Help! 328 Won't Start!!

Hello guys. I went out this morning and my car won't start. It doesn't seem to be battery related as all of the other electrical functions are working fine (i.e. windows, lights, climate control, etc.) When I turn the key I simply hear a humming sound but the engine doesn't crank at all. Is my starter bad? If this is the case, would a starter just go bad all at once or show signs of weakening beforehand? In the last few weeks I've noticed that when starting the car, the engine would start cranking and then almost seem like it's not got enough juice to start. Then it would regain the strength and fire up. Once the engine was running it would start easily for the rest of the day but after a nights rest it would seem weak again. Today is the first day that it wouldn't even crank though.

Is there anything that I can check or do to figure out what the problem is? Thanks in advance!

 

Does it sound like a machine gun rattling noise (my best description for a common sound) or does it just go click?

a. If it's the rattling noise probably a low battery, try jump starting with cables.
b. If it just goes tick, carefully tap the BODY of the starter and solenoid with a small hammer to free up possible sticking brushes/bad solenoid contacts.

If a. works, look for a possible current draw draining your battery, low charging voltage or a tired battery.

If b. works, have the starter motor serviced.

If neither works get a voltmeter out and start looking for voltage drop across battery leads or possibly ground straps. A broken Ground lead can give all the same symptoms.

Hope that helps!

 

It's not clicking or ticking. Just a sort of humming noise.

 

Do you have a volt-meter or multimeter? With some readings we could do a little better diagnoisis.

 

I SUGGEST POSSIBLE FUEL PUMP PROBLEM

GUS, ILL CALL YOU

 

How do you come up with a possible fuel pump problem when the car won't turn over?

 

JUST SPOKE TO HIM A FEW MINUTES AGO, AND HE TOLD ME IT JUST ABOUT CLOSE TO STARTING

WHICH WOULD ELIMINATE THE BATTERY, STARTER, ALTERNATOR/SOLINOID


MAYBE HES NOT GETTING ENOUGH GAS?? HE SAID HIS GARAGE REAKED OF GAS..

YOUR SUGGESTION???

 

ok, I'm confused. Does the car crank (turn over) or not?

Now it sounds like it's flooded?

 

The car cranks but is dying. The battery needs to be checked and probably replaced. We are checking the coils now.

Stay tuned.

DL

 

if its not cranking and just humming, its sounds like the bendix is frozen [stuck]

 

GET A HAMMER....................

 

.....add

We are also going to have him tap on the fuel accumulator.

DL

 

exactly what bruce said, try tapping the starter with a hammer [ dont slam ], tap........

 

Gus,
Clean the battery terminals and then hook up a charger on START mode and try to start it. If still weakly cranking and not starting, check the battery with a load tester.....may need a new battery. Go buy one. YA CHEAP BASTARD !!!!! Hey Bruce, get out of my reply!


Tom

 

Quick starter tests: Turn on the headlights, then turn the key -- if the lights go dim, you're pulling power from the battery, if not, then no juice is reaching the starter motor.

In the latter case, check the voltage at the starter solenoid and motor. The starter solenoid is mounted on the starter itself, and is a big honkin' relay to switch the starter motor on. The fat red battery lead runs to the starter solenoid, and a smaller cable (white) enables the solenoid to switch power to the starter. (A smaller cable runs from the battery to the relay board.)

My wiring diagram shows a battery hot lead disconnect, like the ground disconnect, somewhere between the battery and the starter motor. The one by the driver's headlight is the ground disconnect, and that one shows on the spare parts catalog. The hot lead interrupt connector doesn't show on the parts catalog, and I have no idea where it might be located.

Alas, on a 328, the starter motor (and solenoid) is on the "rear" (driver's side) of the engine on the side facing the firewall. (The good news is that the US model doesn't have the shield plate bolted over it.) You'll probably have to go through the left rear wheel well to get to it.

If your motor is pulling power but not turning, either the motor has gone weak, or you have some kind of mechanical or compression issue keeping the engine itself from turning. (Maybe try neutral, in case the clutch isn't disengaging, or pull the plugs to see if the engine will turn without compression.)

edit: I gotta start typing faster (and taking less time to check the books) -- you "I-M" guys are taking the fun out of a written forum.

 

this may sound really silly, but what if he trys push starting, if it starts it would eliminate any compression issues that may be their??

 

Alas, on a 328, push starting may not work. You need to get the fuel pump running. That takes either a hot lead from the key switch in "start" ("AVV"), or air flowing enough to depress the CIS plate -- you'd need a big hill or an NFL linesman. (And NJ doesn't have much in the way of hills.)

Aside: in Haddonfield, if you go by Mountwell Av, check if #236 still has the concrete drive my father and I installed way back when -- and if it still has the rubber marks laid down by our old 55 Chevy BelAire dragster.

 

Just replace the flux capacitor.

I still dont know if this car is cranking, not cranking, cranking slowly, trying to fire, seeming flooded or what?

 

Okay, here's the update.

After initially not cranking at all the engine started to crank over but wouldn't fire. A few times while the key was turned, the cranking speed seemed to spike but not enough to start the car. After trying to start the car a few times the power seemed to be getting lower and lower and I could see the dash lights dimming everytime I turned the key. Now there is barely enough juice to get anything to happen. Bad battery? Would a jumpstart work if the battery is bad?

 

Gussy - Sorry to hear of your woes bro! Check the fuel pump relays and fuses. Had a similar problem with my TR back in June. Went to start her up, and she cranked but wouldn't turn over. Eventually after about 20+ minutes of on and off cranking, she turned over, but was only running on 6 cyls (I think). Engine was thrashing about wildly in the engine bay. I let her run like that for a few minutes and then the idle smoothed out and she was good to go... Eventual diagnosis was bad fuel pump relay and dirty contacts.

 

Electrical fault finding is a methodical process of elimination. Don't try stabbing in the dark at maybe this or maybe that.

Firstly it sounds like you battery is low. Ideally a known good battery in the car is needed to move onto the next step.
If you don't have another battery you could try jumping it, but run the donor vehicle for 15 minutes or so at about 2000 rpm to help charge up your battery first. The problem with jumping is even though you have plenty of current supply, you may still have low voltage. This makes the car crank slower and it may not be able to supply a strong enough spark to fire a wet fouled plug.

This is why it's important to be methodical in fault finding. Cranking on a low battery for a while may have flooded the car, creating what appears to be another issue. I have seen this many times.

Again, some voltage readings would go a long way into diagnosing the problem. Radio shack sell basic multimeters for about $20 and they are always handy to have, especially if you own a Ferrari.

Also, how long has the car been sitting since last driven?

 

I drove the car for about 100 miles last Tuesday and I drive it at least once a week.

 

I'll bet you haven't left yet!

DL

 

I just looked through the service records and it looks like the last new battery was installed in November 1998. It's an Interstate 60 Month battery and it has been well over 60 months. Is it possible that it would continue to work for this much longer? Also, if the battery is indeed the only problem, wouldn't I hear some clicking noises?

 

You'd hear clicking noises if something was wrong with the starter... Such as the bendix getting stuck engaged last time you started the car... Which would result in a "click" next time you go to start the car.