VN wont start

[89berlina]

Hi all,

I have a 89 VN berlina and at the moment it refuses to start. I ran through most of the checks such as plugs, leads, fuel pump etc. Also checked the code on the computer and it claims that the car is fine - which is of coarse wrong. One thing I did find out however is that the IAC valve is stuffed. Would this cause the car not to run? If not what would be the problem? I have the common fuel gauge issue and Im not sure if its working properly because if its right I only got about 300 kilometres from a full tank of fuel??? So Im not actually quite sure if its still got fuel

[2001_VXSS]

hey,

does the car start at all?

im not quite sure what i could be, but here are some things to check.

1) check that your fuel filter is not blocked or stuffed.

2) check that the fuel pump pick up line is sitting in the tank correctly. if it is sitting in wrong the pick wont be sitting at the bottom it could be sitting up and not in the fuel.

3) Im pretty sure the 89 has a 63L tank, it should be same as mine. i got a 88 VN. So next time you fill up check how much fuel you are putting into the car, to see if your gauge is reading wrong.

4) the Crank Angle Sensor could be on its way out. If the CAS gets too hot it can cause the can not to start or shut down while driving. I'm currently trying to fix mine.

5) if you look at your coil pack, your coil pack is sitting on a module that could be getting hot and doing the same as the CAS and shutting or not letting the engine to start

well there are a couple of ideas, hope that helps

[TVR-190]

fuel, battery, is it in gear?

i know simple stuff but its the usual culprit

[89berlina]

hey,

does the car start at all?

im not quite sure what i could be, but here are some things to check.

1) check that your fuel filter is not blocked or stuffed.

2) check that the fuel pump pick up line is sitting in the tank correctly. if it is sitting in wrong the pick wont be sitting at the bottom it could be sitting up and not in the fuel.

3) Im pretty sure the 89 has a 63L tank, it should be same as mine. i got a 88 VN. So next time you fill up check how much fuel you are putting into the car, to see if your gauge is reading wrong.

4) the Crank Angle Sensor could be on its way out. If the CAS gets too hot it can cause the can not to start or shut down while driving. I'm currently trying to fix mine.

5) if you look at your coil pack, your coil pack is sitting on a module that could be getting hot and doing the same as the CAS and shutting or not letting the engine to start

well there are a couple of ideas, hope that helps

Thanks Patrick77 and TroyRulz, will check how accurate the fuel gauge is as soon as I can start it and run it down to the Servo. There doesnt seem to be a fault on the diagnoistics refering to the CAS, so that is fine. Coil pack is also working fine because I checked the plugs for a spark and their working. Hoping its just the IAC valve.

My father seemed to have the same problem with his VT where it wouldnt start but when he changed the faulty IAC it ran fine. Thanks again. I'll see how I go and let you guys know when the problems resolved

[2001_VXSS]

go collect some petrol for station n put in tank and see if that works. if it does then your gauge is out.
keep me posted.
cheers

[88GreenVN]

When you turn the ignition on can you hear the fuel system prime?

[89berlina]

When you turn the ignition on can you hear the fuel system prime?

Yeah, when you turn the ignition on the fuel pump primes. One thing I noted when I removed the plugs is that they were dry and had no fuel on them. The thing is if I put fuel in and it works then its using alot of fuel! 300 kilometres to a tank. Does that sound right? And thats not town driving. Its travelling 50 kilometers every day

[89berlina]

Will put some fuel in this arvo and see how it goes

[Paiste402]

only 300km a tank?! Mate my 308 on LPG tops that with a smaller tank. Hmmmm, when you did the computer checks did you wait a few cycles? Cause at first it will say everything is fine, then it will actually show the problems.

And ur car is using a stupid amount of fuel, check the codes again cause the O2 sensor might be out or something as well. Or the car might still think its cold and needs more fuel to warm up ALL the time.

[88GreenVN]

If the thermostat is stuck open and letting the coolant cycle through too quick (open road) the temp sensor maybe causing the car to use too much fuel.

High fuel numbers come down to a few common things.

O2 sensor
Temp sensor
Thermostat stuck open.

My wagon has had most things replaced and now returns between 10.5 and 12 city driving and around 8 L/100 open road.

So they can be fixed to get much better economy.

[89berlina]

Never thought of that. I'll check the thermostat and the computer again this afternoon. Thanks guys for the help!

[electro cruiser]

[QUOTE=O2 sensor
Temp sensor
Thermostat stuck open.

My wagon has had most things replaced and now returns between 10.5 and 12 city driving and around 8 L/100 open road.

So they can be fixed to get much better economy.[/QUOTE]

I was getting around 300kms a tank, same 63 litre tank, 3.8L V6.
I replaced the o2 sensor and thermostat.
i was clearing 500kms freeway with 30 mins of traffic.

thermostat is a bit of a ball breaker because your induction pipe and throttle body and i think the inlet manifold hav to come off to get it because its up agains the fire wall. hope that helps!

