The engine has stopped and will not start. If you don't have a Bugatti or another super-innovative car, let's try to bring the engine back to life.
No matter how much romantics tell that a motor is a living creature, with its own character and habits, no one has succeeded in persuading it to work if it does not start. Alas, soulless iron is indifferent to any arguments, except for iron ones. If you don't have a Bugatti or a similar super-innovative car with an exorbitant price tag, the owner of which is only allowed to dust off the decorative engine cover, let's try to bring it back to life. Otherwise, all hope is only for a mobile phone and a tow truck.
The simplicity of the design and the absence of high technologies in it will only play into our hands. First, let's remember: in order for a gasoline engine to work, the air in its cylinders is compressed quite strongly - this is called compression. The composition of the working mixture of air with fuel and the moment of its ignition from a spark are also important. And for an injection or diesel engine, there is also the moment of fuel injection. If the specified conditions are met, the motor will work, but if there is at least one disorder, all attempts to start the engine are doomed to failure.
A beginner can cope with other problems, but only a few are so lucky. Electronics in a modern car is not so easy to fix on the knee - it can be difficult to diagnose. Hardly anyone carries professional equipment with them, just in case. And under such circumstances, a mobile phone is an irreplaceable thing. However, it is always useful to try to revive the "dead" engine: what if it works out? In any case, experience will be added.
If the engine does not start after two or three attempts and the reason for this is not clear, do not bother turning the starter to the bitter end, when the battery is drained or the starter is burnt out! It happened that gasoline was finally added to an empty tank, and there was nothing to start the engine with … What is the simplest troubleshooting algorithm?
1. Fuses
On cars with an electronic control unit (ECU), we check the fuses in the systems that ensure the operation of the engine. They are often shown on the block covers with a "motor" icon, but they are located in different places. Too lazy to study materiel ahead of time - carry a book with a description of the car with you. However, you should definitely remember where the emergency switch of the network is located in it (in case of fire in case of an accident). If it suddenly works, you will save a lot of time trying to find the reason.
2. Spark plugs
Let's take out one candle. Wet and smells like gasoline - fuel has entered the cylinder! After drying, insert the candle into the tip of the wire or coil, press it against the metal of the engine, turn on the starter for a second. Is there a spark? Apparently, the candle was filled with fuel. After drying the remaining ones, turn on the starter for a few seconds, blow through the cylinders. We keep the throttle fully open - in this case, at low crankshaft speeds, the carburetor does not suck in fuel. Let's wrap up the candles, try to start the engine. Are they flooded again? Probably, there are some disagreements with the needle of the float chamber or its mechanism (see ZR, 2010, No. 6, p. 168). It is more difficult to fill the spark plugs of a heated injection engine - the electronics monitor the order. But with a cold start, it is possible. The purge mode will help here: with a fully open throttle, we turn the engine with a starter - the nozzles are closed.
3. Distributor and others
When there is no spark on the spark plug, for cars with an ignition distributor, check the power supply of the ignition coil and switch (or breaker) with a light bulb. And at the same time - are there any cracks in the distributor cap. There is? Then we make a hole with a diameter of five millimeters in the crack at least with a nail or a knife - the high voltage leak will stop. If the slider is burned out, we clean the charred area and insulate it with ordinary tape or plastic wrap. The resistor of the slider burned out - we restore the conductivity with a wire. By the way, at the end of the compression stroke of the first cylinder (when the mark on the crankshaft pulley coincides with the counter on the engine cover), the slider must "look" at the contact of the first cylinder. If it mows to the side, then, most likely, the distributor drive is damaged. What do experienced drivers do in such cases? For example, a thin sheet is placed under the worn slots and, having adjusted the position, the motor is started.
On machines with an ECU, we inspect the connectors and wires. It is possible that water has entered the ECU connector and the unit. Then turn off the "minus" of the battery and, by disconnecting the ECU connector, dry it. We disassemble the body of the ECU block, wipe it, dry it. We check the condition of the connector that supplies power to the ignition module.
