Change Ball Joints Now Car Won't Start

De-marko

De-marko

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Alright as the title says, my car won't start. I put the car on jackstands and pulled the front suspension apart. Had the ball joints changed and my Eibachs installed finally. Put the car down and now the starter is rotating slower then it had. Never messed with anything electrical except pull the wires on the ABS on the hubs. I wouldn't think the starter would be bad since the car has been great before and no signs of a problem. Who knows though with this thing.

The last time I had it on jackstands in July to fix the exhaust the battery totally shot craps so I replaced that...and it's fully charged. Put it on jackstands again and now this. Totally ridiculous!! :mad: Makes me not want to jack the car up anymore. Any ideas?????

junk POS.jpg
 
Perhaps you have discharged your battery too much for it to be able to start your engine?
 
I'd take the battery out, put it on a charger overnight, then take it to get tested the next day. If the battery tests good, I'd start searching for posts about the mystery electrical drain these things seem to have. If you are lucky, yes I mean that, it will be a bad battery.

Of course, it all depends on how long the thing was on jackstands too. If you are talking a month or more, I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as the battery tests good.
 
Kumba said:
Of course, it all depends on how long the thing was on jackstands too. If you are talking a month or more, I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as the battery tests good.
Click to expand...

+1.
how long did it sit?
 
fuel pump reset switch perhaps? just guessing.
 
Well, the car was on the jackstands for about 4 days. I did disconnect the battery and let it sit with the charger about 9 hours and it still cranked the same. I have a two year warranty on the battery, so I took it back in yesterday and switched it out and still no change. When I do crank it for a bit I get the raw gas smell so I know the pump is working. I checked all fuses to the injectors and COPS and all seems well. Maybe it is the starter, it seems a bit slower but fast enough I'd think to cause it to start.
 
This is B.S!! I went ahead and changed the starter because it did sound like it was laboring. Plus, after having it checked before I bought the new one it sounded like a bearing was going out on it. Change the starter and the same thing.....No start and this starter is going as slow as the last.

I cleaned and checked all the battery connections from the back to the starter and alternator. Disconnected the ground cable in the trunk from the body and sanded the mating surfaces, checked the grounds on the back of the engine, everything is secure, no blown fuses. I am at an absolute loss of what it could be. Like I said earlier when I drove it in to work on it everything was fine with no issues. Only thing is when I try to start it it smells like raw fuel, but I see no leaks anywhere.

Is it possible it's flooded????
 
De-marko said:
...

Is it possible it's flooded????
Click to expand...

Yes.
Press the gas pedal all the way to the floor and hold it there. Then try to start it. Keeping the pedal at WOT triggers clear flood mode.

It's possible that your IAC is stuck closed.
 
Thanks Joe, I'll give that a shot tomorrow.

I'm also wondeing if something is dragging the engine down on the crank speed, might take off the belt to see if it speeds up. :confused:
 
id check for shorted wires... have you tried to jump start it. voltage from another running car would let you know if its a battery / connection problem. also look around the jackstands and lift points themselves for any damage whilel lifting.... you can also disconnect starter (reground it) and try starting to see if the starter itself is bogging down.
 
G-RELL said:
id check for shorted wires... have you tried to jump start it. voltage from another running car would let you know if its a battery / connection problem. also look around the jackstands and lift points themselves for any damage whilel lifting.... you can also disconnect starter (reground it) and try starting to see if the starter itself is bogging down.
Click to expand...


No, I haven't tried to jump, but will give it a try too. I actually did look around last night in the places I jacked it up but didn't see anything around those areas, I'll give that a second look. I'm wondering about the shorted wires, because the car acted like this when I had a totally dead battery that wouldn't hold a charge back in July, I'm on my second battery since then. I'm sure it is something so simple or something I overlooked.....but where though LoL.


Thanks for the responses guys...I do appreciate it!!!
 
had the car sat for 4 days ever before you started this project? If you were running everyday, you may have not noticed a slow draw if you were charging everyday...
 
No, I drive it everday. There have been some weeks were I drive my Mustang all week, jump into the LS a week later and it fires right up.
 
check fuses again

fuel pump fuse in trunk and passenger compartment, also check fuel cutoff switch drivers side. listen for fuel pump clicking on when ignition key is turned.
 
Regardless of fuses and shorted wires you still have too much gas coming from somewhere i would go with what Joeger said first.
 
:dancefool Well Thank God, she finally fired up!!!

I put the battery back on the charger again for about a hour, it took a few tries but she puffed her way back to life. Talk about black smoke rolling out when it did fire, I bet the cylinders were loaded with fuel. :p I've never had an issue like this before except on my old carbed Nova.


Thanks again everyone for suggestions and your help....:Beer:yourock:
 
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