put fuel in it just in case it was empty(the guage is dodgy) thaught it might be the fuel pump, but im pretty sure i could smell fuel under the bonnet, tried to give the tank a bit of a bash, still no go.. i just got the car towed home, now i have to try and fix it.. i dont know a lot about these engines, but sounds like its probably something simple, hopefully anyway. any help would be appreciated!
cheers

[zskinner]

this might not apply to the 5L engines, but on the v6's when you turn the key to on (but dont actually start the car) you should hear the fuel pump priming for about 3 or 4 seconds. did you ever notice a whiney kind of noise in the past before you started up the car each time? and if so, does it still make that sound when you try and start it now? if it doesnt make that noise anymore than thats a good indication your fuel pump has died on ya (as i said it may not be the same with the v8's). good luck mate

[zskinner]

you should probably check to make sure your getting spark aswell

[travo]

how do u check spark? as for the fuel pump i couldnt hear it, but could definatly smell fuel, was thinking maybe the filter could be blocked, its just weird, i jumped in it thismorning drove 500m up the road to the shop, went to the shop and came out and the car wouldnt start.. maybe plugs or something? ive only had the car for a few weeks

[travo]

the fuel pump is making a gulping noise and u can hear it sucking, i also changed the fuel filter, and plugs, still doesnt sound like it even wants to fire

[travo]

checked for injector pulse and definatly all ok, but no spark now at all, so there lies my problem i think.. dunno where to start now? what should i be checking for now? and how?
cheerz guys

[sawychri06]

coil pack????

[zskinner]

Yeah i'd be looking at the distributor cap first up (but not sure how to test them cos I have a v6 and use coil packs not the dizzy's) maybe even just something really small like making sure the leads and lead that runs to the dizzy is connected properly?

[Warranty Void]

Mate, search for the older threads to do with 304 and the coil, it's almost certainly the coil and a recent post describes how to test the bosch ignition module is switching as you crank the engine over.

[travo]

got the car towed to a mechanic, it was the ignition module and it cost me 300 bucks

[ucwepn]

Good to hear, these are very reliable cars if well maintained.

[Vt-Brrrlina]

thats cheap for a ignition module should post him up for others to use - mine cost me over 500

[pjdm1980]

Don't know if it would have shown up but you could have done a code check -
Checking your Computer for Faults (VN - VP)