85 tercel won't start

Hi everyone, Hope you can help me with this problem. I left my 1985 tercel (3AC) with my brother and he didn't start it up for 4 months. The gas line was dry and it took many cranks with starter spray to finally get gas to the carb. On the final try, it caught but then stalled out after about 20 seconds. Now it just cranks and won't catch even with starter spray.

Here is what I've done so far:

New plugs and wires.

Tested ignition coil. (primaries gave 0 ohms but guy at auto parts store said that was ok and we tested a new one which also had 0 at the primaries) secondary within spec.

Distributor cap and rotor look fine ( didn't replace yet because store was out of the parts)

Checked spark at first plug and it seemed weak.

Battery not 100% but good enough under normal circumstances.

Pickup coil has continuity.

Fuel pump is ok.

I suspected ignition module but I have spark on the first plug, and I thought a bad module would mean no spark at all. To recap, the carb is getting fuel and it seems like I have weak spark, but the engine just cranks w/o catching. Garage wants 500 dollars to replace the distributor and can't afford that right now. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Reply to
tom.rosenmolina
Loading thread data ...

Forgot to say that I had the timing belt replaced about 2 years ago, and the rotor spins so I think its ok. Also, the car only has 70k miles on it b/c it used to be my grandparents car.

Reply to
tom.rosenmolina

The engine needs 3 things to run: air, fuel, and a source of ignition, all in the appropriate amounts at the appropriate times.

What kind of plugs and wires did you install?

Have you tried jumping the car?

Reply to
Ray O

NGK plugs (BPR5ES-11) gapped to .043. Wires are just Valucraft 7mm (#1175).

Never tried jumping the car b/c it went suddenly from fast cranking and catching quickly to fast cranking w/o catching. (This was all when I was using the starting spray) Cranking hasn't slowed much since I started trying. Anyway, before I gave the car to my brother, it cranked slower than it does now but started up no problem.

I'll give it a shot though. I'll let you know if it works.

Reply to
tom.rosenmolina

NGK plugs (BPR5ES-11) gapped to .043. Wires are just Valucraft 7mm (#1175).

Never tried jumping the car b/c it went suddenly from fast cranking and catching quickly to fast cranking w/o catching. (This was all when I was using the starting spray) Cranking hasn't slowed much since I started trying. Anyway, before I gave the car to my brother, it cranked slower than it does now but started up no problem.

I'll give it a shot though. I'll let you know if it works.

Reply to
tom.rosenmolina

did someone play with the car while you were gone? maybe placed something on the tailpipe or open the gas cap and moisture/water is in your tank. Is your engine oil still ok?

Reply to
EdV

Jump-starting it worked! It didn't seem to do much at first, didn't even crank any faster than without the jumpers. I was about to give up after many failed attempts, then gave it one last long crank while mashing the gas pedal like a madman... and she caught! Guess she did need some more juice to blow out the cobwebs! Just hope she is able to repeat it when I take her out for some good gas.

Just goes to show that sometimes the simplest answers are best. Thanks for the tip Ray O. Thanks to everyone for posting.

Reply to
tom.rosenmolina

Jump-starting it worked! It didn't seem to do much at first, didn't even crank any faster than without the jumpers. I was about to give up after many failed attempts, then gave it one last long crank while mashing the gas pedal like a madman... and she caught! Guess she did need some more juice to blow out the cobwebs! Just hope she is able to repeat it when I take her out for some good gas.

Just goes to show that sometimes the simplest answers are best. Thanks for the tip Ray O. Thanks to everyone for posting.

Reply to
tom.rosenmolina

Listen to Ray and we'll get you down the road!

Reply to
Ray O

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.