Not starting after a run-in with a snowbank.

Sounds unreleated. Check the usual suspects. battery, spark, fuel, etc...

It doesn't sound unrelated at all! An unusual event- running into a snowbank, followed by dramatically different starting (or not) behavior.

I once ran a '71 Pinto off the road (my own, unfortunately) into a deep snow-filled ditch. Engine would crank but not start. What had happened was that snow had gotten between the crank pulley and the timing belt, and the belt slipped a few teeth. I managed to re-time it in the ditch in -20F weather and got it running.

It sounds like you tripped the crash sensing electric fuel pump switch. You need to push a button on the switch to reset it. I have NO idea where GM located this switch on your car. On some vehicle they are in the trunk on the rear tail light panel.

Erich

Um but you are missing one key thing. snowbank->ran fine->not starting. It's that 'ran fine' in the middle. I was thinking water/snow got in somewhere at first. But since it ran, the problem should have shown up already or the moisture evaporated.

There is no such thing on a GM vehicle. As far as I know only Ford uses those.

Not at all, I read the post carefully and understood that. Perhaps I misunderstood your post, I thought you were saying that the reason why the engine failed to start had nothing to do with running into the snowbank.

First you need to determine *why* it won't start. Not enough juice to turn it over? Not enough spark? No fuel?

Your run-in with a snowbank might cause any one of those, but it doesn't matter what caused it you need to first determine what the problem is.

If it is a 'not enough juice to turn it over' problem look for a bad ground or shorted wire. Is the battery still secured in its holder? Clamps still tight? Did snow get under the alternator belt causing it to slip or come off?

If not enough spark- check the same with the wires & belts. Also for little puddles of melted ice/water near wires- including plug/coil/distributor wires. Maybe shoot the wires with some WD-40 [or a proper 'spark plug wire drying' spray. I seem to remember some folks object to WD40 on plug wires but I haven't had a balky starter in a long time]

If no fuel, see if snow got as far as the carbeurator or air intake. Did you crimp the gas line? Did some residual water just get sloshed to the right place to get picked up & then froze when you stopped? How is the fuel return system set up in that? Could the impact, or the snow, or the resulting ice from the melting snow have compromised it?

Jim

My car tends to flood when its around -10 to 0 degrees celsius and so if you hold the gas pedal to the floor for a bit while trying to start it that may help it start.

I would be looking for condensation inside the distributor cap. Cold snow hitting a hot cap can put an amazing amount of water inside from condensation.

I also have had snow get up under the timing cover and knock my belt loose, but that was on a Volvo.

Mike

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Brent P wrote in rec.autos.tech

I ran a Honda off the road, into a snow bank. It started up, and seemed to run fine. But because I was so charged with adrenaline from the incident, and because we needed a tow to get out, and were in a hurry to get about 100 miles down the road, I missed the fact that it was running a bit rough at low speeds. Seemed fine once it was above idle. Turned out the impact made the timing belt skip a tooth. What seems fine immediately after the incident can not be so fine the next morning.

TonyV wrote in rec.autos.tech

Check your timing belt, and other ignition components. Look for moisture under the hood, specifically around the plug wires and distributor cap. You could have picked up some swow under your hood, and as it melted it condensed onto some of the components. Or your timing belt could have been made to skip a tooth.

I would add the ignition coil to the list.

Check all fuses underhood as a starting point. Is your battery tied down ? If not, the jolt could have blown a fuse .Do you have fusable links ? Verify if you are getting fire. Pull a plug wire and plug it into a known good spark plug and lay it on bare metal. Report back if you see spark or not when you crank it There is no way snow got behind a timing cover and made it jump a tooth .Disregard that BS. If you hit that hard, you wouldn't have a front end to speak of, let alone a radiaitor.

I wouldn't replace or even individually check a damn thing until I knew whether it was ignition, fuel, or compression that was the fault.

Just replacing the ignition coil erroniously will cost more than having a profesional mechanic diagnose the fault for you.

Leave the fuses alone until you determine wether the problem is ignition, fuel or compression.

Unrelated... Last winter, I back up into a pile of snow. The tailpipe plugs up with dirt. Cranks but doesn't fire up.

-- Milo