'97 Cavalier Wnont Start

Jan 31, 2006 4 Replies

My teenage daughter drive a '97 Cavalier RS Coupe with a 2.2L and a 5-Speed manual tranny.



The car has been running well for her until recently.



I had her drive it to the local emission place for testing. It passed emissions and within 3 blocks as she was breaking at a stop sign, she said she heard a small pop and it shut off and would not restart. We ended up having it towed home.



Not sure what's wrong with it...



I removed the plug wire and check for a spark using a spark tester. (Passed - on all cylinders) I can hear the fuel pump in the tank buzz for about 2 seconds when the key is place on the "ON" position I tried spraying starting fluid into the cylinder and it still would not start. I removed one of the plugs and lightly placed my finger to check for compression. (Passed) I replaced the Crankshaft Position Sensor and no change.



I went to my local parts store and rented a OBD-II tester and got the following...



P03042: camshaft position sensor A- bank 1 circuit low.



Does anyone have any ideas what to do next???



I am told the camshaft sensor will not prevent the vehicle from running.



HELPP!!!!!



THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.


How many miles on the car? Sounds like it could be a broken timing belt - but I'm not sure if the 2.2 uses a timing belt or a chain. I know the 2.1's used a belt, but I just don't know about the 2.2.

Broken timing belt/chain will

Mike, My daughters car has 101,000 miles and uses a chain.

I originally though it was the timing chain/grear but was told that if I ran a compression test and got intake and compression, it meant the chain was doing it's job and it would not be the chain.

Thank you and I appreciate any help you can give me.

Jesse

Do a compression test with a gauge not a finger test. You could be feeling compression because the cam isn't turning. Put a timing light on to check timing. Chains have been known to fail. Were any other codes stored in the computer? Did you analyze the freeze frame data? Are you getting a good strong spark at the plug? You are right the cmp will not stop the engine from running.

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