Car turns over but will not start

Heres the story:

My brother was changing the plugs in my 94 Mazda MX-6 LS v6 2.5L, he took out one of the plug wires before changing any and forgot to replace it before driving. He attempted to move it from one of our garages to the other and the car stalled. He couldnt get it to restart, so he changed the plugs and tried to see if it would start. We are getting fuel and spark from atleast 2 of the 6 cylinders as i have checked them myself. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Once again when i turn the key it attempts to start and turns over but will not fire and start? What should I try next?

Thanks
Jim

  blasph3my

:2cents: Things to check......

1) Are the plugs gapped correctly?
2) Were all the plug wires installed correctly - proper firing order? (more important than the first point)

  theman352001

Yes, all wires are in the proper order, as far as them being gapped correctly, it wouldnt turn over before we changed the plug, but were going to switch back to the old plugs this weekend and try that.

  blasph3my

First we need to make up our mind, does it turn over or not? If it's not turning over then plugs are the least of your worries.

I also wonder from reading your coded information what else we aren't being told, like why the plugs were changed in the first place. Just for fun or a wild ass guess that it might fix some existing problem.

Give us all the facts in a coherent manner, it makes it so much easier for everyone involved.

  vwhobo

OK heres the exact story.

The plugs were changed cause its at 100000 miles and we were doing all of the servicing on it.

Before completely changing the plugs, my brother took off one of the wires off for some unknown reason forgot to put it back on the plug and was going to drive the car to our garage to change the plugs and some other stuff.

Halfway there at a stopsign the car stalled out, he tried to restart it, it turns over, but wont start.(by turn over i mean it makes the noise of the actual starting, not clicking or anything, the actual noise). But the car will not start. So with the old plugs still in it wouldnt start. So we decided to replace the plugs anyway. We replaced the plugs, and still it wouldnt start. Ive checked all the wires, and they are in the correct order, we are also getting fuel and spark in atleast 2 of the cylanders. My father told me something like this had happened to him, and it was his alarm on his jeep. So as a possibility i removed my alarm completely and still no difference. The engine still turns and tries to start, but it does not start. I hope this is clear enough.

Thanks ahead of time.
Jim

  blasph3my

1. Have you performed a compression check and if so what are the readings?

2. At what mileage was the timing belt last changed?

  vwhobo

Not sure how to do, or even what a compression check is, but the timing belt was never changed, that i know of, thats actually on the list of things to do, Ill try that this weekend. Im at college right now, and the car is at home, so Ill be messing with it this weekend

  blasph3my

If your brother moved the car in the condition it was, there is a very good chance it could have back fired which is a good way to jump or break the t-belt. Compound that with the possibility that the belt is 40k miles overdue for being changed and you see where this might be going.

At any rate, that's not a diagnosis as much as it is something to think about. Here is something else. How do you know you're getting fuel to the cylinders?

  vwhobo

We have pulled the wires and checked, the chamber where the plug goes was completely dry, then while checking for spark we tried to start, you could see a liquid and smell gas. Im goin home a day early ill take a look and see if i can see any difference with the timing belt.

Ill post tommorow if i notice anything.

Thanks
Jim

  blasph3my

We checked the compression and the timing belt today, I am almost positive it is the factory theft-deterrent system. Anyone with any other ideas would be appreciated. Im going to look around for a way to disable the theft override. Ill post tommorow night

  blasph3my

Well i am absolutely stumped. We have compression, spark, getting fuel, the plugs are gapped correctly, the timing belt is fine, and was actually changed, it looks brand new, no cracking or even discoloration.

Im going to keep looking for a way to disable or remove the antitheft deterrent and try that, if i dont have it running by monday, im going to call a local garage and have them figure it out hopefully.

Any more thought will be appreciated. and thanks for all the help anyway.

Thanks
Jim

  blasph3my

I can't for the life of me understand why you're so insistent that your problem lies in the anti-theft system. It works by shutting down your ignition and fuel injection. According to you those are working so... You do the math.

Furthermore, if you are so sure that's the problem, why are you asking for help anyway. Perhaps you didn't read the sticky at the top of this forum, or more importantly this section of it.

"4. The description. Please do not interpret what is going on with your car, just give us an explicit, step by step description. We need to know anything that might be a factor such as engine hot or cold, vehicle speed, weather conditions, etc. There are too many possibilities to name them all but you get the idea. Also, if you have already had the foresight to retrieve computer codes (in instances were that is helpful) let us know what they are. If you tell us you think it needs sparkplugs then your answer will be put in sparkplugs. Keep in mind if you knew what was wrong you probably wouldn’t be here asking for advice."

  vwhobo

OK, sorry for keeping insisting that is the problem, Truthfully I have no idea what the problem is, and vwhobo, you have been extremely helpful with possible solutions and things to check. I dont know, Im honestly tapped out of ideas, Thanks for the help.

Jim

  blasph3my

lets look @ what we know first

We think we have spark (I would use a $6.00 calibrated ignition spark tester and verify since we are also interested in making sure the ignition system is delivering adequate voltage)

We think we have fuel (I would verify by checking fuel pressure with @ gage attached to the test port - looking for 35-45 lbs on most cars key on engine off)

We think the injectors are injecting fuel (could verify injector is receiving signal from ECM to open using a noid light)

Things we don't know

1. Status of ECM touble codes (what trouble codes is the car throwing?)
2. Compression test results
3. engine timing being off (slipped or broken timing belt)

lets pull codes and other items above

  tbaxleyjr

hey this sounds like your camshaft sensor that your dealing with here. its a cheap part and only takes about an hour to change so your not lookin at too much $$$ to fix it if this is your problem but it sounds to me like it is!

  carpedieme10

I hope this guy is still looking for an answer after 4 yrs.

  tbaxleyjr