Aw, nuts. Cranks but doesn't turn over.
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Joined
·
13,604 Posts
This afternoon, it started. Turned it off, then it didn't restart. Then 5 minutes later it started. It started again OK a couple of times after that. Hooked up my little Bluetooth OBD2 dongle and Torque said no codes stored in the ECU. No malfunction lights in the dash, either. I'll keep trying it a couple of more times later in the day. I have a family day trip planned to the Eastern Townships tomorrow, so this makes me a little nervous.
What could it be?
*And no, Esso is not 44-year-old gas. :grin: They never changed their name in Canada to Exxon or ExxonMobil or whatever.
What could it be?
- Fuel pump on the way out?
- A patch of bad gas? (I did get Esso* gas a couple of days ago, whereas my Pilot has always had a steady diet of Petro-Canada gas, but they're both supposed to be top-tier.)
- Something else?
*And no, Esso is not 44-year-old gas. :grin: They never changed their name in Canada to Exxon or ExxonMobil or whatever.
Joined
·
13,604 Posts
Started OK at dinnertime, then in the evening five or six times. Once it didn't, but then a minute later it did. Still perplexed. Filled it up with a full tank of top-tier regular Petro-Canada gas on the way home. We'll see if that makes any difference. Still got the fuel pump angle in the back of my mind. Or what else could it be?
Maybe a flakey ignition interlock? If the key chip isn't getting the message across, I think it will crank but not start. At least in those old-school horseless carriages that have keys. Do you have a spare key to test?
In my newfangled propulsion device, it will just flash insults on the display if it doesn't like me. It won't waste energy cranking the engine.
But yeah, no spark or no fuel seems like the checklist. Seems awfully intermittent to be no fuel.
In my newfangled propulsion device, it will just flash insults on the display if it doesn't like me. It won't waste energy cranking the engine.
But yeah, no spark or no fuel seems like the checklist. Seems awfully intermittent to be no fuel.
Joined
·
10,628 Posts
When it won't start, try shifting into neutral and then attempting to restart.
If it starts up, the cause could be a bad neutral safety switch (aka range sensor).
Otherwise, I've seen this type of intermittent "no start" symptom from a failing starter motor.
If it starts up, the cause could be a bad neutral safety switch (aka range sensor).
Otherwise, I've seen this type of intermittent "no start" symptom from a failing starter motor.
Joined
·
377 Posts
Get into a habit of listening for the fuel pump to "prime" when you first turn the key to "on"/pos-II.
Joined
·
13,604 Posts
Fixed, I think.
:smile: I believe I may have cracked this nut.
First, I took the key off the keyring, having read that the dangling extra weight could mess up the ignition switch. It started fine like that this morning when I headed out. However, it wouldn't start again in the parking lot an hour later when I wanted to go back home. Plus it was raining.
![]()
Since it was detached from the keyring, when I held it and shook it in the midst of my mini-tantrum :cursin:, I felt something jiggle inside my flip key. Then it occurred to me that it must be the immobilizer chip that had come loose and was migrating around inside the flip key housing. :27:. I also then remembered observing the "professional" locksmith who had cut my new flip key and extracted the immobilizer chip from the OEM key had secured it in place in the new flip key housing with a little wad of spit paper, and when I had inquired if that was OK, he had replied something along the lines of, "You no worry, friend. No problem." Well, I guess over the course of time his saliva gradually evaporated and his spitball repair dried up and lost its adhesive properties, setting the immobilizer chip free to roam within the innards of my flip key. Jiggling it a bit to goad it into migrating as close to the end where the key sticks out was enough to get it to start, since if I recall correctly there's a kind of magnetic ring in the ignition right around where the hilt of the key is when inserted. When I got home, I confirmed by trying my wife's key, which worked fine. So I took apart my flip key and secured the immobilizer chip in its little slot I could see near the hilt using sticky tack. It seems to be working fine so far, but I'll have further opportunities to test it tomorrow. I'll take my wife's key along for backup.
I'll temper my pissoffedness at the locksmith's [email protected]$$ed job with the relief that I wasn't taken to the cleaners by an unscrupulous dealer that could've charged me a fortune for a new fuel pump that wouldn't even solve the matter.
Thanks to all who helped. I'm sure I wouldn't have figured it out without the help of this great forum and the helpful folks here. :29:
:smile: I believe I may have cracked this nut.
First, I took the key off the keyring, having read that the dangling extra weight could mess up the ignition switch. It started fine like that this morning when I headed out. However, it wouldn't start again in the parking lot an hour later when I wanted to go back home. Plus it was raining.
Since it was detached from the keyring, when I held it and shook it in the midst of my mini-tantrum :cursin:, I felt something jiggle inside my flip key. Then it occurred to me that it must be the immobilizer chip that had come loose and was migrating around inside the flip key housing. :27:. I also then remembered observing the "professional" locksmith who had cut my new flip key and extracted the immobilizer chip from the OEM key had secured it in place in the new flip key housing with a little wad of spit paper, and when I had inquired if that was OK, he had replied something along the lines of, "You no worry, friend. No problem." Well, I guess over the course of time his saliva gradually evaporated and his spitball repair dried up and lost its adhesive properties, setting the immobilizer chip free to roam within the innards of my flip key. Jiggling it a bit to goad it into migrating as close to the end where the key sticks out was enough to get it to start, since if I recall correctly there's a kind of magnetic ring in the ignition right around where the hilt of the key is when inserted. When I got home, I confirmed by trying my wife's key, which worked fine. So I took apart my flip key and secured the immobilizer chip in its little slot I could see near the hilt using sticky tack. It seems to be working fine so far, but I'll have further opportunities to test it tomorrow. I'll take my wife's key along for backup.
I'll temper my pissoffedness at the locksmith's [email protected]$$ed job with the relief that I wasn't taken to the cleaners by an unscrupulous dealer that could've charged me a fortune for a new fuel pump that wouldn't even solve the matter.
Thanks to all who helped. I'm sure I wouldn't have figured it out without the help of this great forum and the helpful folks here. :29:
Joined
·
10,628 Posts
When someone relates a problem with their Pilot, why do we never seem to get such vital information up front?
Joined
·
13,604 Posts
Because
A) I had naively presumed the "professional" knew what he was doing.
B) It happened over a year ago and was long since forgotten.
C) The jiggling jogged my memory. :smile:
A) I had naively presumed the "professional" knew what he was doing.
B) It happened over a year ago and was long since forgotten.
C) The jiggling jogged my memory. :smile:
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Join the discussion
