Daughter has 1991 240sx, called from college and said car wouldn't start. She said it turns over but just won't fire, and yes it has gas in the tank. Any ideas what it might be, any known parts that might fail with 118,000 miles on it. Headed up there to see what I can find . Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

umm could be a lot of things without any more info. but id start with the basic stuff:

ignition (plugs, wires, distributor, ignition coil)

fuel (is it reaching the injectors? the injectors themsleves, fuel pump)

oil level (its a girl.. not be sexist but ive came across the stereotype and ones who'd put most other guys to shame)

battery (acid corrosion, grounding, does it need a charge?)

 

my friend had a 2001 honda accord brand new off the lot, never changed the oil till one day, "albert, can you help me change the oil, the light just came on" and keep in mind, this is 2 1/2 years after she bought the car -_-"

turns out she had about 6 drops of oil left in the engine =P

i remind her to change the oil whenever i change mine, which is around 2-3 months

but damn, those honda motors are bulletproof lol

 

yes, definately check the oil. these S13 burn a lot of oil and i had a friend who could start his because it had no oil.

 

That alot of good info but, oil has nothing to do with starting a car.

 

Thanks for the advise, battery fine, she say's engine turns over just won't fire. I'm thinking fuel pump or coil, I'll find out on Friday when I get look at it.

 

test each system independantly

take the spark plug wire off, and stick a screw driver in there, and put it near a chassis ground, see if it sparks, if it sparks, you're good there, if not, check the wires, cap, rotor, coil

get some starting fluid, and open up the intake box, unload about half a can into the air filter and try to start the motor, the starting fluid acts as gasoline going through the combustion chamber, and while someone is cranking, keep spraying it on the air filter

good luck

 

having the same problem got the starter coil replaced along with the alternator, she purrs like a kitten now but at a little less than a g it better =(

 

Thanks again for the toubleshooting tips, I have the shop manual that the guy had, that I bought it from. Hopefully I can at least pinpoint the problem.

 

Well, here's the skinny, checked electrical, all fuses good, pulled plug wire and installed spare plug to see if I'm getting spark, seems to be sparking ok. Next, pinched the fuel line that comes from fuel filter to injectors, cranked engine, line pulses when I hit starter, not sure thats normal? Couldn't really work on it in a parking lot so had it towed to repair facility. Really bugs me on what it mught be. I'll post whays wrong so it might help someone in the future. Later dudes.

 

Sorry for the delay, forgot about getting back. Well here it is, first car I've ever owned that wouldn't start due to fouled plugs. That's all it was, my daughter admitted that she was using 87 octane instead of Premium. Might have something to do with plugs fouling. Hope this helps others.