C4 not starting
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,537
Likes: 178
From: NE Ohio
2024 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,649
Likes: 863
So ... You now have fuel pressure, and the timing light is indicating that you have spark at each plug wire while cranking, and the car is still not starting or even trying to start - is that correct ???
If it were me I would do two things:
1) Pull a spark plug wire at the spark plug, and connect any old spark plug to the wire. Hold the threaded end of the plug against something in the engine compartment that's well grounded - and have someone crank the engine over while you look for the spark to jump the plug gap. Make sure that the spark looks fairly robust. (The timing light test is fast - but the inductive pick-up on the light will pick up pretty much anything - you don't know if the Ignition system is putting out a decent amount of spark energy unless you actually look at the spark as it jumps a plug gap.) {See whaleman's post #2}
2) You want to verify that the fuel injectors are actually firing, and that fuel is being squirted into the engine. I'm assuming that you have a Tuned Port Injected engine with 8 Individual fuel Injectors. You want to go to a good auto parts store and get a set of "noid lights" (or order them on-line). You take the connector off a fuel injector and hook the wire to the "noid light" crank the engine over, and the light will flash when the computer tells the injector to open.
You might want to pull one of the easier to get at new plugs out and see if you can smell ANY gasoline on the plug. If the fuel injectors are injecting fuel - and the engine isn't running - you should be able to smell some fuel on the plugs. Conversely - you could get a can of Engine Starting Fluid, spray the 1 second burst into the air intake (throttle body) and give the engine a crank - if you have spark - the engine should at least try to start - if not run for a couple of seconds.
If it were me I would do two things:
1) Pull a spark plug wire at the spark plug, and connect any old spark plug to the wire. Hold the threaded end of the plug against something in the engine compartment that's well grounded - and have someone crank the engine over while you look for the spark to jump the plug gap. Make sure that the spark looks fairly robust. (The timing light test is fast - but the inductive pick-up on the light will pick up pretty much anything - you don't know if the Ignition system is putting out a decent amount of spark energy unless you actually look at the spark as it jumps a plug gap.) {See whaleman's post #2}
2) You want to verify that the fuel injectors are actually firing, and that fuel is being squirted into the engine. I'm assuming that you have a Tuned Port Injected engine with 8 Individual fuel Injectors. You want to go to a good auto parts store and get a set of "noid lights" (or order them on-line). You take the connector off a fuel injector and hook the wire to the "noid light" crank the engine over, and the light will flash when the computer tells the injector to open.
You might want to pull one of the easier to get at new plugs out and see if you can smell ANY gasoline on the plug. If the fuel injectors are injecting fuel - and the engine isn't running - you should be able to smell some fuel on the plugs. Conversely - you could get a can of Engine Starting Fluid, spray the 1 second burst into the air intake (throttle body) and give the engine a crank - if you have spark - the engine should at least try to start - if not run for a couple of seconds.
