97 Elantra won't start - update

Discussion in 'Hyundai Elantra / Lantra' started by Rich D, May 15, 2008.

  1. Rich D

    Rich D Guest

    97 Elantra Came home parked the car, came out the next morning and it
    wouldn't start.
    Ok. I have good spark at all cylinders. Wires are recently new. The timing
    belt
    is tight, looks new (less than 20000 miles on it, no broken teeth, etc).
    Yet, this car will crank and crank, and almost catch but will not run.
    The fuel pump seems to be running, I can hear it if I jump the fuel pump
    test lead in the engine compartment. Pulled the outlet side off the fuel
    filter, drained it with a syphon, cranked the engine and it filled back up
    right away. Checked the fuel for water, no luck there. My OBD reader
    returns:
    PO442 PO 455 (both evap cannister issues) P 1513 P1553 (both idle speed
    actuator issues).
    Don't think these wwould cause it to not start.
    The CEL has always been on - cracked gas tank pressue issue. Hyundai
    repaired it once, but it recurred.
    Definitely think there is no fuel reaching th ecylinders. Question is what
    the simplest way to test for this?
     
    Rich D, May 15, 2008
    #1
  2. Rich D

    hyundaitech Guest

    First, check your idle actuator. If it's stuck closed, you may not hav
    enough air to start the engine. You could depress the gas pedal to see i
    the car starts. If so, presume the actuator (or its control) is th
    problem. Since you've got open circuit codes for both the close and th
    open side if the actuator, check for power in the wire powering th
    actuator and check the actuator resistance.

    How did you verify the fuel is not reaching the cylinders? I'd be lookin
    to verify injector pulse and proper fuel pressure. You'll need a noid lam
    (plugs into the injector connector) to verify injector pulse and a fue
    pressure gauge and adaptor to properly check fuel pressure. The fact tha
    you have spark suggests you'll probably have injector pulse
     
    hyundaitech, May 15, 2008
    #2
  3. Rich D

    Rich D Guest

    How did you verify the fuel is not reaching the cylinders?

    Haven't. If I let the car sit over night, it will start and run for 5-8
    seconds the first time I try it, after that it will 'almost' catch, but will
    just not start - almost as if there's water in the fuel.

    I'd like to eliminate the fuel filter and then the fuel pump. I think if I
    get fuel pumping ahead of the filter, I can eliminate both - just need a
    convenient spot to open up the fule line.
     
    Rich D, May 18, 2008
    #3
  4. Rich D

    Mike Marlow Guest

    Without seeing anything else - this is a classic symptom of a clogged fuel
    filter. Put a fuel pressure gauge on the car and see what you're getting up
    at the injectors. That will get you pointed in the right direction.
     
    Mike Marlow, May 18, 2008
    #4
  5. Rich D

    Rich D Guest

    Changed the fuel filter yesterday, no change. Am definitely getting decent
    pressure at the fuel filter, so I think we can eliminate the fuel pump. And
    I have decent spark.

    Haven't verified that the injectors have pulse, but they should get signal
    from the ECU, no. And the car will run for 5-7 seconds, but only in the
    morning. Wires are fairly new, don't see any arcing. Going to try a new
    set of plugs first and then .... Thinking crank position sensor, maybe. If
    you have spark and fuel, then the timing is suspect.
     
    Rich D, May 19, 2008
    #5
  6. Rich D

    Mike Marlow Guest

    Crank position sensor won't give you the symptoms you're describing.
    Running for 5-7 seconds only in the morning does not point to a Crank
    sensor. I don't know what the fuel pressure needs to be for an Elantra but
    checking it with a gauge has become a standard procedure for fuel injected
    engines. Any engine codes?
     
    Mike Marlow, May 19, 2008
    #6
  7. Rich D

    hyundaitech Guest

    Like Mike says, you need to verify actual pressure. I don't have the spe
    in front of me, but I expect it'll be in the neighborhood of 35-50 psi.

    At this point, it's a reasonable guess that you indeed have a fue
    pressure issue. That would explain why the car shuts back off-- it ha
    pressure from when it was last run, and once that is used up, it won't ru
    anymore.
     
    hyundaitech, May 19, 2008
    #7
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