won't start.. again
 

i don't know whats going on. i had a flooded engine a few months ago.

but its a mess this time.

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the story goes...

4 weeks ago battery died after car door left open during oil change (car started when the mechanic pulled it out of the garage to a parking space, but 2 min later when i went to leave, wouldn't crank, and all lights dimmed and died)

diagnostic on battery said it was dead.

i got a jump. 5 miles down the road car shuts off. i stop. try to crank. nothing, interior lights no longer work either.

thought i had a drained battery + slipping belts.

i had the car towed to my house. installed a new battery, wouldn't crank. lights don't work either. disconnect new battery.

car sits for 2 days. hook up battery. car starts perfectly. drive it around 10 min and park it. next day same thing. starts perfect, drive for 10 min.

next day after. car dead again. wont crank, nothing.

i figure maybe a loose alternator belt drained the battery.

rip out alternator and belts, battery. get both old and new battery tested. old battery test OK, new battery tests as drained. alternator tests okay.

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returned new battery, install old battery
install new alternator and p/s belt

other:
replace 1 solenoid
replace 1 check valve

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car will crank now. but will not start. car wobbles slightly.

smells like gasoline, faint wisps of smoke out the exhaust

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removed spark plugs.. some fuel spills out. (plug surface black, fouled?. im using NGK 7 and 9s)

noticed some water(condensation?) in fuel that spilled out

crank car, no longer wobbles, but will not start.

removed EGI and crank, some fine blackish wet mist sprays out but thats all, no more fuel.

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so whats wrong with my car?

i believe it was a bit flooded but what is causing the flooding? my battery voltage checks out at 12.42v

and why won't it start.. my spark plugs have around 1.5k on them.

could the symptoms be from a bad solenoid or check valve that i installed? or a missed / switched vacuum line?

just too many problems and possibilities not sure where to begin and what i can rule out. help appreciated, regards!

Sounds like you have more that one problem. Something is draining your battery. If you can't test it, take it to someone who can. It may take some doing, but you should be able to track it down. Do you have a fan mod on your car?

If the car is still flooded, take out the spark plugs, and turn it over a time or two. Keep the plug wires away from the plug holes when you do this. Then let it sit for a few hours with the plugs out. this should unflood it.

Good luck, Adam

no fan mod on the vehicle. i pop the hood 5 min before i get home to get some ventilation, don't boost for 10 min before, and when i park i prop up the hood.

i think i figured out the main electrical problem.. slipping belts that drained both my old and new battery. then dirty battery connectors that once cleaned allowed the car to start.

so is it possible that weak batteries can lead to flooding?

my second concern is.. does a bad solenoid or check valve cause a vehicle to crank but not start? or a loose vacuum line?

i figure now that i've unflooded the engine that it should start okay... but im hesitant to try on a possibly weak battery. voltmeter is showing 12.42v though... any other measure of if this battery is good? or does voltage get the final say.

I think the root of your problem has been dirty or loose battery terminals. Bad battery terminals will cause a GREAT deal of problems - you have a voltage drop, so the battery can't charge up properly with the alternator running. If the terminal gets knocked loose or vibrates to where it's not making a good electrical connection, the car will shut off. Having multiple shut offs, trying to crank with a dead/weak battery (slow cranking), etc. will cause all your problems - fouled plugs, flooded engine, you name it.

Get the obvious problems fixed first before digging into the motor further.

Dale

nice ! :)

hmm car started today. but won't idle by itself. so i decided to rev it up to 2k and kept it there. motor felt super smooth. but it still won't keep idle and it was smoking a LOT.. like a standard de-flood i guess, but i had to turn the car off after 15 seconds when the smoke alarm went off and my roommates came running out to the garage and neighbors were opening up their front doors to get a look. i jumped out of the car and on the way to knock the smoke alarm off the ceiling noticed that wisps of the white smoke was coming out of the engine bay on the RH side in addition to the huge amount of smoke coming out the exhaust.

now im too freaked out to try 2 start the car again.

is this normal for deflooding? (car not wanting to idle by itself and smoke out of RH engine bay?)

fixed! thanks everyone

Well how did you fix it??