Car died... CAUSE: UNKNOWN. All possibilities welcome.

[Sov13t]

Was heading to Giant to buy some groceries and as I take a turn into the parking lot, I down shift into second... then I up shift into third and my car stalls... at first I thought wow... I can not believe I stalled and yet at the same time I was like... I did everything correctly.. it's not my first day driving manual.

So I say... whatever... I used my momentum to carry me into a parking spot WITHOUT the power steering... and I went to the store... come back, get into the car and it wont start.

Got on the phone with OT, and OT also had YT on the phone and we tried to figure out what was going on for the next hour or so... checked everything. The car is not throwing any codes. Conclusions we came to were either bad MAF or out of gas. Went out and added 3 gallons of gas to the tank, and still wont start. Thats where I am at atm. Any suggestions are welcome!! PLEASE if its the most off topic idea... lets give it a try.

Also, where should I look for a new MAF in case i need one? or is there a way to force the car to start with a bad MAF? Can I just go ahead and buy the Z32 MAF that we need for ECU Stage II anyway without the CHIP as i do not have the $ for all of it atm? Or will the ECU not recognize it....

Once again any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance....
-Sov13t.

P.S.: OT and YT thank you very much for answering the calls and trying to help me out in this.

[SSSVX]

Are you still at ATM? Where is your car right now? Are you by yourself?

Since it's a manual trans car, do you know how to push start your car? Give it a try....if there's no downhill or something, you may need someone to help you push the car (since the SVX is pretty heavy), you may get your car started in this way. Have somebody escort you drive it home asap ... then you can shut it off and try to start it again and see what happens.

That's the best idea I can think of right now...if there's still something wrong with the car, the best thing of the manual car is you can always play with the clutch, gas pedal and brake at the same time to get it home still IMO.

Good luck and keep us updated.

[SSSVX]

so your atm = at the moment not the ATM machine my bad

but still that was my idea to force the car to start.

throwing more ideas?
can you feel your fuel pump is working? can you knock on you maf, maybe something is loose? any fuse is burned?

bye good luck

[b3lha]

Have you tried unplugging the MAF? My SVX will start and run (badly) with the MAF disconnected. If yours doesn't then it's probably not the MAF.

What about the fuel pump? Pull off the hose that runs from the filter to the injector rail, put it into a soda bottle and turn the ignition key on the on position. If the pump is working it should run for a couple of seconds and then stop. You'll get about half a pint of petrol in the bottle.

[huck369]

Pull off one of the timing belt covers to make sure it hasn't broke...just a few mm bolts....

[Sov13t]

I left the car at the parking lot, and had my father pick me up and drive me home. It is a safe place for the car, as it is a busy place and my car is sitting right underneath a light post.

1. I have tried disconnecting the MAF and reconnecting it, I have tried leaving it disconnected also.

2. I have not tried starting it by rolling the car, however, it is not the battery as I can run all the peripherals and I did try jump starting the car in case it was. (even though I knew it was not the issue).

Fuel pump does work, and there is pressure in the fuel lines going into the engine. When the key is turned to the On position the pump runs for about 10 seconds then stops, producing enough pressure in the fuel lines that I can not squeeze the lines shut. Checked all the fuses, all of them are good, the only one I did not check is the one that is responsible for the Airbag and is covered by a yellow protector, it is the first one in the middle row closest to the drivers seat. The car does crank... and keeps cranking if you keep going at it.... the Check Engine light comes on when you have the key in ON position, however once again, the car does not THROW any codes, when checking for codes the Check Engine light just keeps blinking at the same frequency.

Damn... if the car can start without the MAF... I have no clue what it is now... for crying out loud.

Where can I purchase the "select monitor" how much is it? Who lives very close to Springfield that perhaps (if needed) would be able to come up here and swap a MAF and see if that is actually the cause of this... (but if the car can start without the MAF then I guess that will not be necessary )

Thanks,
-Sov

[Sov13t]

Can we possibly run down the list of things that would prevent our cars from starting?

Sensors? Cables? Lines? Which fuses?

Heading off to work, no point in skipping work and trying to fix it blindly

[svxfiles]

Now that its daylight you can check a few more things.
You can remove a coil and see if a sparkplug is sparking.
You can remove the drivers side cam belt cover, (four 10mm head bolts)
to make sure the timing belt is turning.
Tom.

[Hocrest]

Listen to Huck and OT, check the timing belt before anything else...

[Manarius]

Originally Posted by Hocrest

Listen to Huck and OT, check the timing belt before anything else...

I third this. MAF's don't normally just up and die. Timing belts do

[Kelvin]

Originally Posted by huck369

Pull off one of the timing belt covers to make sure it hasn't broke...just a few mm bolts....

That's my guess.

[Sov13t]

Is it hard to replace it on the spot? In case it is broken?

I will be doing all of this once I get back from work, if the timing is all f'ed how badly am I screwed?

Thanks,
-Sov13t.

[scoobymal]

If the timing belt has snapped,there should be no damage= the SVX engine was designed as a non inteference engine,ie (the valves should not hit the top of the pistons)

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by Sov13t

Is it hard to replace it on the spot? In case it is broken?

I will be doing all of this once I get back from work, if the timing is all f'ed how badly am I screwed?

Thanks,
-Sov13t.

You biggest problem may be finding an in-stock timing belt. But first you need to be sure that's the cause of the trouble.

dcb

[huck369]

It’s a little tough to do in a parking lot due to the tensioner being difficult to compress without a vise…..but it is do-able