Car won't start after a drive..help Options

[diZzyGOomba]

Okay I am having issues with my 94 celica gt. It has about 180k miles on it. Im not the most mechanically inclined person in the world but i've run into a problem with my car..so any help will be much appreciated. Okay so my car has this weird issue of after driving it to the store or something..when i come back to the car to try and restart it and head home..it doesn't want to start...like you can hear it wanting to crank over but it just doesnt..or it will start for a few seconds then just die out again...But after waiting maybe another 20-30 minutes i would go back and try again and it starts like nothing ever happened..its done this a few times and is the worst thing to try and explain to a mechanic friend because it's an on and off thing...plz help! lol i need to be pointed in the right direction

This post has been edited by diZzyGOomba: May 15, 2013 - 1:01 PM

[richee3]

Could be a dying fuel pump. You should take it for a drive, go back home, and check to see if it starts. If it doesn't, pull a spark plug out and have a friend crank the engine over and see if fuel shoots out of the cylinder.

[diZzyGOomba]

Okay i will def check that out when i get the chance..ill keep you updated..finally a direction to start looking!! lmao

[travisxcore]

You can turn the fuel pump on by jumping terminal E1 with F1 (I believe thats the right one) and it should run your fuel pump. That way you can listen to it and hear if it sounds like its dying.

[Smaay]

+B to Fp

[travisxcore]

Thanks smay, I was just about to go check cause I didn't think that sounded right cause it wouldn't make any sense to ground it out and have it run

[malecrod]

I had this happened to me before, it turned out to be the starter relay, in engine bay. Think i bought new one for like $30. You might wanna look into that if all fails.
GL

[IfWeChoose]

Same thing happened to me (but in a Gen 5). In my case it was a leaky distributor. The dizzy would slowly leak oil onto the pins and would run just fine. When I would park, a tiny bit of oil would continue to leak and settle into the bottom of the distributor, coating a couple of pins. Eventually it got so bad that it started cutting off in the middle of city traffic. Once I realized what was wrong I waited for it to act up again, popped the dizzy cap off, dried out the oil and started her right up. This will be very easy to check. Good luck.

[wildbill0480]

I'm having pretty much the same exact issue with my 94 Celica GT. It started pretty much the same way. The first time it happened I was driving and it just cut off. Waited about 30 mins and it started right back up...ran for another 10 mins then died again. Both times trying to start it...it would crank over but not start. The next day I went to work on it and it started up just fine and worked fine for the next day or so. Until it started happening again...

I figured it was fuel related because for a few days I could spray starter fluid directly into the intake and it would start right up. That quit working so I replaced my fuel pump and fuel filter. At first I checked my pump by lifting my backseat where the access point is...turned the car to on and didnt hear it kick on. Even after replacing I cant hear it...even when Im right next to it. I checked my EFI relay by swapping it with another exact relay. Even tried jumping the terminals...this is where Im lost. When I jump the +B and Fp something does turn on under the hood and I can feel and hear fuel flowing from the line out of the fuel filter.

Now Im stuck and could use the help as well. Almost sounds like Im having the same issue

[IfWeChoose]

Also check your ignition coil

[RabidTRD]

Sounds like a Cam position sensor, which is housed in our distributor, therefore possibly a distributor on it's way out. The ignition coil could also be heating up and malfunctioning... but most of the time that this happens, it's an issue with position sensors not corresponding and making the car not turn on because it thinks there is an issue.

[wildbill0480]

I tested my ignition coil and the ohms were way higher than specified. So Im in the process of trying to change that out now. A buddy of mine says it might be my ECM. Anyone ever had to replace one of those?

[RabidTRD]

Doubt that'd be the issue. Start with the cheap easy stuff.

[PolliS_5S-FE]

Yeah I had to get my ECU fixed one time, pretty cheap and easy to trace on the circuit board given how basic they are. Could actually see the solder smear. Even after all of the toyota dudes saying 'nah the ecu/ecm is BULLET PROOF' pssh

[wildbill0480]

So it turns out it was a relatively simple issue. My igniter and distributer were both bad. Changed them out...back to running like a top. Thanks everyone for the input.

[Reimrod1994]

first thing is first check all your grounds!!!!