I just broke my Mazda. Drove it to a friends and parked it, came back this evening to find that it cranks but wont start. I haven't been able to do much yet as far as diag, but I have some serious concerns.

I have tried de flooding it by removing the EGI fuse and cranking, then re installing and cranking again, but I couldn't get it to start.

From my observations it did smell pretty bad trying to crank it.
The most concerning observation is the fact that it doesn't sound like the engine is making any compression while cranking. I really hope I didn't break an apex.

The strangest part is that I didn't drive it hard before I parked it. It was running fine before I parked it, I haven't had any issues with the engine since I've owned it, and the worst part is that its only got 55,000 miles on it.

 

Take the de-flood procedure a couple steps further. You can remove the spark plugs, then clean them up. Crank the engine with the plugs out to clear a really bad flood. You can also squirt a little bit of oil in through the plug holes to help build compression to get the engine started back up. If this is an S5, you can skip removing the EGI fuses; pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor will disable fuel injection during start up.

 

+1 on adding some oil. My old FD that is now wrecked had sat for a long time, and when I tried to start it, it sounded like no compression. It wasn't flooded, but it was dry. Oil in the plug holes and it fired right up.

 

Awesome, I think I'm going to end up having to pull the plugs. How much oil will I need to squirt in? Will I just need a tiny bit, or do I need like 1/2 a quart? It is an S5 and flooring the pedal and cranking for 10-15 seconds didn't seem to have an effect.

 

1/2 a quart?! Then it won't start because it's full of oil . Just a little squirt it all you'll need.

 

Haha, I was exaggerating. I just wanted to know if I needed to buy another quart cause I only got a little bit left.

 

could be flooded or a blown fuse .....

 

Ok, so I went out and got a little more done.

I tried to do the deflooding procedure again. No luck with that.

I pulled the leading plugs and found the tips were covered in a nasty mix of oil, and fuel. I cleaned them up a bit and tried the poor mans compression test. The rear rotor does worry me a bit but I do get even "psst"s.

Then I pulled the trailing plugs and they look good. Cleaned them up, squirted about and ounce of ATF into both lower plug holes, and reinstalled all spark plugs, plugged in wires, re installed EGI fuse.

Got in to start it, and I got it to cough a few times but still no luck on getting it running. I am really hoping those leading plugs are fouled, and thats all I need to get. I think Im just going to replace all 4, but first I need to get it towed from my friends back to my house.

 

Have you checked to see if you're getting spark so as to rule that out as a possible cause?

 

Just checked spark, and all 4 plugs are good. Trying to do more with testing compression. Im definitly noticing a difference on the rear rotor.

 

Alright, I'm gonna upload a vid of the rear rotors compression test. Taking the vid with a smart phone so it won't have the best sound quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvijsWqMsnM

 

IT LIVES!

I decided to give the atf trick one more shot. It started right up! Had a huge plume of white smoke that filled the entire house, so it was definitly flooded.

 

Nice! I've seen a ton of these threads pop up, and the majority of the time it's just flooded. Not at all uncommon.

 

I noticed that. I actually should have just searched this section before I posted, because I found one with the exact same symptoms, including the engine sounding like its not making compression while cranking. He also ended up having the engine flooded.

Anyway, just out of curiosity, do you hear anything wrong with the sound of that rear rotor int he video I posted. I am still worried that I'm getting low compression on one of the faces despite the car is now running. I'm just worried in case this becomes a problem in the future. I suppose I should probably do an actual compression test though instead of just listening to it and feeling the air.

 

this happen to before too, but then after a few attempts, it finally started. i was thinking maybe it was jus too cold??

 

my fc would flood easily if not reaching operating temp before shutting off.


also, not an issue for you right now, but important to note that i ran into a problem with the "room" fuse being blown. crank/nostart condition that had me doing compression tests, ignition tests, fuel tests, and atf trick, etc. It was just a fuse

 

Good to know, thanks.

 

lucky.... i read this for a bit and was thinkin either flooded bad or apex seals.... haha damn your lucky

 

I hear 3 similar pulses in a row, which is about all you can tell w/out using a gauge. You can rent a gauge from most auto parts stores if you're concerned.

 

Also on cold startups, oil does not go into the housing, so if you keep cranking, eventually there will be no more oil in there and that's probably why the "loss" of compression sound is heard.