1997 2.5 V6 Xedos 9 Not Starting!!!!

[cpt5000100]

The engine is getting petrol, sparking fine and cranking fast like it should do. But the engine will not start no matter how long I crank it for. It's not even firing or "coughing"!! Nothing what so ever. Spoke to a mechanic freind of mine who said it could be the Mass Air Flow sensor, Throttle Position Sensor or the Crankshaft Sensor. So I have obatained the workshop manual and have tested all of these and they are giving out the correct specifications on my multimeter according to the manual. Have not tested the compression in the chambers yet but will get round to it. Any ideas what it could be and what I could do to get it started as I want to drive it again.... badly!! All help is very much appreciated and I will respond as soon as I can! Thanks very much in advance!

[millyowner]

Compression test may reveal a slipped or broken timing belt. Have someone watch for a spinning cam gear through the oil fill port while cranking. No CKP signal would cut fuel and spark. Too bad the Xedos 9 didn't get EOBD until 1999. You might try this:

milleniatech.net - EOBD Information

[cpt5000100]

Originally Posted by millyowner

Compression test may reveal a slipped or broken timing belt. Have someone watch for a spinning cam gear through the oil fill port while cranking. No CKP signal would cut fuel and spark. Too bad the Xedos 9 didn't get EOBD until 1999. You might try this:

milleniatech.net - EOBD Information

Hi Millyowner,
Thanks for the reply. Have tried the diagnostic port method and it threw no codes up unfortunatly. The timing belt isn't snapped as I have checked it, will be checking compression in every chamber tomorrow but I do not think it will have jumped a few teeth but will also put a timing light on it tomorrow and check how it is. Have checked fuel pressure and it is how it should be when being cranked. Really scratching my head at this one. Any one have any ideas what could be causing this??? Thanks!

[millyowner]

This page lists pretty much every possibility...

milleniatech.net - Engine Control Symptom Troubleshooting

If the compression test is good and fuel pressure is good, next step would probably be to check the operation of the fuel injectors. Spark could also be weak. Or a massive air leak causing the air/fuel ratio to be so lean it's preventing engine start.

[cpt5000100]

Originally Posted by millyowner

This page lists pretty much every possibility...

milleniatech.net - Engine Control Symptom Troubleshooting

If the compression test is good and fuel pressure is good, next step would probably be to check the operation of the fuel injectors. Spark could also be weak. Or a massive air leak causing the air/fuel ratio to be so lean it's preventing engine start.

Thanks for the link, will have to check all of them over tomorrow. Will be checking the fuel pressure and chamber compression tomorrow also. Although today I did check the spark and they are all sparking but the spark seems a little weak in comparison with my other Xedos 9. What do you think could be causing the weak spark? Have changed the spark plugs, distributor cap and HT leads and the spark is still weak in comparison. If this helps, I also changed the distributor over to my other Xedos 9 which starts and runs perfect and it would not start with this distributor so I thought that was the cause but when I put the distributor from the working Xedos 9 onto the broken one it would not start still. Thanks for your help it is very much appreciated. Will post back tomorrow with results of fuel pressure and compression tests.

[yel-low]

What was the time fame between the distributor swap? The engine was most likely flooded from over cranking. You would really have to pull all the plugs and crank the motor with the fuel pump relay disconnected. It would also help to blow the cylinder clear with compressed air. I've had it happen to me before and was a major PITA to get sorted out.

[cpt5000100]

Did a compression test today and all chambers are fine. But I did try the EOBD again with a test light and now the light flashes 8 time pauses then 8 times again. Can anyone tell me what code 8 is please? Thanks

[cpt5000100]

Originally Posted by cpt5000100

Did a compression test today and all chambers are fine. But I did try the EOBD again with a test light and now the light flashes 8 time pauses then 8 times again. Can anyone tell me what code 8 is please? Thanks

Forget that code 8,I had left the MAF sensor unplugged So now it is throwing no codes up unfortunatly.

[yel-low]

Xedos came with OBD-O? That was the only generation that I am aware of pulling codes via the flashing light method. Perhaps a Euro thing only?

[millyowner]

Yep, all pre 1999 model year TAs not North America bound had OBD "Classic". Eurozone (and UK) adopted OBD II (called E-OBD for Euro OBD) for all 2000+ models with the same connector and code set as OBDII Not sure about Australia and Japan models though I'm guessing those might have too just for consistency with production.

Not sure about the spark. Perhaps a poor ground (earth) connection on the engine could be causing that or the no-start condition isn't related to the ignition system.