James Taylor

My son drove his 2003 Cavalier home from work and parked it. It sat for a week and a half over the Holidays and the battery discharged. Tried to jump start, the engine would crank but no start. We bought a new battery, charged it, engine cranks normal but no start. We replaced the plugs (old ones were missing some of the center electrode ). Crank no start. Since then we have tested the ignition module with a test lamp and both transistors operating, pulled coil pack and see roughly .5ohms across the primary windings of both coils. We have visible spark on the plugs. Checked fuel pressure at rail valve 52psi. I have put a noid light on the injectors and they are pulsing ok. Used a compression tester and I have roughly 90-100 across all cylinders (car has 214k miles on it). If I spray starting fluid in the intake it will NOT start . Now i do see some fuel coming out of the Fuel pressure regulator vac line going to the intake plenum and we put copper plugs in it instead of Iridium. What the heck am I missing here! why wont this car start? Will a FPR cause a no start condition even with good FP at the rail valve?

chevy55

sounds like your fuel pressure regulator diafram is ruptured. it shouldn,t prevent it from firing.compression sounds low ,could be from too much fuel in the cylinders and is washing down the oil film on the cylinders.try adding some motor oil in the cylinders and see if that fires the engine up.i had that happen on a dodge neon i had replaced the head gasket and used brake kleen to clean the block , i had washed away some of the oil.i put engine oil in all cylinders and it fired up.

James Taylor

Thanks Chevy55, I will give that a try this week. I am also going to get a code reader and see what the ECM has stored. BTW I did replace the FPR this weekend and put
the iridium plugs in it. When I cranked it over it acted as if it was going to start just a quick stumble then nothing but cranking again. I really appreciate the help here!

James Taylor

Ok out of ideas. I put oil in all 4 cylinders (couple ounces each) pulled fuel pump relay and plugs, cranked engine with shop towel over spark plug holes to catch oil. Put plugs back in crank no start. I bought a OBD2 diag scan tool at harbor freight and pulled the 1 and only P0XXX code that has been in the car for a long time and it was emissions related.

chevy55

emision code won,t keep it from starting.is that got the 2.2 ecotec engine.the scan tool you have,can you check engine data.if so go to the egine data screen and with the key on engine off.check your coolant temp sensor,map sensor and air intake temp.your map sensor should show 4.5-5.0 volts key on engine off.i have come across a bad map sensor on a ecotec engine which had a similar problem.it had spark and fuel also and no codes.with your engine cold,your coolant temp sensor and air intake temp sensor should be very close in temp and voltage.another trick you can try is pull the connector from the coolant temp sensor at the thermostat housing and see if it allows your car to start.by doing that it will put the car in limp mode .if you look at your scan tool when you do that you will see your coolant temp go to -40.try those things and see what you come up with.hope this helps.

James Taylor

Here is the live data output

Live Data
Numbers of DTCs 0
Fuel system 1 statusOL
Fuel System 2 status--
Calculated Load Value(%)100.0
Engine Coolant Temperature(¡£F)41
Short Term Fuel Trim -Bank 1(%)0.0
Long Term Fuel Trim - Bank 1(%)-7.8
Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure(psi)14.2
Engine RPM(rpm) 0
Vehicle Speed Sensor(mph)0
Ignition Timing Advanece for #1 Cylinder(¡£)6.0
Intake Air Temperature(¡£F)41
Absolute Throttle Position(%)0.0
Location of Oxygen SensorsB1S12--B2S----
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 1(V)0.450
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 1(%)0.0
Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage Bank 1-Sensor 2(V)0.000
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-Sensor 2(%)N/A
OBD requirements to which vehicle is designedOBDII
Distance Travelled While MIL is Activated(miles)0

James Taylor

Map voltage 5.02vdc

chevy55

Map voltage looks high,should be 4.5-4.89 which is normal range with the key on engine off.try cranking the engine over with the data screen up.watch your map voltage see if it changes.if it doesn't your map is stuck.like i said i had one doing the same as yours and it had everything,but wouldnt start.replaced map and it started.all the other data looks normal.