Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated November 16, 2008, 09:00:43 am Yahoo Message Number: 97296Our 2002 LD has already been winterized and this morning my husband went out to start it up and take it for its monthly drive. Only, it wouldn't start. Now, I will try to explain this the best I can-the engine makes a noise, like it is just getting ready to start, but something doesn't seem to be catching. The spark, the gas, something is not allowing the engine "to catch."My husband opened the hood thinking a mouse had chewed a wire, but everything appeared to be fine. If we can't figure this out, we'll call our mechanic tomorrow and ask him to come and look when he has some time. He is a great guy, I just didn't want to think that we were missing something little that we could easily do ourselves. Or, perhaps missing somethng RV related??Does anyone have a thought? Thank you. Kathy
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #1 – November 16, 2008, 10:54:37 am Yahoo Message Number: 97297Quote Our 2002 LD has already been winterized and this morning my husband went out to start it up and take it for its monthly drive. Only, it wouldn't start. Now, I will try to explain this the best I can-the engine makes a noise, like it is just getting ready to start, but something doesn't seem to be catching. The spark, the gas, something is not allowing the engine "to catch."Quote Does anyone have a thought? Thank you. Kathy Fuel pump???Chris
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #2 – November 16, 2008, 11:34:08 am Yahoo Message Number: 97298Chris, start with taking your battery out and have a load test done on it. Cheapest and best to start from the obvious things. Don't assume expensive repairs without checking the basics. Batteries do weird things. Also make sure your connections are clean. when you reinstall old one or new one. Costco is the best buy for a 1000 cranking hour battery. Have fun, john leach__
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #3 – November 16, 2008, 12:05:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97299Kathy, The exact symptoms are important. Here's a short list with symptoms and the maybe causes:Turn the key and there's nothing at all, no noise. Pos cause: Battery completely dead. Turn the key and there's a "clicking noise", either a single click or a staccato series of clicks: most probably an almost dead battery. You can easily tell if the vehicle headlights, maybe already dim, go out or almost completely out when you turn the key . . . this confirms a dead battery (or possible loose or corroded battery terminal connection) as the likely cause. If the lights do not dim appreciably, problem is probably starter solenoid or starter motor. Turn key and motor briefly turns with starter but then stops. Turn on lights and see if they go out as above. Same possible symptoms. Turn key and motor turns over with the starter as normal, but engine does not catch or start. Problem is most likely either fuel related or ignition related.bumper
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #4 – November 16, 2008, 12:31:47 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97300bumper, Your #3 idea seems like the best thought for us and our LD. We just got a new battery in the spring, and the starter works. It seems like the engine isn't catching. We were a bit surprised, since we never had any problems before, meaning any indicators that there was trouble brewing (we're good with staying on top of things with preventative maintenance). Wish us luck that this turns out to be something small.Kathy
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #5 – November 16, 2008, 12:40:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97301"kathymd31" wrote: It seems like the engine isn't catching. --- Kathy, you've already received some good trouble-shooting ideas, and this site might offer additional information: http://www.ifitjams.com/starting.htm HTH.Joan
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #6 – November 16, 2008, 02:15:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97302JOan,Thanks, I'll take a look.I appreciate the input.Kathy
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #7 – November 16, 2008, 02:42:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97303Kathy, Does it seem like it's even turning the starter? I would check the battery for voltage. Very easy to do with a cheap multi meter. Even new batteries can go bad and not start vehicles. After that I would check the connections to the battery cables, make sure they are clean and making good contact. Lots of times just loosening the cables and twisting them on the battery posts and retightening them will make a better contact and start the vehicle. Does it seem like it's a battery or juice issue or is the starter trying to turn the motor?
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #8 – November 16, 2008, 05:19:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97313Dan, My husband gave the battery connections a check-they seem fine. He is leaning towards a fuel pump issue, but that's just a guess. Although he's very hands on with stuff within our house and RV, he's not an "under the hood/engine guy." I guess that's why I continue to save a little bit every month for RV emergencies, they do come up And, we've been very lucky-we are on our second LD, and this is the first real issue (and, naturally, I'm hoping it's not a real big issue) we've ever had.Everyone, thanks for the input.Kathy
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #9 – November 17, 2008, 12:22:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97324Here's an easy way to check if it's a fuel problem: Buy a can of 'Starter Fluid' and spray a little into the air cleaner intake - not too much, just about a one second burst. Then immediately try and start it. If it catches and runs for a few seconds it's definitely a fuel problem and most likely the pump. Good luck!
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #10 – November 17, 2008, 12:28:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97326Starter fluid really works. I had an old 78 Toyota that sometimes wouldn't start on a cold day or if it sat too long so I'd just spray a blast of that in the carb, I removed the air filter as it was easy then the engine kicked right over and that was enough to get it running. I thought it was the mechanical fuel pump also and intended to add an electric fuel pump but never got a round tuit and no longer have the vehicle.Michelle http://safoocat.blogspot.com/ http://flickr.com/photos/safoocat/
Re: Starter fluid Reply #11 – November 17, 2008, 02:45:49 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97330"Starter fluid really works." Yup. And not just starter fluid. Way back when I was 19 and making my first cross-country trip (in a 1962 Ford Falcon station wagon), I ran into problems while crossing the Rockies: the combination of high altitude and cold mornings made the car impossible to start. I'd heard of starter fluid, but didn't have any. Figuring that any volatile liquid might work, I dribbled in some Old Spice lime aftershave--and by gum, the old Falcon started up in a jiffy. The car smelled great, too. At the next service station I bought a can of regular ether starting fluid. That worked even better, but it didn't smell nearly as good. ;-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated Reply #12 – November 17, 2008, 04:01:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97331John and Miclelle,Thanks for the idea on the starter fluid. We'll give it a try. My husband was going to call our mechanic if he had time at work today. I'll suggest he look into this, too.Kathy
Re: Starter fluid Reply #13 – November 17, 2008, 09:39:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97337That's a funny story Andy and it reminds me of something I've never understood. Maybe someone on the list does. We had an old Honda Civic that was getting harder and harder to start. We lived next door to an ace mechanic and he started it by loosening the spark plug wires so they were just close to the plug and it started right up. How could that be?Michelle http://safoocat.blogspot.com/ http://flickr.com/photos/safoocat/
Re: Starter fluid Reply #14 – November 17, 2008, 11:17:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97339Increasing the spark gap distance allows the voltage to build to a higher level before it "arcs over". This may help fire a partially fowled plug or partially flooded engine. It takes about 20,000 volts to arc one inch in dry air. Note that this doesn't mean that opening up the gap on spark plugs would be beneficial, as they must fire reliably in the high pressure environment of the engine. Also, on many engines, increasing the gap outside the engine may damage coils or electronics in the ignition circuitry as the voltage may build high enough to arc there instead of through the spark plugs.bumper
Re: Starter fluid Reply #15 – November 18, 2008, 11:10:21 am Yahoo Message Number: 97342Thanks Bumper,You've solved one of the great mysteries I've been living with and now I know the guy was human after all. Michelle http://safoocat.blogspot.com/ http://flickr.com/photos/safoocat/
Re: Starter fluid Reply #16 – November 18, 2008, 06:15:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 97361Andy. I heard long ago that some of the sailors use to drink that stuff or was it Aqua Velva? Not good either way. John leach__
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