VR may have died - any idea what it could be?

[Luke Johnson]

Ok, I was driving along and I kinda heard/felt a 'thump' and then it literally rolled to a stop - hasn't fired since. It turns over ok, no nasty noises, just won't start.

A bit of history:

• this is an 'old' VR - the clock stopped at about 285ks about 4 years ago...
• i did a computer fault check - only showed up fault 68 (transmission slipping)
• we have previously had the crank angle sensor fail - i thought this may be the problem
• it has been using water for a long time (not sure where) - so i thought head gasket may have gone, but would this stop it starting completely?
• someone suggested it could be timing chain?
• it did get hot last week. the temperature has always been variable, but it got 'really' hot. i got it home ok and it started fine the next day...but maybe this caused something else to fail?
• someone else suggested water pump - but again, i don't see why this would stop it starting
• the serpentine belt was kinda 'shredded' a bit after the car stopped - it was still intact, but part of it was chewed up

Any ideas how I can diagnose this problem? What do you think it could be? Thanks for your help!

 

[RX25SE]

Start with the basics.

Has it got spark?
Has it got fuel pressure?
Has it got compression?

 

[Luke Johnson]

Start with the basics.

Has it got spark?
Has it got fuel pressure?
Has it got compression?

Any particular way to test these on a VR? With old carby cars you could tip fuel into the carby and see if it fired - i don't know those kind of tricks with EFI motors?

Do I need a compression tester to test compression?

 

[gossie]

Sounds like it's just plain old and worn out. C/O motor and gearbox will fix it.

 

[Luke Johnson]

Sounds like it's just plain old and worn out. C/O motor and gearbox will fix it.

Yeah, it is quite worn out and hasn't been loved for a few years ... facing the 'fix it' or 'wreck it' decision too. Just would like to know exactly what was wrong first.

 

[RX25SE]

To test spark, remove one lead and insert the blade of a srcrewdiver into the end of the lead.
Hold the shaft of the screwdriver about 5mm off a metal part of the engine while someone cranks the engine and look for a spark. (same as for carby)


To test for fuel you could listen for the buzz of the intank pump when the engine is cranked or you could disconnect a fuel line and see if there is any pressure there.
Be careful. The old carby cars had between 4-6psi fuel pressure but EFI cars like yours have over 40psi .

Best way to test compression is with a compression gauge. (same as carby)

 

[jas98]

you say the belt looks a bit shredded? sure it didnt knock the crank angle sesnor? also take all plug leads off the coil packs (keeping note which goes where) and put the leads aside away from the coil posts, crank engin over (it will not start) and try and look over engin while cranking and see if there is any sparks jumping between the coil posts if there is you have spark up till the coils if there aint any spark it could be DFI, all three coils, cran angle sensor, have you checked the engin fuse? also can you hear the fuel pump prime when you turn ignition key to on just before yous tart or try and start it?

also check the DFI wireing as mine did this as it was fired on the connection

 

[jas98]

RX25SE..........beat me to it lol

 

[RX25SE]

I would not recommend disconnecting all the leads then cranking the engine.

If the ignition system is not at fault, the coils build voltage but will not discharge (fire a spark) it may damage the switching module (in this case the DFI) or the coils themselves.

The car is not starting anyway so one at a time wont matter.

 

[aussie4life]

you could also use a commercial spray called "start ya bastard". between 20 and 30 bucks from any good auto store. spray it into your air intake/TB and if its a fuel issue, it will start til all the vapour is used up. could also tell you if you have spark because if it does fire then you know you have both spark and compression. can you hear your fuel pump fire up when you turn the ignition to the on position?