Car won't start

[Conor]

Hi all,

The wife's car won't start - the starter motor is turning over but the engine is not starting. I think the battery is OK but I am charging it up just in case.

I checked the oil level and it's at the bottom of the dip stick - the nobbly bit.
The colour is a bit dark (I'm a biker myself so I'm used to well clear oil in my R6 and Fireblade).

She says the engine management light has been on for a while, and was going to drop it in to the service place the next time she was at home in her parents.

How hard is it to change the spark plugs and the oil?
Any how-to's on this site?

I'm not very mechanical, but I've serviced the R6 a few times, as well as other bikes, so this should be doable.

The engine management came on a couple of months ago, and the issue was down to the brake disks, once they were replaced it went away.

The car has 127,000 miles on it....

p.s.: how long does a "normal" charge take on a car battery? I have one of those halfords 1300cc car battery chargers. My bikes only take a couple of hours with the bike charger, but no idea about a car battery.

Cheers lads
Conor. :thumbup:

[bigapl]

First off remember every car needs 3 thing fuel, fire, and air check these first.
No restrctions in air box etc. See if theres gas in it and if you car check fuel pressure etc. Then see if it is getting spark usually plugs will be gas fouled if no spark etc. Also try clear flood by floorboarding pedal and cranking 10 to 20 seconds.

[Conor]

-- update

I just changed the plugs and air filter, my God that was dead easy - the same job on the R6 would take hours... this took less than a half hour.

I was looking for the sump nut to drain the oil, but I cannot find it.
Any pointers?

I would prefer to change the oil & oil filter prior to trying to start her up. :thumbsup:

[Conor]

First off remember every car needs 3 thing fuel, fire, and air check these first.
No restrctions in air box etc. See if theres gas in it and if you car check fuel pressure etc. Then see if it is getting spark usually plugs will be gas fouled if no spark etc. Also try clear flood by floorboarding pedal and cranking 10 to 20 seconds.

Cheers mate. I didn't see any issues in the airbox, all fine but the filter was a bit dirty.
This has now been changed out with a spanking new one, so airflow should now be fine.

I don't know how to check fuel pressure, any pointers?
The tank is fully loaded with fuel though, I brimmed it the other day.

After changing the plugs & airfilter it is still not starting up :cry:
It sounds like it will eventualy start though as it is trying to kick in.

I've re-plugged the charger (on fast charge this time since I haven't got all night at this stage - she had a 4 hours charge already on normal)

Regarding the last point, do you mean I put the accellerator to the metal while turning the engine over for 10 - 20 seconds?

[Fazulka]

Regarding the last point, do you mean I put the accellerator to the metal while turning the engine over for 10 - 20 seconds?


I think that is what he means,but don't do this unless the starter is cranking hard and fast from a really well charged battery, if it is going really slow or just making a "clicking" noise and flickering the lights then STOP. Attempting to repeatedly start with a dead battery will damage the starter.

Have you tried adding fuel to the tank from a gas can? Its possible the car is out of gas even if the fuel gauge says its not. Others on here have had the fuel gauge freeze at a certain pain.

If there is fuel, sit in the car, turn the radio and fan off, then put the key to the ON (not start) position. You should hear the fuel pump wirr for a couple seconds.

[Yaris Hilton]

We have a "drive by wire" throttle on the Yaris. If that's what your wife's car is, 1) it didn't flood in the first place, and 2) holding the pedal down while cranking won't open the throttle. The ECU is programmed to a predetermined throttle opening and amount of fuel injected while starting. That was useful advice for older cars with mechanical throttle linkage to a carburetor.

If the car's been showing a "Check Engine" light for a while, it would be useful to know the error code. If you can get it to a car parts store, they'll read it for you, but IMO everyone now ought to buy an inexpensive OBD II code reading device. The original palladium spark plugs are good for 100,000 miles, so the code may have been set off by worn out plugs misfiring. That happened with my daughter's Echo when it got somewhat past 100K miles with the original plugs.

My guess from this great distance is that the battery is still low. Fuel could possibly be contaminated with water.

There is an oil change how-to in this section. I think it's one of the "sticky" posts.

[MadMax]

Get the battery tested, mine went out on the Jeep and it gave no indication other than the engine not catching. It would turn over at about the right speed, and my lights seemed as bright as usual; but when I got it tested they found that it didn't hold enough of a charge to crack the engine. Now, the 1.5L I4 in the Yaris probably takes less juice than the 4.0L I6 in my Wrangler; but I think it is always good to eliminate the battery by having it professionally checked before going on to other things...

Good luck!

Cheers! M2

[Yaris Hilton]

Here's the oil change how-to thread:
http://yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9361

[Conor]

I am invincible! The car has now started, sweet.

I still need to do the oil & filter change, coz I have not yet found any how to's on the forum. Any pointers? I just need to know the basic procedure, like, where the sump nut is, and do I need to do the job in a specific order or anything?

