I have a 94 pickup with a 3.0. I locked my keys in it and also left the ignition on. Major grey moment. The ignition was on all night. Now it will turn over but won't start. It tries to start. It has 38psi fuel pressure at the rail and spark at the distributor and plugs. Following the factory service manual I checked the distributor, coil, Vafm, efi & circuit opening relays. All these have checked out okay. There are no codes stored, but this was after I disconnected the battery ground. I thought it might need reset. I'm at a lose. Any ideas will be appreciated.
Thank you
Jim

 

If you pull a plug, is it wet? (suggests no spark). If dry, you might not have the injectors opening. They produce an audible click; you can get a fancy mechanic's stethoscope, or use the core of a roll of paper towels.

You can also try a tiny spritz of engine starting fluid; if it runs then dies it's a fuel problem.

 

I tried starting fluid, it made no difference. Also the fuses are fine. I didn't notice if the plugs are wet. I will check.

 

Dose the battery have enough juice to turn the motor fast enough?

 

If starting fluid does nothing, you probably have no spark. Put the inductive pickup of your timing light on each plug wire; see if the timing light flashes. If not, back up to the coil wire.

(You can check for spark "old-school" by holding a plug against the block, but if your hand shakes you can get a helluva shock.)

 

Recharge the battery.

 

I've been charging the battery as I keep trying to start it. It seems like it's spinning as fast a normal. I checked the spark the old school method, at the distributor and by pulling a plug. I had a yellow spark at both places.

 

plugs are dry. Spark checked out good with timing light.

 

While cranking the engine over. Pump the throttle from Wide open throttle to closed several times till the engine starts.

Leaving the ignition on my have caused multiple sensors/actuators to be in a stand-by state so to speak. Performing the above should "wake-up" the engine.

Possible excessive fuel present in intake/engine.

Fuses...?

 

I tried pumping the throttle while cranking the engine over. It sputtered but wouldn't start. The fuses are good.

 

Hold your foot to the floor while starting, it will start.

 

^--x2

 

I've tried cranking it over with the throttle floored. It sputters and weakly tries to start but won't start. I've tried this about 7 or 8 times. I crank till the battery starts fading. Is there another way to reset the system? I've disconnected the battery ground, but it made no difference. Thanks.

 

The plugs are wet, but I have spark also. I sprayed starting fluid into the cylinder and there was no difference. Is it possible that the spark is too weak to fire?

 

Maybe completely out of happenstance, your belt jumped a tooth or three? This is a head scratcher.

edit: do you have any kind of alarm immobilizer?

edit: nevermind, you have spark.

 

Okay, what's the timing set to? (Just having spark won't do you much good if you have it at the wrong time.)

Have you checked the compression?

 

Wet plugs.

-Fuel..?
-This is more than likely the no start condition. "Flooded."

You can clean and dry the plugs and re-install but your still going to need to force the engine to start. "Clearing it out." So speak, from the fuel residue from overnight "Key-ON."

 

My guess is you either burned up the igniter or ignition coil.

There's a 'power' (IGBT) transistor in the igniter module which switches the coil off and on. It can handle normal operation, but if current is allowed to pass through it for too long, it will degrade- key should never be left on for more than 10 minutes or so without the engine running.

Similar for the coil- if left energized for long periods of time, it will degrade and may short out coils within it causing weak spark.

 

Fantastic posting that's what I was thinking if his engine still will not operate after multiple attempts "clearing."

 

Thank you, Kiroshu.

The coil is connected to B+ and the igniter closes and opens the coil's ground.

The "yellow" spark mentioned earlier is a sign the voltage across the coil is not correct. It should be a nice blue-white spark. So if the battery is fully charged, the only other culprits possible are the coil itself is damaged or the igniter module isn't passing enough current.

Autoshop 101.