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Because of an oil leak, I changed my spark plug seals , valve cover gaskets, and while I was there, the spark plugs. I put everything back together and it cranked but it didn’t turn over.
I removed the intake manifold again to make sure I connected all vacuum hoses, coolant lines, and sensors.
I also confirmed that all wires are in the correct order.
After 2nd time at reassembly and cranking, no start.
I tested for spark by removing a plug and reconnecting it to its wire and holding it near the block wile my son cranked it. I didn’t see spark.
Next i wanted to test distributor so I removed filter box, intake, and sensor to get to distributor.
Before checking distributor, I wanted to see if the car would start without intake connected, just to see if I had problem with airflow. To my surprise, it started up. I got excited so I put it all back together but again, no start.
With it back together, I disconnected MAF sensor, and it started up again. Once I plugged it in, it died. I disconnected it again, the car started up, and I gave it a little gas. It quickly died.
Now I’m all confused and walking away for a bit. Any ideas on what I should test next?
You're getting the opposite of what I would expect, the "MAF" which is actually an air flow meter has to be connected and working properly for there to be fuel pressure. Without it you will get fuel pressure when cranking the engine otherwise no.
Put a jumper in the diagnostic port as show and try to start the engine this will force the fuel pump to run. At any time did you remove the screws on the AFM where the connector plugs in? Doing this will damage the AFM.
Thank you for responding. So I jumped the terminal as you said. Cranked, but did not start. When I pulled the key out of ignition, I did hear a noise near fuel rail until I pulled the jumper cable out.
Yes, I did pull those screws out, but I did not pull sensor completely out. Once I felt resistance, I remembered the correct way to disconnect sensor. You think that could be the problem and cause the symptoms?
also, I did find this loose connector, but I can’t find where it could connect to. Can you help identify it? It’s located top right of engine.
I looked that connector doesn't go anywhere so forget about it. To be clear you must have the intake and everything else connected before you attempt to start the car, without it you won't be able to properly diagnose what is going on. You may have damaged the airflow meter if so the computer won't know the air volume and will make a guess. This could prevent the engine from starting. Inside the AFM there is also a temperature sensor.
Thanks for your help. Once the new AFM arrives, I’ll update the status here. Hopefully, it’s the main fix and not just a side casualty from my mishandling of it.
Excellent. There really should be a sticker on the AFM saying DO NOT REMOVE SCREWS. BTW the AFM can be repaired by removing the top cover and resoldering the damaged connections but not everyone wants to bother especially since the replacements are generally inexpensive.
I appreciate your help. I actually did take the seal and cap off to check out what went wrong. I found the messed up solder points but I suck at soldering there’s no way I couldn’t pulled it off cleanly.
Time to move onto the hood latch cable. I have to figure out how to lube the cable so I can freely open and close
05-20-20, 01:07 PM
1991 ES250 Crank No Start
