1998 Pontiac Sunfire CAR WONT START

BROKESUNFIRE

MEMBER
1998 PONTIAC SUNFIRE
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
158,000 MILES

I went out one morning to my car. That would not start. I checked all the obvious, but when I crank the car it cranks but wont start there is a buzzing sound coming from under the hood which I found out to be the fuel pump relay so I replaced that and it still wont start it has about half a tank of gas and I even tried spraying starting fluid into the intake but still wont start. But while cranking the car puffs out exhaust, what do you think could be wrong

1 Reply

LEGITIMATE007

MECHANIC
5,121 POSTS

For an engine to run, you need three things to happen inside the engine, compression, fuel and ignition, without any one of these components the engine will not run.
� Compression - Engine compression caused by crankshaft rotation and pistons moving up and down inside the engine block. If the timing belt or timing chain fails it will cause the camshaft to become out of correlation with the crankshaft or allow the camshaft to stop rotating. Either of these conditions will cause the engine to lose compression and sometimes cause internal engine damage.

� Fuel Delivery System - The fuel system includes: fuel pump, fuel injectors, pressure regulator, fuel filter and pressure lines. This system is used to supply fuel under pressure to the fuel injection system, the lack of fuel pressure or volume will cause the fuel delivery system to fail and the engine to stall or not start.

� Ignition Spark Delivery System - The ignition system components include: spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor (if applicable), crankshaft angle sensor, camshaft angle sensor, ignition coil, ignition module, knock sensor and ECM (engine control module). The engine relies on the ignition spark to be delivered to the combustion camber at the correct time. If the ignition spark stops or is delivered at the wrong time the engine will not run or run poorly.