This happen to my neighbors car but I was wondering is it true. We tried to start my neighbors car but all we get was, like a half crank then it stops and everything(interior dash) kinda dims out. Even with a new battery its still the same. If the timing is off a bit, will the engine crank/start?
If its a fresh battery, even if the alt is dead it should start it up. what was done to the car to make the battery die? working on it? been sitting for a while?
Sorry, fail.:biggrin: Can you spin the motor over by hand?? Use a big wrench/breaker bar. With a fresh battery it should spin over. I would guess even on a interference motor that a fresh battery would have the power to bend a valve if it had a run at it. Maybe not if the piston was already in contact with the valve. But would you hear some clanking if the piston was hitting the valve. Russ
what's the history of this car? when was it last running? any engine work between then and now? generally, timing doesn't just get so far off the car doesn't start all by itself
If the timing was off enough to cause that, you'd hear a big CLANG every time it stopped. Sounds like a bad starter motor, maybe. Could be a shorted winding or bad commutator, something to cause the motor to stop producing torque (bypassing a winding and shorting the circuit). That would explain the rapid increase in draw (the dimming lights) and the poor output of the starter (the thing stopping once it makes some compression).
Neighbor car was a Mits Expo(beater). First problem they got was oil got in the plugs and wouldn't start so they got that fix along with new timing belt. It was doing fine for about a year now until the other day it just happen. Car was park for about 2-3 days before it happens. They bought a new battery and it would do the same as the old battery. Engine will spin no more then 3 times(than fewer) and come to a stop. Interior lights still on if you put to the click b4 starting the ignition. When the engine is trying to crank up, the interior dash lights will dim with the rotation of the engine.
the timing was 180 degrees off in my sr20det when I first started it. all it would do was crank and crank and crank
I'm suspicious of the starter. You have given no information that would make me believe the timing belt has slipped. Does it seem like the starter is struggling to spin the engine at all or is it turning "3 times" like normal? Edit: I supposed sitting for 3 days could have caused the belt to sag and gave it enough slack to slip a tooth or two.
This is what I am thinking. I had a problem similar to this, where I would get 1 crank on the motor and the lights would dim. Cleaned up my battery terminals (didnt even look that corroded) and it fired right up. As for the timing that wont affect it turning over. I had the timing off by about 7 teeth on my car once and it started up and ran. It did not run very well (black smoke, loud noises, general choas/death) but it did start up and idle roughly.
^ Actually, I was thinking kenueter valve. They like to stick in the cold. New ones are made of unobtainium, so the issues are taken care of.
