Help! Dodge Colt won't run.

I'm getting desperate. I'm on an island. The car is a '92 Dodge Colt. The import car fixer says my car isn't "foriegn" enough. The other guy says it's too "foriegn". Here's what it is doing. Not running. It has spark, compression, fuel pressure, and the timing is correct. The manual says that if the car runs while starting and then dies when the key springs back to the ON position then the fuel pump relay is bad. But there is no relay where the book says to look and none anywhere I can see. The dealership doesn't list one. He said to bring in the old one and they would match it up. The car ran fine to work in the morning and wouldn't start in the evening. The computer said it was a bad mass air flow sensor. A new one is 400 bucks so my son went to the wreckers and picked up a couple for twenty bucks. We put one on and the car started but ran poorly. I was able to drive it about 1/4 mile before it died. And while driving it would act like it was leaned out real bad when I floored it. That was yesterday. Today it won't even try to start. No matter which mass air flow sensor is connected. The computer only returns the code now that says all is good. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks, Eric R Snow

Does the car fire at all when cranking? If not, are the plugs wet or dry? If dry, you likely have a fuel problem. If wet, it ismore likely ignition.

What is the cranking compression, after 3 full turns with all plugs out and throttle wide open? How big a gap will the spark jump from the cable end to ground? That model still has an external coil with a coil wire - try the spark jump from the coil wire, as you get 4 times as many sparks as you get at a plug wire. You should get a good 1/2" fat blue spark. If you get a decent spark at the coil wire, check at the plug wires to make sure the rotor isn't grounding. If you don't get a good spark, check the resistance of the coil wire. You may get spark through it even if you have an open connection (an extra spark gap) but it won't fire the plugs under compression. If the wire is OK, try a new coil. Again, if you get one from the scrappy, you MAY be getting another dud.

The MAF sensor on that car is a Karmen Vortex unit - and it's possible you got a bad one from the scrappers. Not unheard of for a Mitsu to be scrapped when one of those goes out, as many people believe they are not worth spending $400 on in one crack. If you know where there is another running Colt, see if you can swap yours in and see if the running car stays running. That's the simplest test I know of for checking one.

Another test to see if it is spark or fuel (assuming the plugs are dry) is to squirt a tablespoon or 2 of fuel into the intake, then open the throttle and crank. If it fires you know everything except the fuel system is functioonal.

One other thing to try - it's a long-shot - but you COULD have a plugged exhaust. Drop the pipe from the manifold (only have to drop it

1/4 inch (6mm)) to release exhaust pressure. If it starts with the exhaust dropped, the exhaust is plugged. Could be the converter - but I've also seen muffler baffles shift, plugging the muffler.

Do NOT squirt gas into the intake while cranking!!!!!!!