Starting Issues

doubleN0alero · 03-26-2009, 06:57 AM

Alright, well this is on my Honda, but I'm having a general issue here. Last night I took my g/f home. As I was leaving her house, I didn't give it enough gas (manual) and stalled in her driveway (how embarrasing). Anyhow, it cranked a few times and then started up (way longer than usual) and before I could go anywhere, it started sputtering and then stalled out again. This time it just cranked and wouldn't start. I tried twice and then gave her a break. I waited about 30 seconds and she started right back up. I drove home (15 minutes) and shut her off. I started it back up to see if maybe it was just a flook. It started right back up and then sputtered again and shut off. I tried to restart and it just cranked and didn't turn over. At that point, it was late and I didn't feel like messing with it anymore, so I went to bed. I'm not sure what I'm going to go out to this morning.
Any suggestions? My first guess would be something fuel related...either bad tank of gas or something. I got 3/4ths of a tank. I also would think fuel filter, but when I went to get a new one at advanced and auto zone a while back, the computer at both said it was unservicable.

Nate's Alero · 03-26-2009, 07:43 AM

They said the same thing about my alero and saturn, the are tards, got anywhere else to go to check?

Gr1m · 03-26-2009, 08:17 AM

i dont believe the fuel filters are not serviceable, but i would throw some 93 in it and run some seafoam through the vacuum line

Nate's Alero · 03-26-2009, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gr1m

i dont believe the fuel filters are not serviceable, but i would throw some 93 in it and run some seafoam through the vacuum line

doesnt 93 like, kill your engine and not help it?

Gr1m · 03-26-2009, 08:44 AM

well your engine should get whatever the manual says, most imports say 89 but everyone uses 87, there could be some gunk buildup thats causing you to sputter or maybe you just got a shitty batch of gass which is why i said to top it off with 93 and see if it does anything

doubleN0alero · 03-26-2009, 09:14 AM

I just found this rather intersting tid bit.

Quote:

Part Number: W0133-1711927
Notes: Strainer Kit - In Tank This vehicle does not have an in-line fuel filter between the fuel tank and the engine. Use this filter set when replacing the fuel strainer located inside the fuel tank, which is the only fuel filter on this vehicl

Redog · 03-26-2009, 09:27 AM

^^ Most Japanese cars are like that. The wife's Altima has an unserviceable fuel filter and the only time they are replaced is when the fuel pump is.

I was going to say battery at first, but yeah I would say fuel problem now.

Do you have a NAPA near you? I bought this fuel cleaner stuff there called "Cleen" It was like $12, but works great. I used it in the Delta when it still had the 307 and it cleaned it up a bit

doubleN0alero · 03-26-2009, 09:33 AM

Yeah, there's a NAPA right next to my house. Thanks for that input Ken, I'll stop and get some on my way home tonight. My initial thoughts were battery til I started sputtering, then the fuel system is what came to mind. I have already called the Shell where I always (only) get gas and let them know I got a faulty tank of gas adn they're going to fill me back up for nothing! Its the same gas station we use for all of our school vehicles, so they take pretty good care of us and its one of those little "neighborhood" type settings where they know who you are/what you do/where you live/who you date, etc as you walk in the door.

doubleN0alero · 03-26-2009, 11:57 PM

Well, here's the update. I got a bottle of STP gas treatment and filled back up from half with 89, not 93. From my house to my g/f's (10 mins) I had stalled twice on the highway and then twice again on the way to the gas station. The stalling has stopped since I put gas in and my car has been running fine, so I suppose it was just a bum tank of gas...thank heavens!!!

doubleN0alero · 04-04-2009, 02:10 AM

Well its been a week and the saga continues. The gas treatment seemed to do the trick Thursday night when I was out driving around. Well Friday on my way to my dr. appointment, my car stalled yet again. I got to work on Saturday and when I went to leave my car just stopped. It wouldn't start anymore. So I got it home and did some diagnostics. The problem was the fuel pump not powering up. I checked the power to the pump and it was getting juice, so that leads to a faulty fuel pump. I replaced the pump only to get the same problem. I was able to jump the relay and get the pump to turn on, so that would say the relay. I ordered one of those and I put it in Tuesday when the part arrived. So new pump, new relay...still no start. It was time to turn my car over for some professional help. They diagnosted the problem as being the ECU. That's great news because it's covered under warranty. I guess the ECU wasn't grounding itself and thus causing the issue. Well they put the new ECU in today and I was hoping to have my car back today. Well the new ECU didn't fix the issue either. The latest diagnostic is the fuse block. This is not covered under warranty, so its going to cost me a fortune and at the rate we're going, who knows if that will fix the issue either. I'm trying to talk to the dealership about covered the fuse block under warranty too. My argument is the warranty ECU wasn't grounding, thus frying the fuse block. So a warranty part caused a non-warranty to fail. Its a shot in the dark, but at least its worth a shot.
So that's what is currently going on over here. I simple issue is turning into an absolute nightmare to say the least.

cherrington17 · 04-04-2009, 07:54 AM

man... i'm glad my car is easy to work on and all the problems are pretty common. We really luck out like that, around here. (not poking fun at honda, but this family really is lucky in that respect)

hope you can get it running correctly. I'd be PISSED if they didn't pay for the fuseblock...

and seriously.. how can a fuseblock go back? maybe fry a connection on it, blow some fuses... but what else is there to them??