93 850: no start, possibly stale gas?

Post by **JimBee** » 27 Nov 2016, 17:56

I have other transportation for summer so generally only drive the '93 during winter.

Last February radiator sprung a leak so I parked it and drove the wagon, which I like to leave parked, away from Minnesota roads during winter.

In June, it started instantly, as always and I drove it around town for a couple of days. No issues. Then parked it again until now.

Today, I was already to inflate tires to spec but it wouldn't start. Didn't even pop (except for what seemed like a tiny pop when I let the key off "start" position. I tried unplugging the MAF; still no response.

I squirted some starting fluid into the intake manifold but that did nothing. Fuel pressure at the Schrader valve was robust.

The gas tank is about 1/4 full; gas in the tank might date back to January. Could that cause a "no response" condition?

Post by **kahl** » 27 Nov 2016, 18:14

I think you can eliminate gas. I would check for spark. Unplug and replug your coil wire at the coil and the cap. Pop off the distributor cap and see if it needs cleaning.

Post by **JimBee** » 27 Nov 2016, 19:12

Yeah, good idea. It's either spark or gas. I have done this cycle for the last 5 years and haven't had a problem with starting after sitting for 6 or more months. I did rotate the coil wire at the coil but not at the dist. cap, so I can try that.
If no go, I'll pull the plugs and lay them on the camshaft cap and turn it over to see if they're sparking.

Post by **abscate** » 27 Nov 2016, 19:19

Lack of fire with ether is pointing to spark or Compression.

Made up Internet s**** (MUIS) to the contrary, gas just doesn't go stale to the point of no start

Post by **JimBee** » 27 Nov 2016, 20:56

abscate wrote:Lack of fire with ether is pointing to spark or Compression.

Made up Internet s**** (MUIS) to the contrary, gas just doesn't go stale to the point of no start

The spark plug test should tell the ignition part of the story, then I'll work back from there.
I'll try to crank it again before pulling the plugs to see if they're getting wet. I know from testing the schrader valve there's plenty of pressure at the fuel rail. And since in June it ran with smoothly with no issues, I wouldn't expect a fuel feed problem.

I've been running full synthetic oil in this engine pretty much since I got the car in 2008, starting with Amsoil. It does consume some, though, so I'll probably switch to a high mileage brand in the near future. It had a fresh oil/filter change last fall and ran only a few hundred miles since then.

joedrt77 · Post by **joedrt77** » 28 Nov 2016, 03:33

Could try checking voltage at the fuel injector connector with multimeter, ignition on engine off, black lead to ground, red lead to connector, should be about 12 volts, I checked mine with connector off.

Post by **rspi** » 28 Nov 2016, 13:57

Post by **JimBee** » 28 Nov 2016, 19:07

A couple of replies. An engine rebuilder I talked with today also suggested compression might be low. I seem to remember testing it a couple of years ago and it wasn't great, but the tester I used wasn't great either. The thing is, this 5 speed manual, NA, is quite spirited and doesn't smoke much, though it does go through a quart of oil in maybe 600-800 miles, mostly city driving. So that wouldn't seem to jibe with compression so low that it wouldn't run, especially since it did run well in June when I drove it around a bit.

After I install the NGK coppers tomorrow if it doesn't start I'll measure the voltage on the injector rail like Joe suggests.

I think I've covered most of rspi's checks, except for compression.

Tomorrow is a new day ;\

Post by **abscate** » 29 Nov 2016, 16:53

Cap rotor wires are the wear items in the ignition, check these before more fuel side troubleshooting