4. Compression
If the candles are in order, there is a spark, fuel is supplied, and the engine does not work, check the compression. It will be appreciated by wooden corks stuck in instead of candles. Let's turn on the starter. Knocked out - there is compression. But if it is not there, we inspect the timing belt: if it is not torn, but only part of the teeth are lost, we will cut the belt lengthwise, shift one ring relative to the other, so that in any area it will be at least half a tooth, put it on the pulleys, set it according to the phase marks … Proven by experience - you can go for a while. Others managed to briefly increase the compression that suddenly disappeared by pouring ten grams of oil through the spark plug holes into the cylinders - this is enough for an emergency start of the engine, but it is no longer possible to pull with replacing the rings. And if the oil did not help, then the valves are "leaky". With such a defect, as with a torn belt, the engine will no longer be started.
5. Fuel tank
The fuel gauge often lies. The safest thing is to fill the tank with five liters of gasoline! Check ventilation. If a strong air noise is heard when opening the plug, its valve is faulty. There is no valve on cars with an adsorber, but a faint sound is possible. With a high vacuum in the tank, the fuel is supplied intermittently, the tank is wrinkled. We do not trust a faulty plug - let it "breathe"!
6. Carburetor and around …
Let's take a look at the carburetor diffusers. If a trickle of gasoline splashes from the nozzle of the accelerating pump when the throttle is opened, there is fuel in the carburetor. Does not splash - check the line from the needle valve of the float to the tank, blow it through, inspect the filter, the fuel pump. We change the dirty filter or temporarily do without it. The gasoline pump can be sorted out or replaced. In general, owners of old cars rarely need our tips when it comes to carburetor.
7. Fuel rail
The working pressure in the fuel rail of gasoline engines is about 3 atm. But how can you check? When the engine has cooled down, remove the cap from the valve on the ramp and gently push down on the spool. It splashed well - the pump was pumping properly. No pressure? Let's listen if the pump buzzes when turned on. (Note that after three starts, if the crankshaft does not turn, the pump will be turned off!) If it does not buzz, check the voltage at the fuel pump connector with a light bulb at the moment the ignition is turned on. If the light bulb flashes for a moment, the power supply circuit of the fuel pump is working properly, and the trick is in it. Alas, even experienced people have not yet learned how to drive with an inoperative injection pump. Where is our cell phone ?!
8. Crankshaft position sensor
With a faulty crankshaft position sensor, the engine is guaranteed to stop. If the candles are dry, and the pump is running, the sensor may be faulty: it does not give a signal to the computer. Those who drive domestic cars should carry this most important sensor with them in reserve. But you cannot advise the owners of some foreign cars: it is very expensive, and besides, it is difficult to replace it in an open field.
9. Air path
An air filter clogged with dust interferes with the proper operation of the engine, and if it is also wet, it will make it impossible. But it is much worse if the engine takes a sip of water and receives a water hammer. Well, if it stalled only due to the fact that the path of the air was blocked by a random rag - consider it lucky!
10. Exhaust system
If, when the car is moving in reverse, the end of the exhaust pipe fell into viscous mud, then a modern engine with a sealed exhaust system simply will not start. At least until you clear the pipe. The neutralizer is melted - the same picture. By the way, in these cases, you can unscrew the oxygen sensor in front of the neutralizer, and the motor will start working.
11. Starter
If it fails, the car can be started from a tug or a slide from a hill, as long as a drop of energy remains in the battery for the operation of the ECU and its subsystems. It happened that the car was started after hanging one of the driving wheels and, having switched on the gear, spun the engine with a rope wound around the wheel. On front-wheel drive vehicles, this trick is easier - the wheel can be turned to the side.
12. Battery
The battery is low, the lights are off? If this happened this minute, you can disconnect the battery from the "mass" for a while - let it rest, cheer up. You see, it will be possible to start the engine from the pusher, slide down the hill, etc. By the way, the initial electricity for exciting the generator can also be obtained from small batteries from various flashlights, receivers, etc.
13. Car alarm
It happens that you yourself get caught in a trap set for an intruder. Example: the car was disarmed, but the engine will not start. Sometimes an absurd trick is useful: we put on protection again … and start the engine! If it doesn't help, let's remember where the central unit of the system is hidden, and disconnect the large pads from it. We do the rest as in a car without the "secret police".
