my girlfriend's '97 Cavalier quit today..

she has the 2.2L, and it has distributorless ignition..

it's been hard-starting the last while, taking longer and longer to crank. As well, I hear almost like a bendix-sound when it finally does start, like the bendix disengages late or something.. (it sounds almost like a bearing as it slows down or something)

anyways, it won't fire now. i think one of the coil packs died (they don't have a distributor, they have coil packs)

how should i go about testing the car? she said it cranks fine but doesn't start.. ideas?

car has '97,000 on it..

 

You can check the condition of the coils with a multimeter. I don't know the process for a Cav., but if you go to AutoZone, Super Trak, etc. and get the Haynes repair manual, it'll tell you how.

I did that on mine when my car wouldn't fire. Found out it was fien and the problem was the module (which any parts store will check) that only did once in a while. Like on the Fourth of July 2001!!!!!

AJ

 

thanks for the reply, dude..

problem is on this car, the coils are cheap (65 bucks, there are 2 of them) but the module is what is expensive (230 bucks)

anyone know if the SES light would light up if the crankshaft position sensor went bad?

these cars are like the LT1, they have a cranshaft position sensor that fires the coil packs, the coil packs fire 1,3 and 2,4 cylinders..

 

I dont think its going to be the coil because the other coil should still fire the other 2 cylinders. First thing check for spark. Pull a wire off a plug, insert a screw driver, hold the shaft approximately 3/8 to 1/2 " away from a good ground. Dont touch the metal! Then have somebody crank the car. If the spark jumps the gap then your coil, module etc are ok. If not I would suspect the module.But still could be the crank sensor. If you dont have spark do the injectors click? If so the crank sensor is probably ok. The computer uses the sensor to fire the injectors too.

Now to me, the hard starting etc sounds more like a fuel problem. When was the last time you changed fuel filters? It could be completely plugged up. If your lucky this is all thats wrong. If not the pump may be bad too. Check the filter first, if ok then you'll need to find a way to check fuel pressure. Know anybody with a good gauge?

 

i have a gauge..

the car has 92,000 miles on it, absolutely nothing done to it..

my guess is it could be that but when it's running it's been fine just hard-starting...

i'm 'hoping' it's not the module because she just can't afford that..

i guess i'll have to look at it when i get there on sunday, until then it'll have to sit in the parkin glot at her work

 

one more question..

would having a bad crankshaft sensor cause hard starts or no-fire situations?

i'm trying to narrow everything down before i get there

 

first of all, it doesn't fire like a LT1. a LT1 has one coil, not coil packs. first thing to do is the obvious stuff which you should have done before even asking. check for spark and check for fuel. if you have spark from one coil pack and not the other, there's your problem. if you have no spark, then it may be a few possibilities. does it have fuel pressure? yes, a bad crank sensor can cause problems like this. no, there is no bendix in this starter. there is a starter drive, but no bendix. a bendix hasn't been used for many years on a starter and i'm sure her cavalier isn't a special model.

 

well, i'm getting ideas on what it can be..

the newest car i've worked on is my '87 IROC and they had bendix starters until 1992..

i'll be driving to her house tomorrow (she lives 2 hours away) and looking at it then.

i figure it's the CPS, it's a common problem in j-bodies

 

your 87 iroc doesn't have a bendix either. it uses the same starter drive as all the other gm's like it. do you know what a bendix is?

 

uhh...

the starter used on a 1987 IROC is the EXACT same starter used on a 1972 Chevy truck.. don't believe me? Go check my 1970 BIG BLOCk that uses the EXACT SAME starter..

I worked at Autozone for 2 years, go look in their computer what a bendix is, it's under the STARTER section..

get your head out of your ***.

 

the best thing to do with obdII is to put it on a computer and see what is happening it will tell you were the missfire or fuel problem is.

 

Umm, yeah.

The flywheel fairy does all the work

 

your 70 big block has no bendix either. what the autozone computer says and what the part is, not the same. the starter drive on a chevy works off the solenoid and slide shaft. the part called a bendix is a starter drive that works off a threaded shaft which spins out and when the engine starts or starter stops it spins on the shaft back in. this part was patented as and named the bendix. from there out alot of starter drives have been called a bendix, but they are simply a starter drive. when you'd like more of a history lesson, let me know. i'm sure some of the old timer's on here have worked with the real "bendix" part.

 

Way to pull that head outta yer *** zippy.

You are so right. I had a 65 (first car) Merc. Comet w/289. It had that there bendix shaft on it.

Like you said it was patened by 'a guy', and was named the Bendix drive because the guy's name was (somebody) Bendix.

I don't remember his first name. Probably Waldo, Oliver, or Hubert, or some other old man name.

Anyway, way to recover from a closed minded lad and not getting flamed. You da man.

Teach me, teach me!!!!!!!

AJ

 

yes it would. make sure you have spark. if not, then it is most likley the ing. module or the crank sensor. also check the wires from the crank sensor. if they are shorting out, no spark. i know someone who's crank sensor wires were shorting out. he pulled them apart from each other and the car would run. you chould check the ing module and crank sensor first. parts stores should at least be able to test the module for you. another effective metheod is find a friend with a similar car and test swap parts. also never lube the plugs as it interferes with the ground of the ing. sysetm.

 

fixed the car, it was the CPS.. took about 3 hours and the GM part was 25 cents cheaper than the Niehoff from Kragen, lol..

 

hey zippy, one thing to ya..

i don't really care about your technical answer, I asked my Dad about it and he said the same thing as you but people CALL it a bendix so kma.. i don't think the 90% of people that call it a bendix give 2 craps if you wanna flame them for it, either

i can admit it when i'm wrong, but i along with a whole SLEW of other people call it that. maybe what i call isn't a bendix but there are a ton of other things that people call by different names (distributor caps, rotor caps, ignition caps, to name a few)

later
Colin