Need help, not sure what to think... Options

[Overkill]

Ok, so here is the situation. I drove to a meeting today. 45 minute drive. I was a tad bit early, so I pulled into a gas station to let some time pass. I let the car run while I waited. I was there for maybe.... 8minutes. I backed out of the parking space, and drove to the meeting. After the meeting, I went back to the same gas station... and got a coke. I turned the engine off while I went inside. I came out, started the car, and moved over to the air pump while I was waiting on someone. I waited for maybe 10minutes while the car was not running. As the person I was waiting for passed, I tried to start the car and all I heard was tick, tick, tick, tick. I thought it could be the battery had died, so I popped the hood. I checked all the wires. No corrosion on the terminals. All the negatives were connected. No loose connections, and the alternator and spark plug wires look good. I waited about another 10 minutes, and decided to try to start the car again... and it started. I felt okay about the situation thinking that nothing major was going on. HOWEVER... as I was driving home on the freeway... my car died. I coasted past a state trooper, pulled over, and put her into park. I turned the key, she started right up. I drove home, backed into the drive way, turned her off, and restarted her.

The spark plugs & wires, cap, rotor, and oil are all new and installed correctly more than 3 months ago. There is nothing wrong with the battery it seems, and the starter would not make the car die while driving. I did recently have a loose alternator belt, but have since tightened it and she has been running fine. I am seriously confused, but would appreciate any help or advice you guys may have.

[JasonTX]

hate to send you on a wild goose chase but since youve checked the obvious. Have you considered either your ignition switch or ecu. it seems like the only 2 components you have not verified are in good order that might explain both the shutting down on the freeway and the intermintent starts. dont know what year you have but a local guy may have an ecu they can loan you for a bit to see

This post has been edited by JasonTX: Jan 15, 2014 - 12:09 AM

[Overkill]

I did not consider the ignition switch, but thought about the ECU. I have a '99 GT Auto. How would I check the ECU or the Ignition switch to see if they are going out or bad. Without the Engine light on, it won't throw a cel would it?

[Roadrash]

I think i would make good and sure it isn't something stupid like a faulty connection. shave your battery terminals and connectors. trace the lines back make sure there are no burns or splits in the sheath , corrosion, bent or broken wires. Then I would take my alternator in to a parts store and have them throw it on a tester. Make sure your belt isn't slipping on the alternator at all. If none of that helps , start the hunt for an ecu... preferably a buddy that will let you just use one for a few minutes to see if it fixes it?

Also, if you can get the car to be in "no start mode" pop the plug wire off your coil and make sure its sparking with a test light, and then again off the spark plug posts on the distributor. coil may be going bad?

[Poonicus]

Did you check your fuses by chance I know its a dumb question but could point to where the problem could be.

[VavAlephVav]

once upon a time I had a Neon with some funny issues, It would mysteriously die.
turned out there was a damaged wire along the wirelimb that was beside the motor, somehow it was damaged when a shop did a headgasket replacement.
but It took a long time of intermittent messing up before we finally found it. just had to start unwrapping the wirelimb until we found a bad spot.
but It was blowing a fuse when it did.

may not be the same as your problem, but when you have intermittent problems that just act squirrelly I would suspect wiring or electronics.
electronics will work one minute and not the next, and then work again. anything mechanical will either be broke, or not be broke.
maybe even jiggle the wirelimb in places to see if you can recreate the fault.

when the ecu is suspected the manuals recommend swapping it out to see if that cures it, pretty expensive though to just go buy one, and I think you may need
to have Toyota program it too. that's the way the Neon was.

[JasonTX]

any progress on your issue overkill?

[Overkill]

I have checked the wires... nothing seems to be loose or deteriorated in any way. However I went to the dentist this morning and noticed that my clock had been reset and the radio stations had been reset, like I had disconnected the battery.

[Roadrash]

it really sounds like you have a loose/burnt/broken connection somewhere. do you have a meter to check continuity ?


This post has been edited by Roadrash: Jan 16, 2014 - 5:08 PM

[Overkill]

I do, but not really 100% sure where to start. I think Im going to check all the fuses tomorrow, that seems like a sufficient place to begin.

[Overkill]

update: I checked all the fuses. Everything seems to be fine. Idk wth my car was smoking the other day, but she seems to be sober now. thanks for all the help.

[Jeebus]

I think i would make good and sure it isn't something stupid like a faulty connection. shave your battery terminals and connectors.

This was my problem when my engine wouldn't turn, and it just clicked (rapid 'click click click click click click') until I let go of the key. I thought the battery was bad, and the alternator, but it was just the connection. This occurred when my car was still uninsured a month ago, and I was constantly connecting/disconnecting my battery while I was installing my DRL. I was doing so because my battery was dying quite a bit since it was just sitting in my garage, me unable to drive it, and testing the lights constantly. I spent $8 on a terminal cleaner, and it worked again until my battery died, Haha. But at least I didn't have to spend the extra cash replacing an alternator that works fine.

Also, my battery terminals blew a little smoke when the engine didn't turn and when the terminals were dirty.



This post has been edited by Jeebus: Jan 19, 2014 - 4:59 AM

[Overkill]

Okay... so I thought this problem was gone, but it looks like the gremlin is not gone. Today I went out to start my car to go to the court house and it did the same freaking thing... "tick tick tick tick". I popped the hood... checked all the wires... and (LOL) found the old rotor on a group of wires... I guess I never took it out of the engine bay when I replaced it. Anyways... after that, the car started right up. Weird I know. I went to the court house. took care of my ticket, and went out to start the car. The car started up fine, but now the "check engine" light is on. The car drove perfect all the way home... like 70miles. I am going to take it to Autozone tomorrow to see if they can hook it up to their diagnositc tool to see what the engine code it is throwing might be. I will keep you all updated.

[VavAlephVav]

if you search the forum for the how-to on check engine codes you'll find you can do it with a paper clip jumped in the right spot, then count the blinks

[Roadrash]

See if THIS helps

[trdproven]

looks like distributor going bad...

you might need to look at things like the engine codes, issues with your ECU, doublecheck your voltage on your battery same time with your alternator.

[Overkill]

So, finally the ice has thawed and I went out to perform this task. I got my car to running temperature and then parked the car. I turned off the ignition, and put the paper clip into E1 and TE1. I turned the ignition to the ON selection, and the Check Engine light does not blink. It simply stays on. NOW, I am REALLY confused!

[Overkill]

***UPDATE***

I finally got a chance to take the celi to Autozone. They hooked up their diagnostics tool, and found code P0446 which means... 1) Open or Short Circuit Condition, 2) Poor Electrical Connection, or 3) Faulty CCV Vent Control Solenoid. The guy at autozone said that I need to check #3 first to either fix it or rule it out, then move on to #1 & 2. Only problem is... I have no idea what the CCV Vent Control Solenoid is. Can someone PLEASE help me with a part number, image, or description?

[Smaay]

the CCV is mounted by the fuel pump. it looks like this

[Overkill]

Smaay, I know this is a noob question... but where is the fuel pump? And do you happen to have any diagrams?