when it doesnt start, do you at least hear the starter motor relay click or the starter try to turn the engine over?

 

yeah, starter's going for sure. its healthy still

 

So starter spins, engine turns over but doesnt catch, have you checked your cold start injector? they can get gummed up over time and will cause difficulty starting the first few times depending on the engine temperature and outside air temperature. Either that or it could be a problem with your IAC valve. the next time it doesnt start, keep cranking it and give it a little throttle yourself and let me know how it goes.

One other idea is that the ECU doesnt like your key and is cutting the spark, but im not sure how exactly the RFID chip in our key works in correspondence with the ECU, and what it does to immobilize the car.

TYLER KASS

 

i tried the throttle thing to no effect. it just doesnt throw any spark. the plugs smell like fuel if i take them out so something is definitely preventing the ecu from firing them.

i thought of using my second key to see if it just wasnt liking my old key, and it didnt make any difference... when i re-keyed my ecu i used my new key just to make sure it got the right codes. i may end up taking it to the dealer and having them use their tools to make sure the right keys are in there.

its gotta be down to:

coils on plugs
ecu
a short in the system somewhere

 

My sentiments exactly, either that or a bad chassis ground. My moneys on the ECU, id say have the dealer rekey the ECU, that way you can complain to them if it keeps not working.

 

had a tech come over. after checking out some signals, nothing was passing through the ecu properly. so sounds like thats it... ill replace it with hopefully some better results

 

believe it or not, replacing the ecu had no effect. im out of ideas. im trying to make an appointment to tow it into a dealer now. this is ridiculous. what else is left?!

can a coilpack prevent startup if its bad?

 

i took it to the dealer today. supposedly they got it running?! no word on how or anything yet. they want to keep it till tomorrow, so we'll see!

i also stuck the ecu i bought on sale

 

We dont have a coilpack per-say since were coil on plug. Weve got an individual one per every cylinder, and unless theyre all out, the car will still start and youll just get a misfire code for the cyl that the coil is bad on. Sorry to hear about the ECU, ive still got my money that its something with the immbilizer hence the dealer being able to fix it. Let us know how it goes.

 

well i got the car back. it runs for now. they said it was a "Ground strap not connected." im not sure how thats possible, as the 3 grounds i know about were connected. i have to get more details.

am i missing one? there is one under the battery, one in the driver side wheel well, and one on the driver side of the engine. am i not informed of another one?

 

interesting...

 

ok. the dealer kind of lied to me.

they didnt really do much. they wiggled a wire. no joke. a wire under my airbox, related to fuel im guessing, has a short in it.

 

rofl figures...that why they are called stealerships.

 

im doing homework now, but afterwards im going to genuinely request a statement of what they did for two days and 130 bucks, outside of wiggle a wire. i quote "man we hooked you up only charging 130. we did a lot."

 

They can talk there way out. They'll claim two hours of searching at 65 an hour.

it sucks...

 

not to speak too soon, but perhaps it was easier than i thought. i called and said i was unhappy about the job done. i felt it was pointless for me to come in and i paid for nothing if the car just shuts off again - especially being told "it's fixed."

they said come in when you can and we'll take care of it. weird. but ill go with it. hopefully they just fix it as they claimed they did.

 

ok, as an update: i went in today for the followup. i talked to some high-up manager there who immediately began a streak of "im that hardass manager" behavior via calling in the tech and literally telling my service manager "shh, dont talk" in front of the tech. i then told him that i was told my car was fixed and sent on my way, that it didnt work the next morning, and i called in to complain and was told to wiggle a wire. i told him this was dishonest and i either wanted it fixed or my money back.

we walk out to my car, i show him the wire. he proceeds to lecture me on how a fix would take time and expenses, to which i agreed. he then moved into how there was nothing wrong with how they handled the issue. that the wire was in fact a secondary problem. I asked what problem was the primary, because the wire IS the problem. he had no answer except to continue ranting about how much time and effort it would take to find the problem. i said "isnt that the point of paying the fee i paid? i asked to find out what's wrong, you didnt tell me, and sent me on my way."

all said and done, he said he wasnt going to refund anything, and that they never said it was fixed. i disagreed. i said they got lucky. he gave me a quote for over 2200 to fix it.

needless to say, im not going to get that done.

 

another update. i think we fixed it. this is going to sound very strange, and very stupid.

so, i took the car over to my friend. we wiggled this wire over and over to duplicate the random shut-offs, trying to see where it was more sensitive. it led up to the fuse box. we look at the fuse box. nothing apparently wrong with it. we take a bit of it apart and put it back together, pressing in the fuses hard. we try to simulate the shut-off again. it does not turn off.

i dont want to speak too soon, but it could be fixed. maybe it was just a fuse or a wire slightly loose? who knows until it turns off again but im fairly confident at the moment.

 

just an update, that re-assembling of the fusebox fixed my car for good.

yes, i spent ~$700 for nothing but wiggling a few wires and messing with my fusebox.