93 st185 resurrection

Rad

Member
I left her parked for at least a year. She started around 4 months ago, drove her around the block a few times, and now, she will crank but won't start. I put a new battery but don't know where to start with diagnostics. There are no check engine lights. Thanks in advance..
 

Rad

Member
fuel, yes...
spark? How would I check? I apologize but my car knowledge is rudimentary at best. How do I remove the intercooler?
 

FC Zach

Active member
Remove pump relay/fuse, pull any plug wire (at plug end), place grounded plug in end, and have someone crank motor while you check for spark.

I'm no help with the OE intercooler, I have a front mount.

Edit: I recommend pulling a plug from the motor as opposed to using a spare plug to check for spark. This way you can visually check the condition of the plug and see if it appears wet with unburned fuel.
 

audiodjmp77

New member
With regards to the top mount, there are 4 bolts iirc (2 at the front, 2 at the back), that remove the plastic covering. Under there, there are 3 bolts (1 at the front, 1 by the alternator and 1 by the intake) and after them, loosen the pipework and the top mount should come out

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
 

underscore

Well-known member
FC Zach":1zm1txlt said:
Edit: I recommend pulling a plug from the motor as opposed to using a spare plug to check for spark. This way you can visually check the condition of the plug and see if it appears wet with unburned fuel.

I'd suggest the opposite, at least initially. Use a spare plug and wire to check for spark, if the spare has spark then take the intercooler off and check the actual plugs. But if the spare doesn't have spark then you've got other problems and you can save the intercooler removal for the time being.
 

Rad

Member
I will have some time to check this weekend weather permitting. So...I don't need to remove it? How exactly would I check for spark without removing the intercooler? Thanks
 

alltracman78

Active member
You don't have to take anything apart. IMO the easiest way is to get a timing light [you should have one anyways for these engines], hook it up to the battery, clip around any spark plug wire [to check timing you need to hook around the number 1 wire but to check for spark you can hook to any spark plug wire] and pull the trigger. As a side note, that's also a great way to check for ignition misfire on a particular cylinder.
If you have spark the light will flash. If not, it won't flash.

Another quick and dirty way to check is with starting fluid. You can pop off the air filter cover and spray a good amount into the intake, then reattach the cover. It will take at least a few seconds of cranking to get the starting fluid from the filter cover through the AFM, turbo, intercooler and throttle body, so make sure you keep cranking off and on for a few minutes. Or if you're good with the can you can take off the brake booster hose and spray directly into the intake manifold through the fitting. This needs less fluid because you're bypassing all those other things. It should start faster too. If you have spark it will start [that probably means you don't have gas, but sometimes (rarely) once you get it started with starting fluid it will run fine afterwards]. If it doesn't start with starting fluid you either have no spark or a really blown engine.

You can also get a spare plug wire [Spare so you don't have to take off the intercooler. Otherwise you can just take off the intercooler and use one of the wires on the engine], disconnect one wire from the distributor cap and hook up the spare wire to the cap. Then you can either use a spare spark plug or a screwdriver [make sure it's a good sized driver with a fat handle], stick the end into the plug wire and touch the other end to the valve cover or head if it's a spark plug. If it's a screwdriver just hold it very close, you want a tiny gap so you can see the spark. Make sure you touch metal to metal, not the plastic handle to metal.

They also sell tools that you can plug into the spark plug wire to check for spark.
This one attaches in between the plug and wire. One end gets plugged into the wire, the other attaches to the spark plug. This tests everything at once, including the spark plug.
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-26900-Spar ... B000CODRMM
This is easier; it plugs into the wire and then you clamp the other end to your engine. You can adjust the size of the gap to see how strong the spark is. Larger gap = stronger spark.
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-26900-Spar ... B000CODRMM
This tool works like the timing light I described above and is even easier; you don't have to hook anything to the battery.
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-26900-Spar ... B000CODRMM
This one works the same way; just touch it to the wire. If you have spark the light will light up. It is good to test this on a working wire to make sure it does work [they tend to be cheap].
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-19380-Spar ... ark+tester
 
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