88 GTS No start issues - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

bakwoods · 12-27-2011, 11:40 AM

Got a 17 year old GTS with the infamous 4AGE, woop dee doo.

#1 There's 1 gallon of fresh gas in the tank but the gas light is still on. Possibly the previous owner ran the car till empty?

#2 Old oil in the crank case, I added fresh stuff to circulate, should I just dump it all out and start fresh? I can't jack the car since it's on the grass (tow truck left it there)

#3 Fuel pump isn't priming. Not sure where the fuse is, but there's nothing in the engine bay labelled EFI (not that I saw) and I can't figure out what's in the kick panel because the cover is missing.

#4 Didn't check the timing belt, but I assume it's okay, however it might be missing teeth. Possible cause of no start.

#5 Ignition wires have spark, but I'm not sure of the plugs. There was oil in the plugs.

#6 Still to check the fuel line for pressure, if there's no pressure, I can go from there.

Also, on a side note, I'm new to the whole Rolla thing, but is it normal for me to be able to crank the car without the clutch pressed in. The car will crank but not fire. I wasn't sure if that's something to do with the solenoid, or something else, but I could use some help please.

RobMilkshakes · 12-27-2011, 06:00 PM

How long has the car sat?

Is the only fuel the 1 gallon you mentioned?

No it is not normal to be able to crank without holding the clutch pedal. Possibly a faulty clutch safety switch on that, I believe around 1984-1985 it became standard on Toyotas.

90 GP · 12-27-2011, 06:09 PM

Did you try spraying starting fluid into intake to see if it would fire up ? There should be a fuel pump relay in the fuse box under the hood which could be bad. Did you try removing distrib cap to see if rotor turns when cranking to verify timing belt is intact?

bakwoods · 12-27-2011, 06:52 PM

To answer questions in correct order:

@Rob: Car sat for 17 years WITHOUT being moved since it was parked. The only gas in it was the 1 gallon I poured into it, however I'm going to consider dropping the tank and replacing the filter and pump.

I figured the safety switch was f'd up lol, because it's really not a safe situation.

I'm going to check it out tomorrow, so far I haven't really had the time to inspect the engine bay and the other details too well.

@90 GP: Will have to look at the fuse block and see what's up. I think I missed something. I've never seen a fuse block THAT small and simple. Literally like 6 fuses total lol. Haven't removed the cap, but I figured that the ignition wires firing was an indicator that the cap and rotor is good still. I'll need to visually inspect the belt for wear and tear. The new belt is only $15 so it's a cheap replacement.

Edit: After reading the Haynes manual. Figured I'll keep the clutch starter switch problem as is. It's A. easier for me to start the car without the clutch and all that jazz, but also, it's a really easy fix turns out.

Didn't get a chance to really check out anything in the bay tonight. Too wet outside. But will take the battery to the store tomorrow and see if I can get a replacement since this one sucks! I means literally it's been on a trickle charger for 24 hours and once it was to 12V, I couldn't even crank it. I think the battery has a bad cell and that's it. Only way to get the car to crank is with a jumper.

***REN69*** · 12-29-2011, 07:16 PM

I'm sure there is an EFI fuse somewhere... can't remember where, it's been a while since I tinkered with a GTS... I bet it wouldn't hurt to replace the fuel pump and filter as well.

bakwoods · 12-30-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REN69

I'm sure there is an EFI fuse somewhere... can't remember where, it's been a while since I tinkered with a GTS... I bet it wouldn't hurt to replace the fuel pump and filter as well.

Yeah I figured that much. Time to order a new one. Unfortunately they're all over $100 for the pump. Need to debate if I want to upgrade to the Walbro pump or not. I am swapping motors on this anyway.

bakwoods · 01-10-2012, 10:24 PM

New pump, new oil, no starting still. Ideas? Also will start looking at schematics of ripping stuff out.

***SCT*** · 01-11-2012, 12:01 AM

A car that sat for 17 years... And the tow truck left it there... It must have a low mileage!

When you crank, do you smell fuel coming from the exhaust? If you do, could be bad plugs.

90 GP · 01-11-2012, 04:29 AM

Try swapping out the distributor cap and rotor..

kaitaiya · 01-11-2012, 09:10 AM

this should help
http://opc.mr2oc.com/online_parts_ca...CorollaFWD.pdf

when you key on the car do you have fuel pressure? you could loosen the fuel line at the injector rail and see if you get gas there. when we did a GTS swap into my bro's wagon i forgot to put the metal relay in the driver's kick panel back in and that was what wouldn't let the car start. it's like the master relay that controls the start and pump etc. once i put it back in the car fired up. i would check all the fuses and maybe get relays from the junkyard. gts and corolla have pretty much the same relays. same relay box.

bakwoods · 01-11-2012, 10:15 PM

Thanks. Link helps a lot since I at least understand that stuff.

Car's been sitting for 17 years but the car will crank. I think it's not a relay as much as it is the damn pump. I'm dropping the tank this weekend to determine.

All owners, please tell me, when the key is in the ACC position, does the fuel pump at least "hum" to signal it's priming? Listen close. I don't hear anything. And I got no pressure in the rail. So obviously it's a fuel issue. FML

Thanks so far. Will keep updated.

kaitaiya · 01-12-2012, 04:45 AM

there should be a blue/white wire that runs to the pump. putting 12V to it will turn it on. if i'm not mistaken you might be able to get to it from the test port under the hood. the pump is pretty quiet. when i was helping my friend work on his car we weren't getting the pump to turn on. until i switch one wire. i actually heard the pump turn off when we turned the car off and then we knew it was working. but we had the interior out of the car. the good thing is the pump can pretty much be taken from any similar year corolla. i don't see a difference in my bro's wagon when we did the 16V swap into it. it still has the DX tank and pump.

bakwoods · 01-12-2012, 08:58 AM

Thanks. Will check it out today once the weather clears up a bit. My biggest issue is identifying WHERE said wire is. I'm sure its somewhere in the open that I didn't look. I also need to jack up the car and drop the tank. Unfortunately that is easier said than done lol

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kaitaiya · 01-12-2012, 09:08 AM

sorry it's a blue wire. there's a white black to ground. you can see it on the second page of the wiring diagram on the upper right hand corner. roughly a7 area. under the hood it's in the check connector labled as FP pin one blue/black. if you put 12V to that test point(you may need a paper clip to get into the pin) it should turn on the pump. if you got no juice to the pump then that'd be yer problem. if the pump turns on then it's probably a relay somewhere. and i'd suggest starting with the metal one in the drivers side kick panel.

the blue wire(for fuel pump) itself will run down the drivers side under the door sill and then route under the back seat to the gas tank. you could possibly find it in the jumper block on the drivers side kick panel. (there should be a rather big plug with many wires leading to the back).

bakwoods · 01-14-2012, 11:26 AM

Sorry to sound stupid. Can someone post a picture of said wire location? I'm looking at the diagram, and for some reason I can't make heads or tails of it. I've looked around but nothing in this bay seems to be labelled. Maybe I'm just wee-todd-did. Either way tomorrow going to take a crack at it in the 30 degree weather. Wish me luck lol.