The engine management light is still on, so I'll have to get that analysed.
Anyone know if the software is available somewhere? I know this is unlikely but sure I may as well ask. :)

This was what I did to get it going:

1. Fully charged the battery (in the car, with my halfords 1300cc car charger)
2. Made sure the fuel was really full - but I knew it was as I had only come back from the pump and I had filled it right to the top prior to driving the 2KMs home and parking it. :)
3. Changed the air filter (pic below) with a new one (halfords)
4. changed the Denzo plugs & fitted Bosch FR78 X ones - I checked online and these seemed compatible. pics will ge uploaded as soon as photobucket starts behaving again.
5. Started the car but I had to pump the pedal slightly, and she started fairly easily.

Nice 1. Thanks a lot guys.

I feel like a real man after doing my first servicing on a car :)

Pics of dirty filter, and the replacement.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg269/conorwynne/filters_before_after.jpg

Happy days. :)

[Conor]

Here's the oil change how-to thread:
http://yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9361

Thanks mate. I'll check that out and try and get it done tomorrow.
The missus has her parents car while they are away on a cruise in the caribbean, so I have lots of time to get it sorted.

The wife is well happy and so I may yet get lucky tonight :thumbsup:

Cheers for the heads up on the ECU thingy, I'll see if I can get one locally, otherwise if you have any links to them that would be sweet.

Much appreciated lads. :w00t:

[Yaris Hilton]

Not an ECU, that's the computer that controls your car. An OBD II code reader. Plug that phrase into Google and you'll find thousands. Every car parts store, Wal-Mart, etc. sells them, too. The Wal-Mart reference probably doesn't make sense in ireland, though.

[nemelek]

I've seen worst, however that is a dirty filter.

[cali yaris]

^ +1, and he said it was "a bit" dirty. That's really dirty, I think!

I didn't see any issues in the airbox, all fine but the filter was a bit dirty.

[Conor]

Here are some better pics which show the state of the old parts

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg269/conorwynne/airfilter_clean_side.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg269/conorwynne/airfilter_plugs.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg269/conorwynne/plugs_dirty.jpg

This "OBD II code reading device" sounds great, I definitely want to get one of those.

Q: If the issue was caused by misfiring sparks, does the error have to be cleared for the engine management light to go out? I assume this can be done via the ODB II...?

[MadMax]

The Wal-Mart reference probably doesn't make sense in ireland, though.

Probably doesn't, as far as I know there are no Walmarts in the UK; but there was one in Trier, Germany up until a few years ago (I believe it closed after we left Europe)...

[goku87]

those plugs ain't got nothing on my cav's old spark plugs.

omg those things were so nasty lol.

[Altitude]

Ya, that filter desperately needed changing. The plugs, while definitely worn, don't look shot though. Anyhow glad that you got it started. Let us know what the code reader says. All of us like to be prepared for possible future issues/fixes.

[Conor]

Ya, that filter desperately needed changing. The plugs, while definitely worn, don't look shot though. Anyhow glad that you got it started. Let us know what the code reader says. All of us like to be prepared for possible future issues/fixes.

Will do mate :thumbup:

This is a great forum, really glad I joined it.
I've gone through the oil change thread, and am confident that will be a cinch. :w00t:

[Yaris Hilton]

Those plugs don't look too bad to me. They look like conventional plugs (which generally need changing every 30K miles or so), not like the iridium plugs they come with now. (I think I said palladium before.)

[Conor]

Stupid question:

Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty, so if I am in front of the car I push on the torque wrench from the right hand side of the nut to unscrew it... correct?
The last mechanic was either ham fisted, or didn't bloody well change the oil in ages. I suspect the latter since the colour is very dark on the dip stick.

I think I'm going to have to start hammerring it, as I'm a bit worried about using my massive torque wrench. Like it's massive - I only use it as the rear wheel on my bikes take 65nm, but this yolk is good for 200nm. The minimum setting is 30nm, will that be OK to use?

[Fazulka]

You should use a breaker bar or a pipe over a socket wrench. Using a torque wrench to loosen a stuck bold could damage it (the wrench). The torque setting on the wrench is not what matters. The oil usually does look dark even after a few hundred miles. The last mechanic may have used an air powered tool to put the plug in (but they shouldn't have).

[Yaris Hilton]

Stupid question:

Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty, so if I am in front of the car I push on the torque wrench from the right hand side of the nut to unscrew it... correct?

The drain plug nut is on the underside of the car, pointing up. It's upside down. Looking at the nut, as if you were on your back under the car looking up at it, it tightens turning clockwise and loosens counterclockwise. If you're talking about pushing toward the right side of the nut facing it from the front of the car, you're talking about toward the left side of the car, and you're tightening it. Look at the nut and work out the clockwise/counterclockwise thing before you tear something up.

[Conor]

All done lads, was dead easy in the end. Now to source a good value OBD II.... local shop stocks them, but at €170 I think I'll pass.

If they worked on bikes too I'd buy one, but it turns out there is a different model for the bikes.

[Conor]

The wife left the lights on in the car while in work, so the battery was dead as a dodo.
After jump starting her, the engine management ligt went out -- so I guess you do need to issue a reset with an OBDII after fixing a problem.

I guess it must have been crying for a service eh?