2006 SS/SC crank but won't start

J

Jammerthal

Member
I've tried to troubleshoot this as much as I can by reading other threads and leveraging all automotive knowledge I have, but I need outside input please. Have a crank no start issue. Here's what I've done so far.
- checked all grounds and all fuses, both sides of the fuse with a test light and everything checks out okay.
- checked all my electrical connections. I originally had a question about the five pin purple connectors, but I'm pretty sure I have those right. I've also read about the eight pin connectors, but I believe I have those correct as well. The one closest to the head is designed so it can only plug in to the one that's supposed to, the other one only has seven wires in it, and the throttle body is working with the throttle pedal, so I think those are all in the right spots.
- check the fuel pump, it's running and pumping fuel. I disconnected the main line from the fuel rail and it's pushing plenty of fuel with the key on.
- checked for codes with my OBD scanner. Only have a few emissions codes and one for the mass air flow sensor. P0449, P069, P0452. Reader scans and clears codes just fine.
- checked for voltage on the coils, the center two pins give me 12 volts on the connector for each coil.
- I don't appear to be getting spark. The car has a hundred and 170,000 mi on it, and it doesn't look like the plugs have been changed the entire time, but it did drive into my garage and ran pretty good before disassembly.
- dash appears to be fully functional with all the lights turning on when the ignition turns. Steady no flickers.
- throttle body moves with the gas pedal.
- checked to make sure that the crank sensor was plugged in as well as all other sensors and plugs.
- The brake reservoir is empty as well as the coolant reservoir, they're plugged in but I don't think there's a safety kill feature for those if they're empty but could be wrong.
- it's a manual transmission and the clutch pedals tied back, hence it's able to crank.
It doesn't seem to even try to fire. Like I said, I have voltage to the coil packs so I'm assuming that electrical connection is correct. I've read a couple of threads with similar issues but none of what they did seems to fix my issue. Appreciate any help.
 
G

Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
See if it will fire on flammable brake cleaner or starter fluid to check spark.

Your fuel system check isn’t a replacement for a diagnostic fuel gauge pressure check.

A noid light on the fuel injector will check for injector firing. These 3 checks should help you focus in a direction.

But put plugs in it any way. Why would you not replace plugs that look like they have 170k on them?
 
Joebob

Joebob

Goblin Guru
If this is the first time you are starting it, the fuel rail is full of air. it takes a significant amount of cranking to have the injectors pulse the air out of the system to start spitting fuel. One thing you can do to speed the system up, is to key on and listen for the fuel pump to cycle on then off. with a towel and safety glasses, vent the fuel rail through the shraeder valve. Key off then key on and listen for the pump to cycle again. Repeat 3-4 times to spray the gas and air out of the fuel rail.

Car should start if all else is ok.

Joe
 
J

Jammerthal

Member
Absolutely going to change the plugs, just couldn't get to the parts store in time. I will get a pressure gauge and test rail pressure. After clearing the codes, P0449, P069, P0452 are the only ones that came back.
I have cranked it quite a bit, but will absolutely bleed the rail and see if that helps.

Thanks for all the advice, will keep you posted.
 
Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Bigfoot Goblin
Check between the head on the engine and the ground lug next to the fuse box for continuity. If it's grounded properly it should read less than 1 ohm. A poor ground to the engine will not allow for a good spark.
 
J

Jammerthal

Member
I did test that the head was grounded with a test light, but did not check with the meter. Will add that to tonight's to-do list!
z
 
Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Bigfoot Goblin
A test light is only good to see if you have voltage in a circuit, it does not check for continuity in a circuit or check for a good ground. Get a good meter that you can read resistances (ohms) that shows 0.1 ohms or less when the meter leads are shorted together. Then toss that test light into the garage sale box.
 
G

Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
Jammerthal said:
Absolutely going to change the plugs, just couldn't get to the parts store in time. I will get a pressure gauge and test rail pressure. After clearing the codes, P0449, P069, P0452 are the only ones that came back.
I have cranked it quite a bit, but will absolutely bleed the rail and see if that helps.

Thanks for all the advice, will keep you posted.
Click to expand...
Listing codes doesn't help much without a description. I doubt many people have them memorized.
 
G

Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
Desert Sasqwatch said:
A test light is only good to see if you have voltage in a circuit, it does not check for continuity in a circuit or check for a good ground. Get a good meter that you can read resistances (ohms) that shows 0.1 ohms or less when the meter leads are shorted together. Then toss that test light into the garage sale box.
Click to expand...
A good test light can mean more than continuity reading. Especially an incandescent test light. Or even better a headlight bulb. A circuit can test good without load but fail when it starts pulling amps. Really you need all of the above in your toolbox.
 
Markm

Markm

Well-Known Member
Gtstorey said:
A good test light can mean more than continuity reading. Especially an incandescent test light. Or even better a headlight bulb. A circuit can test good without load but fail when it starts pulling amps. Really you need all of the above in your toolbox.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, load testing circuits is a great thing. An ohmmeter can test a circuit good with only one strand of wire. Just a heads up
 
A

ah.b.normal

Goblin Guru
Yes to all of the above! Resistance is....resistance and it rarely helps, mostly hurts. Nice fat, clean ground wire battery to frame and from engine block to frame. There can be a smaller ground wire off the negative battery clamp to the frame, carefully check if it is hot! (It' not supposed to be hot, Hot is BAD. I grabbed one once, failing to notice the insulation was dripping off of it. It was hot like the guts of a toaster. Oddly I haven't made that exact mistake again and it's been like 40 years!:oops:)
 
J

Jammerthal

Member
Update!!
She lives, kind of.
Turns out one of the 8 pin connectors was coming apart, I thought they could only go one way, but when I was double checking everything I found the defect, swapped with the other 8 pin and she fired up!
But .....
Doesn't want to keep running surges and eventually dies. See attached video. Anyone ran across this and have a starting point for me? I can keep it running s little with the throttle pedal, but eventually dies anyway.

Microsoft OneDrive

1drv.ms 1drv.ms
 
Ross

Ross

Goblin Guru
Disconnect the MAF sensor, and see if it stays running. That forces the engine to stay in VE mode, as it knows there is no MAF sensor.
Since it runs right away (in Volume Efficiency mode) I wonder if it is dying when it tries to switch over to MAF mode.
 
A

ah.b.normal

Goblin Guru
That is a nice find! An easy reminder the MAF is directionally challenged. Also be prepared for the engine to hunt around for it’s proper idle. Keep Ross on your speed dial. He knows stuff!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top