Hello everyone,

Hope that someone has some spare time to give me a hand

Here is my situation. The night before my car worked great, no problems at all. The next day it didn't start.

It's a 97 ES300, it does crank up but doesn't start. The first thing I checked were the fuses and relays next to the battery. All checked out OK, I also swapped a few. Sprayed Deoxit on the connections and checked for continuity. All checked out OK.

I thought it was the fuel pump, went ahead and purchased a new one. Before I dunk it in the tank, I connected it to see if it would turn on. No luck. I grab the old fuel pump and supplied it with voltage, and it was working.

I've also checked the resistance on the crank shaft position sensor and it reads 1.8K ohms. According to the service manual, it falls in the range (Working sensor).

I'm at a lost. Not sure why the fuel pump is not priming/turning on. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

As a side note, which would help all you experts .......I did put the old fuel pump back on and used a bench power supply to manually power it on. Heard it hummm, tried to start the vehicle, no luck.

 

If you primed the fuel lines and the engine is turning, then the problem is not with fuel delivery. You either have no spark or no compression. Check your timing belt.

What's the maintenance history and how many miles are on your 97?

 

I was thinking no spark as well but its hard to give a perfect diagnosis without being there in person

 

You should also consider your anti theft system as a possible cause.

Try another key if you have one.

Phil

 

If it crank but doesn't start, I am guessing the starter might be going out. Try hammering the starter a few times. Also test your battery too. Or have someone try to give you a jump to see if the car start.

 

If it cranks, the starter is okay.

 

Thank you everyone. I apologize for not replying sooner. Been a busy bee these past few days.

The vehicle has 216,000 miles. I've had the spark plugs and the timing belt replaced last year.

I've also tried hammering the starter but had no luck. I understand this is a difficult way to diagnose the vehicle. However, all your help and guidance allows me to evaluate the situation better.

Thank you for your help, I'm still having problems. If anyone else can elaborate, it would be greatly appreciate it. I'll report any findings or solutions.

 

But here is the biggest problem. The fuel pump does not go on. Although, the relays are working and tested. The crankshaft position sensor is working.

 

What do you mean when you say the fuel pump does not go on? Are you testing it by turning the key to the ON position and listening for the pump? These cars were designed so that the fuel pump only comes on during Cranking/Starting (holding the key all the way). Believe me, I spent a week testing my fuel pump, before I came to that conclusion.

You already tested the fuel pump, but if you want you can do it again. Take a 12V power source, such as your battery, and hook it up to the fuel pump through the back seat. I can tell you which terminals to use, if you're interested. You can then manually prime the system, so that you know that there is fuel in the injectors. If the car still doesn't start and just keeps cranking, then you either have a timing or a spark issue. Bad timing will also throw off your compression, so it's a combination of both.

You can test for spark by removing one of the front coil packs along with the spark plug. Lay it on the engine with the coil pack plugged in, and have somebody turn the key, while you watch the spark plug.

One more thing I just thought of - no air going to the engine. Check your MAF sensor and see if it's plugged in. Also check your throttle body for any obstruction/malfunction.

Good luck.