Sitting in the 740 yesterday typing an email on my BB and the car quit. No unusual noises or missing; just stopped running. Cranked it...no start. Matt came and boosted me and we managed to get it started a few times. The first time it started it ran like nothing ever went wrong. Then it died for no reason. We got it re-started but then it wouldn't idle, it would only run if we kept the revs over 2k. Then it died and we couldn't get it to fire again. Between Matt and I we've spent 3 or 4 hours on it now trying to figure out why it won't start. We have fuel; the pumps cycle when the key is turned on. We have spark and injectors are clicking. We have compression. The timing belt has not slipped. No codes so the computer is not picking anything up. We've got good vacuum at the intercooler intake so one would think there are no vacuum leaks. There is enough fuel that you can smell it after cranking for a few seconds. One would think it would at least make an attempt to fire but no hint whatsoever. The computer has been swapped for another lh2.4 computer and it made no difference.

Here's what I'm up against. I'm supposed to be going to Lethbridge this weekend (tomorrow night actually) to take Craig his rear Wilwood parts and to touch up a few spots on the car before we head to Portland in 2 weeks. Panic is setting in...

Help?

Crank sensor? Sometime they take a very long time to throw a code?

Is spark constant or intermittent? (spark during cranking but not when running)
Radio suppresion relay, ground, does the 2.4 use a Hall effects in distributor, ground (again), fuel pump relay (runs during crank but stops on run, common on cars to use different curcuit for crank vs run modes) ignition switch.

I will keep thinking

Pull the fuel rail/injectors, disconnect the coil and see what the injectors are actually doing.

Failed crank sensor will not produce spark or injector activity so we've ruled that out. When the engine first went in the car the crank sensor wasn't aligned properly. There was no fuel or spark.

Rail was pulled, grounds hooked back up and cranked. There is fuel coming out but it's tough to tell how much and I have no idea how much should come out when it's cranking.

2.4 uses a crank position sensor, not a Hall sensor in the dizzy. The spark seems to be consistent when cranking. If it would even try to start I could understand a cranking/running issue. It won't even attempt to run

What is totally baffling to me is nothing was amiss prior to this happening. The car hasn't missed a beat in forever. It was idling as usual when it died. When we did get it restarted, it ran fine again. No misfires. no misses. When it died it did spin backwards once or twice.

compression test and timing, did the belt skip a couple of teeth?

TDC at cam and crank line up so no skippy toothy. Cranking sounds just like normal and there is plenty of vacuum at the intercooler inlet so there is a reasonable amount of compression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3DqKYjCnW4

Pretty good little vid actually. Should shoot out about a foot.

I'm going to Lethbridge on Saturday to play with their symphony. No suggestions for your no-start that haven't been covered, but I could take some parts down.

Sounds similar to the Valdez when I first got it. Can't offer much other than to take off the RSR and jumper the plug to rule it out for sure.

Weak spark/bad coil?

Bad FPR causing over/under fuelling?

Matt and I just spent another 2 hours on this crazy thing. RSR has been swapped, jumpered, swapped again, unhooked, re-hooked and jumpered again. No change. Injectors wouldn't be firing if the RSR was not working. Pulled the rail again and with someone else cranking watched the injector spray patterns. Everything looks normal and lots of fuel coming out. Pulled the plugs and dried everything off. Pulled the CPS and swapped it for another one I had. Checked spark timing with a timing gun and it's firing at the right time and is firing on all 4. Checked the FPR and it's working properly. Pulled the return line off the rail and hooked up a hose to dump into a jerry can. Loads of fuel flow and you can feel the injectors pulsing in the hose so that seems to be normal. Spark at the coil seems strong. I've got a big yellow Accel super coil or whatever you call it. Tried that last night.

I can't figure out how it can NOT fire when there is fuel, spark and compression. There isn't something that can stop it at that point other than spark timing and we've verified that's good. I'm stumped. Matt's stumped.

Only thing left to do is verify all the hardware.

That's an olde schoole solid pulley on there right? Not later style harmonic separating balancer? Use the chopstick in the spark plug hole to confirm TDC, check the cam, make sure it hasn't sheared the pin or something. Eyeballing the lobe position ain't enough at this point.

wild assed guess: are the plugs fouled? everything may be fine and now it might just be being a PITA to you because of that.

Ya, how did you clean them up? When the O2 sensor went on my dads car and started fouling the plugs, I couldn't clean them up adequatley with whatever spray cleaner and rags I was using, the car still wouldn't start even though they looked dry. I had to put different, non-fouled plugs in.

really grasping at straws, because you say you've seen spark at the plugs (or was it just off the leads?)