Engine not starting
 

This morning I had a starting issue. I tried roughly 10x and the engine wouldn't turn over. I could hear the starter motor cranking the engine but it wouldn't turn over. Damn it was embarrassing.

I don't think it's a battery issue because I just replaced it with an optima battery.
I finally got the engine to start by turning the key and pressing the gas pedal.

On a side note. Now that this has happened. I'm listening to the engine and it sounds like faint pop corn noises.

EDIT

just got the car back, dealership can't replicate the problem WTF!?

sorry to hear. Any codes? Can you record the "pop corn" noise for us to hear?

Possibility of a misfire

no codes and the pop corn sound went away. I just dropped it off at the dealer and i'll be getting it this afternoon

not a missfire, did not throw a code

On a barely related note, my 2013 FR-S cranks much slower than any other car I've owned, and always has. Starts no problem, even in subzero (F) temps, but it's weird hearing it go "vra..vra..vra...vra...vroooooom" instead of "vra.vra.vra.vra.voooom", if that makes sense. Anyone else notice the same thing?

Barry

your list of mods if any would help with a diagnosis.

Mods - stock

edit -

ok dealership calls me, tells me nothing is wrong with the car and they couldn't replicate the issue.... I'm really starting to doubt the reliability of this engine

I'm sort of confused. You said you "heard the starter motor cranking but the engine wouldn't turn over". If the starter motor is cranking but the engine wouldn't turn over, that would indicate that the starter is not engaging the flywheel or the flywheel has a tooth missing.

Did you mean that the engine would crank over but not fire .. ??

Even though your battery is new, maybe it isn't getting re-charged by the alternator....?? Here is a simple test:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm


humfrz

Sounds like the engine was "flooded" - or whatever the equivalent for fuel injected cars is. Classically, the solution for starting a flooded engine (with a carburetor) was to crank it with the gas pedal held to the floor - seems counter-intuitive, but it works by holding the throttle air intake wide open. Symptom and solution both match.

what could cause our cars cylinders to be flooded?

OK i meant to say it cranked and cranked but didn't fire up

"Flooding" is usually caused by too much fuel and not enough air. Or, the plugs don't fire.

OK, cranked but didn't fire. I'd give it a second chance ...... maybe the ECU was having a bad day ..... :(


humfrz

that doesn't damage our spark plugs right? because everyone knows how much of a pain in the ass they are

If enough fuel was able to enter it could foul the plugs yes. I find this highly unlikely to be whats going on though.

I don't see much mystery here. Circumstantial yes but may be something as simple as a not quite tight enough cable or slightly dirty connection.

I reckon not. With the coil sitting on top of the plug firing away and 12:5 compression hammering it from below, I doubt a plug is going to foul ..... ;)


humfrz

Now @Tcoat ...... that is waaaaaay to simple ........ :thumbdown:

We got us a highly complex problem working here ....... :eyebulge:

:D


humfrz

if i remember correctly, this is an uncommon issue with some of our cars. By no means am I an expert, definitely a car noob, but i believe it has to do something with the positioning of the camshaft after turning off the vehicle (read something about this like a year ago, cant remember much about it though). Most comments I've read about this doesn't seem to indicate a major mechanical issue with the car. This same scenario happened to me maybe twice since i've owned my car (2 years). Pretty random, no real pattern to when it happens. Happened sometime the first month I had it. Got the second one about 4 months after that. None since then. Will probably happen again, but who knows. I would just do some searches to see if you can find anything. I would like to know more about this as well if anyone else has more info.

Did the dealer keep the car overnight? Did your car sit overnight for this issue to occur?

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when this occurred, it did sit over night for this to happen. I had started the car and reversed so my wife could park in the driveway and then i shut the engine down. It was quick and only moved a couple of feet, i do this all the time. Next morning, No start

I'm not leaving my car overnight with them. I watched my dash cam footage of their "8km" test drive (i asked wtf why did you test drive it when it started fine) they replied to make sure it doesn't shut off automatically while running...

:bonk:I told them, my issue was NOT STARTING. This is why i have no faith in stealerships... Im already starting to believe consumer reports was totally right with their prediction, this engine is unreliable

Hey..in the situation as you describe above I have had hard starts with other fuel injection cars that I have owned. This happened with my '95 maxima and 2000 I30 (same engine design), even when new. I have notice a harder than usual start with my BRZ in those situations too, but nothing too bad. When I researched it, what I determined is that with a start the injectors add more fuel than usual and if you quickly turn the car off that can leave excess fuel in the cylinders which makes it harder to start the car the next day. Almost like a "flooded" engine as others have mentioned above.

Could also be leaking injectors. Pressure builds key on. Turn car off pressure still holds until leaking past injectors.

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Absolutely also had this same experience with my wife's 2012 Hyundai Tucson. Started it - moved a foot - shut it down. Then no start. The problem is exactly as described - fuel pump during the start sequence adds too much fuel and floods the engine. My understanding is that all fuel injected cars can do this. I have since kept this in mind when moving cars a short distance - I ALWAYS let the engine run for at least 30-60 seconds before turning it off. Have not had any issues since I started doing this.

During cranking/no start condition do you see the RPM needle bounce at all

I haven't had a problem yet after seating the filter perfectly!!

So, in March. I installed a new air filter this time I removed the entire box and seated it correctly. So far I've been trouble free. I think the dealership has been installing it wrong without removing the entire box out. There was usually a gap

I'm not 100% sure but. I've been driving it everyday so far with no more issues.

But it's definitely the engine that's unreliable, and not a poor craftsman, right?