QuestionQUESTION: My car has been sitting idle in my garage for about 3 months. I replaced all the brake lines and now the car won't start. I have determined that I am not getting any spark from the spark plugs...why?
ANSWER: Hi Connie,
What is the year, make, model, engine size in the car? Did the car run after the 3 month sit, or did it not run at all? Did you replace the brake lines yourself after the three month shut down, or before? I don't see anything about brake line replacement that would impact the spark or any other engine function. But do tell me about the specifics of the vehicle as there are some on-board diagnostics that may shed some light on the question. A more complete chronology of the recent events would be helpful to me.
Roland
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QUESTION: It is a 1995 Chrysler Intrepid, 3.3L. The car ran fine before we put it up on stands to change all the brake lines, but went to start it up yesterday for the first time and would not start at all. It is getting juice from the battery, I checked the spark plugs and don't see that it is getting any spark. I checked the the ignition coil pack and the manual that I have (Haynes) says that if it does not fall within specs to replace it. There specks for primary resistance are 0.45 to 0.65 ohms, mine come in at 00.8. Do I need to change these....sorry really new at this.
AnswerHi Connie,
Take advantage of the self-diagnositic capability of the engine control system using your ignition key, before throwing any parts at the problem.
Use the ignition key turning it: "on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the check engine light, which remains 'on', to see it begin to flash, pause, flash, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause. Then repeat to assure an accurate set of counts. The last two sets will always be 5 in each. Then combine the counts in the order of appearance to form the two digit fault codes. The last number is thus 55, always, which is the code for 'end or readout'. The other numbers may be a clue as to why the engine won't start and has no spark. Write back and tell me what they are and we can go from there, or go to www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html for a code list. The code you get needs to 'fleshed-out' with specific details for your engine, which I can do.
Roland
