i have been curious to know what causes the engine to crank so much when trying to turn it over? sometimes my car cranks 10-15 times before it turns over, whether the engine is hot or cold. starter is new as of a couple months ago. i have an 88 TA with a 305 TPI auto.

 

Lets see, it take 3 things for an engine to work. Air, Fuel, and spark. I would say that there is a problem with one of them, probably a sensor or need of a tune-up.

 

ROFLMAO. So the whole time the engine is cranking it isn't turning over? Thats pretty wild. What are you cranking then?

Oh wait, i get it, sometimes you have to crank the engine for a few seconds to get it to 'fire'. Now that makes much more sense.

So what causes it. Pretty much anything from needing a tune-up to leaky injectors. In the case of an 88 TPI, could be any type of problem related to the cold start injector too (leaky or flaky operation)

 

oh, excuse me... sorry, ill never mis-word again. car has had a tune-up a month ago....MSD 8.5 wires, conrad cap/rotor, and delco rapidfires

its getting air (k&n), its getting spark (new tune-up), so i guess that leaves fuel... (injectors??)

 

So try to spray starting fluid in the throttle body, and see if it starts easier.

 

Put Z-Max in the gas(the gas mixture), it'll run much better after.

 

 

hey man, you calling my thread dumb?? :'(

 

damn rezinn that's funny. now everyone play nice while they're here. far as i know the starter is the only thing to cause an engine to crank, or turn over. actually i've noticed this misuse of crank and turn over and wonder if it isn't a regional thing, like pop or soda?

 

heheheheh, thats great.

it could be a leaky fuel pump check valve. normally the fuel rail stays pressurized when the car is off, it the check valve leaks the pump will have to build pressure before it will start.

Try this, cycle the ignition key on for about 2 seconds and off, do that 2-3 times. Then immediately try to start the engine. if it does then the problem is most likely the check valve, i would just live with it though.

I believe that it could also becaused by a faulty cam sensor, but i can't remember where that is on a TPI or TBI.

 

No cam sensors on thirdgens.

 

maybe its in the distributor, there is some sensor that will sense crank position so it can fire the injectors sequentially. i can't remember if there is an actual cam sensor but i believe there is a way to detect #1 firing

 

Jza,

You are correct. There is no dedicated Cam Position Sensor on a TPI or ThirdGen TBI engine. The ECM gets that information crudely through the distributor reference pulses from the HEI module. Those pulses are loosely timed to the cam position, but aren't absolute (like in later cars) since the distributor can be moved. Come to think of it, the CPS in later CPFI engines is in a movable distributor, too, but you don't want to move that one to set timing.

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Rezinn,

You're killin' me here dude.

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Ed,

I think you are probably right. "Soda", "pop", and "Coke" can all be interchanged depending upon your geographical location, as the Mountain Dew ads imply. Being stuck in the MidWest,I have always understood "cranking" to be the act of engaging the starter to turn the engine for starting (except on the old AC-B, where I actually have to stick the hand CRANK through the lower radiator shell to turn the engine and hope I don't break a thumb from backfire).

When a combustion cycle(s) has been completed and the engine appears to be able to operate itself without the starter, it is "firing".

Once the engine can turn under its own power, it is "running".

I think it's just a matter of regional semantics. That's not to say that anyone should RUN out and FIRE at their CRANK. I'm going to get a pop...

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As for the original question, protracted cranking can be caused by excessive fuel from flooding/leaking injectors, weak spark, late ignition timing, low compression, or poor fuel delivery. One or more of those may be contributing to you woes.

 

Are you giving it enough time for the fuel pump to bring the system up to full pressure? Can you hear the fuel pump come on when you put the key to the run position?