[89berlina]

I was getting around 300kms a tank, same 63 litre tank, 3.8L V6.
I replaced the o2 sensor and thermostat.
i was clearing 500kms freeway with 30 mins of traffic.

thermostat is a bit of a ball breaker because your induction pipe and throttle body and i think the inlet manifold hav to come off to get it because its up agains the fire wall. hope that helps!

Update:
Checked thermostat and its fine. Im hoping my fuel gauge is just wrong. It has been playing up quite abit lately since Ive been running the car. Just waiting on a IAC valve from a Holden dealer at the moment. Should get it next week Thursday (when I get paid and can afford it). Got it for $86 which I thought was reasonable coming from a dealership. Will keep you all updated on how it goes. Thanks everyone for the help!

[88GreenVN]

Just looked at your car - its a wagon - yes?

If so you have a 68 Lt tank. How many lts are you getting in it at fill up time?

[89berlina]

Just looked at your car - its a wagon - yes?

If so you have a 68 Lt tank. How many lts are you getting in it at fill up time?

Yes its a wagon. Cant say for sure cause I put different amounts of fuel in at different times so I never filled it up in one hit. I definetly know I filled it though cause I accidentally overfilled it past the 'click' on the fuel pump just to make sure it was full. I reset the odometer at the same time I filled it so I could calculate the kilometres. At the moment its at 279 with abit of fuel left in the tank according to the gauge. It could be wrong though

[2001_VXSS]

so you have done 279 to a full tank? by the sounds of that it sounds like your fuel gauge is out.
hope that helps

[89berlina]

Yeah, doesnt sound right aye. I'll have to fill it up and see how much I get in it. But until I get it running and down to the Servo, thats not going to happen. Will be able to check next week though when I get the new IAC valve in and hopefully resuscitate the old girl back to good working order again

[88GreenVN]

Yes its a wagon. Cant say for sure cause I put different amounts of fuel in at different times so I never filled it up in one hit. I definetly know I filled it though cause I accidentally overfilled it past the 'click' on the fuel pump just to make sure it was full. I reset the odometer at the same time I filled it so I could calculate the kilometres. At the moment its at 279 with abit of fuel left in the tank according to the gauge. It could be wrong though

Check the connector to the sender on the tank. If it is corroded it will not give the correct voltage and read low on the gauge.

Dose the guage go all the way or passed the full mark when you fill it up?

My wagon goes way passed full and does about 120kms before it moves to the full mark.

[89berlina]

Check the connector to the sender on the tank. If it is corroded it will not give the correct voltage and read low on the gauge.

Dose the guage go all the way or passed the full mark when you fill it up?

My wagon goes way passed full and does about 120kms before it moves to the full mark.

Okay. Will check that. When I filled it it did go past the full mark. What it would do is the needle would wonder from empty too full when I was driving and then stay around a certain mark for awhile and then start wondering again and so on. Would that indicate a bad voltage?

[88GreenVN]

Okay. Will check that. When I filled it it did go past the full mark. What it would do is the needle would wonder from empty too full when I was driving and then stay around a certain mark for awhile and then start wondering again and so on. Would that indicate a bad voltage?

Hmmm pointing that way I'm thinking. It has been said on this forum not long ago that they gained 1/2 a tank by putting a new connector on.

A good clean with some 240 sand paper or small file + a squirt of CRC may just do the trick.

[89berlina]

Hmmm pointing that way I'm thinking. It has been said on this forum not long ago that they gained 1/2 a tank by putting a new connector on.

A good clean with some 240 sand paper or small file + a squirt of CRC may just do the trick.

Will definetly try that. Thanks alot! When I bought the car I had to put a new fuel pump in the car to get it going to get it home. I was rushed cause I just wanted to get the thing home, so guess I sort of did abit of a bodge job

[88GreenVN]

Will definetly try that. Thanks alot! When I bought the car I had to put a new fuel pump in the car to get it going to get it home. I was rushed cause I just wanted to get the thing home, so guess I sort of did abit of a bodge job

Hmmm you may be on to something there

So the tank may not be empty - just not reading right

[89berlina]

UPDATE:

Well my order came through so I'll be getting the new IAC valve tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes. Also checked the voltage on the fuel sender. It measured 10.05V. Is that right? I might be measuring the wrong thing though. Does the connector look like this: (o o o) ??

[89berlina]

Well I put the new IAC in and she started first go and running beautifully now. Its odd how the symptoms of the car not starting are never mentioned in the Gregory manual as being related to the IAC valve. Well anyway here are the symptoms:
1. Engine rough at idle and almost seems to misfire (Goes away when driving)
2. Dry spark plugs

On another topic, I checked my sender connector on the fuel pump and fiddled around with it and re-connected it and now it seems to be reading accurately. I now have just over half a tank of fuel left according to the gauge.

[Morton]

Awesome ^_^ glad you got it fixed up! The old manuals probably don't talk about some issues because they weren't common at the time of first publication. They're getting quite old now, and I doubt they're going to release a second edition lol