car wont start..... sometimes

[Albuynp Ryeno]

My car will start sometimes perfectly and sometimes it will take really long or I will have to crank it twice. I just replaced the air n fuel filter, checked the pcv and changed the egr value. The car had is spark plugs changed about 1 yr ago, so i dont think its them. Then i cleaned the mass air flow sensor. Also their is no check engine light and it runs perfectly. Does anyone know what i need to check next?

[SmartedPanda]

Battery?

[1996camry]

Will your car crack when the engine is HOT or COLD?

[DFBonnett]

If the plugs are NGK or Denso and are only a year old they are probably OK. What is the age/condition of the cap, rotor, and wires? Have you pulled the cap and inspected the rotor and contacts inside the cap?

[Albuynp Ryeno]

I just got a new battery. Also the car does crank, both hot and cold. It's really random when it will and wont start.

I just went to check the cap/rotor and i cant find it(its the 95 btw), does anyone know where it is? I'm thinking the car might be distributor less. Also how can i tell if the wires are good or bad?

[Zviator]

Carburetor

[Kep]

You know how the Check Engine Light and the rest of the indicator lights come on when you turn the key on? When the engine is misbehaving check to see if the CEL light is on. If it is off, suspect the EFI relay.

Also, have you checked the fuel pressure / pump? By any chance does this occur more often on a low tank of gas?

Kep

[Albuynp Ryeno]

Their is no CEL. Also i havent checked the gas tank pressure but it might be abnormally high. On my 98 i can hear a slight sound of air coming into the gas tank when i take the cap off on the 95 it sucks a ton of air.

[tran.man48]

Originally Posted by Albuynp Ryeno

I just went to check the cap/rotor and i cant find it(its the 95 btw), does anyone know where it is? I'm thinking the car might be distributor less. Also how can i tell if the wires are good or bad?

The distributor is located near the throttle body. Just follow the spark plug wires from the cylinders to the right side of the engine. Try reseating the spark plug wires...

[1996camry]

Yours distrubutor is the problem because inside the distrubutor. It has flux and ignitor (electronics) that give a small amount spark go thru the spark plug to burn fuel and then the car crank. sometimes the ignitor electronics go bad..it sometimes work intermitted. Go junk yard and get distrubutor for probaby $50...when you take the distubutor out..mark the bold and know the position the distrubutor install...so u can put back the same slot and at the same location...

[Albuynp Ryeno]

Their is no distributor. The old 5S-FE and 3VZ-FE have distributor caps/rotors, then new 1MZ-FE and 5S-FE dont have distributor caps/rotors. I know cuz my 98 4 cyl doesnt have one and neither does this 95 6cyl. Autozone confirms this http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us...rInfoPages.htm

Moving on. I wanna check each ignition coil. I have a volt/ohm meter. Does anyone know the readings the coils should give off, if they are working?

[Kep]

Originally Posted by Albuynp Ryeno

Their is no CEL. Also i havent checked the gas tank pressure but it might be abnormally high. On my 98 i can hear a slight sound of air coming into the gas tank when i take the cap off on the 95 it sucks a ton of air.

OK, both your comments are interesting. When you open the gas cap I always thought there was pressure coming out not a vacuum sucking in. Maybe this could lead to the possibility of fuel starvation if the fuel pump can’t overcome the vacuum. Don’t know, just curious.

Second, my comment about the CEL being off during the POST when you turn the key was based on the following message copied from "Tech Tip Corner." It was several years ago so I don’t know if it applies to the newer Toyotas or not. However, as long as they still have EFI relays I keep mentioning to check the CEL during POST. Here’s the message:

Relay Runaround on Toyota Models
A faulty main circuit opening relay may cause an intermittent no-start condition on several Toyota models. If you are lucky enough to get the vehicle from the customer when it won't start, try this simple check before you waste any time on complicated diagnosis:
· Turn the ignition to the ON position. The CHECK ENGINE light should be ON.
· If the CHECK ENGINE light is not ON, locate the main circuit opening relay, then make sure you have more than nine volts on the output pole of the relay with the ignition in the ON position.
· If the output voltage is below nine volts, but the input voltage to the relay is equal to battery voltage, replace the circuit opening relay. Its internal contacts are probably pitted and arced, which creates a voltage drop inside the relay.

I've spent more than one day on more than one car, trying to find an intermittent relay. Now I check the CHECK ENGINE light before I do any further diagnosis.

Brad Foltz
Miller Auto Group
Hedgeville, West Virginia


I am pretty sure that he is referring to the EFI relay. It wouldn’t take long to check.

Kep

[Albuynp Ryeno]

Honestly the more I think about it, the more it seems like it could be a clogged breather value. I know that the car had problems starting when the gas was pretty low, like yellow get gas sign low. Right now it has like 1/4th of a tank, i filled it up to 1/4th btw, but its been starting perfectly. This would make sense, since when the gas got really low, their was a partial vaccum created from the clogged breather value. The vaccum was so strong that it overpowered the pump and straved the engine of fuel. And the long/loud sound of air entering the gas tank confirms this.

Does anyone know what the breather value looks like, or where its located, like where on the gas tank.

[Kep]

I'm pretty sure that the modern cars no longer have breather valves. I think that they rely on a return line from the engine somehow to maintain a closed system. Just for grins, if it is a vacuum problem, try unscrewing the gas cap each time before you start the engine. If there is a vacuum it will be released and if the problem is vacuum related, it should disappear. Then you will need to track down the return and/or breather (maybe it's tied into the EVAP canister somehow).

Kep

[Albuynp Ryeno]

Alright some update. I still have have the problem. Now it no longer seems like a cold start problem. Just a normal no start problem

So far I have:
Changed the gas cap
Changed the fuel filter
Switched to 91 gas (seems to help starting)
Reset the ECU
Cleaned the fuel injectors
Checked the ignition coils and spark plugs.
Seafoamed the car
Cleaned the TB

I am stumped now, What should i do/check next?