Car died and won't start

Durandal · 06-28-2009, 08:31 PM

Ok so after some driving today my car died while going around 50km/h. Lost power steering, speedo went to 0, /!\ came on along with all of my other warning lights and the trac off light flashing. After coasting to the side of the road I let it sit for a couple minutes before trying to start it. It was turning over but not starting. One thing I noticed was with the key in the on position all my warning lights were on like normal except the check engine light was not on at all and the TRAC off continued to flash when it usually flashes once and goes out.

I haven't checked the solder connections on the cluster yet because I just touched them up last year so I don't think that is the problem. I'm thinking lost power to the ECU? with a bad ground, or maybe fuel problem, fuel pump most likely. I'm leaning towards ECU trouble though. Any suggestions?

Thanks

86.5supra · 06-29-2009, 05:32 AM

I had the same problem with my MK3 supra about a month ago i dont know what make you have. But after spending some time working on the problem i found that the fuel pump relay was dead. I also changed the main relay and it fired up first try.

Durandal · 06-29-2009, 11:03 PM

I have an MKIV, right after I posted this I went back and checked the fuses and relays. The main EF1 relay for the ECU was bad so I swapped it with the fog light relay.

pwpanas · 07-02-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durandal

I have an MKIV, right after I posted this I went back and checked the fuses and relays. The main EF1 replay for the ECU was bad so I swapped it with the fog light relay.

Thank you for updating us with the solution to the problem your Supra had...and congratulations on your successful troubleshooting! How did you narrow down the problem to a relay? I guess I've been pretty lucky that I've never had one go bad on my mkiv...

Durandal · 07-02-2009, 06:40 PM

Well the battery had plenty of juice and when I tried to start it, it would turn over but there was no ignition. So I thought maybe the fuel pump went. But when I had the key in the ON position for the tell tale light tests, all of them lit up except for the CEL, and the TRAC OFF light would flash.

So without a CEL I could not read any codes. I was 99% sure the bulb hadn't burned out so I figured it was an electrical problem with the ECU circuit. The fuses weren't blown so I decided to swap the main relay with the fog light one which I rarely use. After that when I turned the key on the CEL light came on and the TRAC OFF light stopped flashing. The car started right up.

However the fog lights still work with the relay I swapped so I don't know if the relay just has a weak spring or what. I'm thinking of replacing all 4 relays in that group with new ones incase it happens again while I'm taking a corner because I don't wanna end up in the ditch with loss of power steering.

06-28-2009, 08:31 PM	#1
Durandal Intake Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 42	Car died and won't start Ok so after some driving today my car died while going around 50km/h. Lost power steering, speedo went to 0, /!\ came on along with all of my other warning lights and the trac off light flashing. After coasting to the side of the road I let it sit for a couple minutes before trying to start it. It was turning over but not starting. One thing I noticed was with the key in the on position all my warning lights were on like normal except the check engine light was not on at all and the TRAC off continued to flash when it usually flashes once and goes out. I haven't checked the solder connections on the cluster yet because I just touched them up last year so I don't think that is the problem. I'm thinking lost power to the ECU? with a bad ground, or maybe fuel problem, fuel pump most likely. I'm leaning towards ECU trouble though. Any suggestions? Thanks

06-29-2009, 05:32 AM	#2
86.5supra 3" Exhaust Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: ny Posts: 83	car wont start I had the same problem with my MK3 supra about a month ago i dont know what make you have. But after spending some time working on the problem i found that the fuel pump relay was dead. I also changed the main relay and it fired up first try.

06-29-2009, 11:03 PM	#3
Durandal Intake Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 42	I have an MKIV, right after I posted this I went back and checked the fuses and relays. The main EF1 relay for the ECU was bad so I swapped it with the fog light relay. Last edited by Durandal; 07-02-2009 at 06:41 PM.

07-02-2009, 06:40 PM	#5
Durandal Intake Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 42	Well the battery had plenty of juice and when I tried to start it, it would turn over but there was no ignition. So I thought maybe the fuel pump went. But when I had the key in the ON position for the tell tale light tests, all of them lit up except for the CEL, and the TRAC OFF light would flash. So without a CEL I could not read any codes. I was 99% sure the bulb hadn't burned out so I figured it was an electrical problem with the ECU circuit. The fuses weren't blown so I decided to swap the main relay with the fog light one which I rarely use. After that when I turned the key on the CEL light came on and the TRAC OFF light stopped flashing. The car started right up. However the fog lights still work with the relay I swapped so I don't know if the relay just has a weak spring or what. I'm thinking of replacing all 4 relays in that group with new ones incase it happens again while I'm taking a corner because I don't wanna end up in the ditch with loss of power steering.