need help fast, 99 sc1 wont start!!!!?????

[derekagould]

so here is the background on the situation.

1. i have been having some overheating issues lately so i took out the thermostat, tested in boiling water and it worked. so i put it back.
2. i flushed the coolant on Sunday around lunch time, couldnt get to the store that evening so i unfortunatly had to let it sit in the garage dry. bought radiator flush (prestone i think) filled it, replaced the ECTS while i was at it.
3. also while i was waiting for coolant on sunday i took off the throttle body and cleaned it as well as the egr valve with carb cleaner.

replaced everything and then tried to run the car with the coolant cap off, to let all the bubbles out. Car wouldn't start. we kept at it for a little bit but didn't work...

we thought it was probably flooded so I waited about an hour and then was able to get it to start up ( I actually just held down the gas pedal and tried to start a few times, let go of the gas and started once more. IT WORKED!!!!

decided to drive it around a little and clean out the system a bit. as soon as i took off something was wronge.... only when accelerating would it seem to kinda bog down or i guess be very jumpy or hesitant while pressing the gas,

pulled in the drive way, hopped online and saw that it might be the EGR valve (thought i might of actually damaged instead of cleaned it.) so i did the alluminum can trick to make a gasket without holes. the problem didnt get any better with no air to the EGR. so thats not it.

so here's where it gets worse... testing the EGR and driving all groggy if you will, was all done last night. today came home on lunch and tried to start it and see if it was maybe just a little hesitant from being possibly flooded. Car wouldn't start. at all. it's turning over just never taking off and running. you can tell it's trying to catch and run but it just wont do it.

So please if anyone has any ideas please help. Im at a lose to what might be wrong. i know it might be a fuel filter clogged or the CAT something in exhaust. (not sure how to test or diagnose)

[magtec]

sounds like an ECTS issue. check the contacts in the plug for corrosion. have you tried putting the old one back in?

[derekagould]

no I didn't put the old one back, i guess ill have to try that after work. the one I bought was from AZ, it was the 11.99 with the lifetime warranty as opposed to the 8.99 1yr war. Anyways I did put the new one back out, make sure I had the prongs and the holes lined up when i reinserted it. and there wasn't any corrosion on the connectors or the ECTS ( new one and the old one.)

but i wasn't under the impression that the ECTS would affect the engine that much. I guess I just don't know what it all does... I thought it was just take temps of the coolant and thats it.

[magtec]

among other things the temperature is used to adjust the fuel/air mixture during startup. it's actually rather important for engine operation in general.

[colonelhogan44]

Pull the 4/1 plugs at the coil and crank while looking for a spark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUMGFnK29B8

[2NDSOUT]

What is the condition of the alternator, starter, and battery?

You mentioned also in your first post that you tried to start the car up after cleaning the throttle body. Did you spray Carb Cleaner into the Intake Manifold? If you sprayed too much and then tried to start it, then it would cause the car to fail to start.

[derekagould]

batt and starter are new. alt-im not sure, nor do i know how to test it. im going to try the old ECTS and see what happens

[colonelhogan44]

Check for spark. It's easy, and will tell you if it's a CPS problem. Binary testing with easy things is good -- It rules out a lot of things.

[derekagould]

just swapped out the old ECTS, didn't work . then I pulled the two wires to check for spark. I've got spark. NOT sure what now.

[colonelhogan44]

Can you hear the fuel pump cycle when the key is turned to run?

--> if yes, Do you have pressure at the fuel rail?
-->if no, start checking fuel system components: fuel filter (how many miles on the car? Is the filter original?), fuel pump.

Also, try pulling the front O2 sensor out of the exhaust manifold, and then try starting the car. Maybe the cat is FUBAR.

[derekagould]

Update. We tested all plugs and the work √
Were getting gas to all cylinders √
Now ive got all plugs out and trying to evaporate any gas thats maybey flooded the engine. Any other ideas? Im gonna put em back in and try it out. If nothing else this process has shown me all the things dont need to be changed.

[magtec]

holding the accelerator at WOT while cranking will clear a flood condition.

[colonelhogan44]

remove the oxygen sensor and try to start the engine. That will eliminate the possibility of a clogged cat.

[derekagould]

ill put the little one down for bed and then try the o2 sensor and see what happens thanks for the help everyone!

[derekagould]

update! I pulled the plugs, went to dinner at a friends and what not got home and put everything back, and she started right up. So it seems that it was flooded i guess and the airing out helped.

but the hesitation is still an issue now that it's up and running. It dawned on me that maybe by some stupid mistake i had misplugged the wires, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

so here is the issue now. when i come to a stop, it idles very low and when i start to accelerate in 1st gear i have to rev the engine more than usual to keep it from dropping in rmp's. If i don't rev it like this it seems like it's gonna stall out. i brought it in the garage kept it running while i inspected the firing order and my wires and it was idling at only 500-1000 and fluctuating regularly.

My guess is its a possible fuel issue now, maybe the filter or pump is my guess. Any Ideas about this one?

[derekagould]

hmm, it just dawned on me that maybe this mystery coolant leak/over heating was caused by a leak into the exhaust system and maybe my cat is clogged with all the debris that was moved around in my coolant drain/flush and cleaning... Has anyone heard of this possibly happening?

[td1238]

The bogged down feeling and overheating definitely are symptoms of a clogged catalytic, as is an idle that drops down low.

Idle dropping low and engine not increasing torque while engaging clutch also point to a sticking/broken IAC.

...So a few possibilities. The IAC won't affect driving power, though.

[colonelhogan44]

Pull the O2 sensor and go for a drive. If power is restored, suspect the cat.

[derekagould]

Pulled the o2 sensor, all power restored! Plugged in buddys code reader and got the following. PO113- AIT SENSOR, PO122-TPS, AND 2 the For the CPS. CPS AND TPS im sure are bc of how i diagnosed them.

[danopontiac1]

Seems like i had a same problem before,same thing cleaned out my throttle body,and intake,it wouldn't start I had to hold my foot all the way down to get it started.And now every once in awhile in idles funny hesitates,EGR Valve was the suspect and the port gets plugged from carbon build up,but now that is now operating correctly the cat smells like sulfar so seems like that probably is not functioning right,plugged needs to be replaced.