Got stuck in the snow the other day and was gunning it to get out and then it just was dead in the water. Im not sure how relevant it is but I head a pop sound. So i checked the fuses and none of them are blown. I repalced my fuel injectors last week because they were 25 years old and I wanted them updated. Today I replaced the ignition coil and spark plugs. Tried starting it and it cranks but no start. Then I'm also showing code 23 and code 53. Any help?

 

#23 is IAT , intake air temp sensor and #53 is system over voltage .

Are you using some kind of jump starter to crank it over with that could account for the over voltage code ? The IAT would affect how rich or lean it ran but I'm not sure if it would kill it outright , especially in the way you describe it's dying .......

When I hear "was gunning it , heard a pop sound , and then it died" I start wondering what broke . Could be anything , but troubleshooting will reveal it . Have you done the usual check for spark and fuel pressure ? If those check out next is to see if the spark is still in time (which will mean that the timing chain didn't jump , which can happen to a worn chain when revving higher than normal) . If it's got an in time spark and proper fuel delivery then a compression test would be next , and so on till whatever is keeping it from running is revealed .

 

I'll check for spark again tonight when it is a little darker out. Also the rotor in the distributor turns so I know the timing chain didn't break which is good.

 

Yep , start with the basics , spark and then fuel . Now , if you find you do have a spark , and a fuel pressure test reveals the fuel pressure to be OK , you really want to verify that the spark is in time . You see , It's far more common for the timing chain to jump a tooth or two than it is to outright break . Thus you could be cranking the engine over and seeing rotor movement but it would be off time . To easily verify this , Find the timing mark on the harmonic dampener and turn the crankshaft till the distributor's rotor is pointing at the #1 cylinder's position . With the rotor pointing at #1 , do you see the dampener's timing mark somewhat in the area of the fixed timing mark pointer ? If so , great , your chain didn't jump and maybe it was just a bad backfire coupled with the death of some other part that needs further diagnosis . I am just , again , thinking of how it died , while revving trying to get out of snow , and the loud pop , as being the backfire associated with a chain that has just jumped a few teeth . I hope I'm wrong and that it turns out to be something simple , but my gut feeling says otherwise . One other thought , HOW does it crank over ? Does the engine's cranking speed sound about the same as before it died , or does it now crank somewhat faster ? A jumped chain won't let the engine develop the proper compression , and so the starter ends up having an easier time turning the engine and thus the faster cranking .

At any rate , to start with the spark and fuel checks will tell you where to look next .

 

I checked last night and no spark. I just replaced the spark plugs and ignition coil over the weekend. The cap, rotor, and ignition control module were replaced within the last month. Not really sure what else it could be....... possibly my ECM is messed up?

 

Ok , Great , It's got no spark . Now you have a definitave diagnosis to work from . You say you put in a new ICM and coil recently , either of those could have come up defective . But first things first , you ARE 100% certain the distributor's rotor turns when you crank over the engine , correct ? The very next thing to check will be to see if the ign coil is getting +12 Volts with the key on . The large red wire at the coil is the one you want to measure with a DC voltmeter's red (+) lead while the meter's black (-) lead is connected to ground . Is there 12 Volts at the coil ? if yes , the next check would be to test the resistence of the pickup coil located at the bottom of the distributor and plugged into the ICM . Unplug the connection and put your meter on the Ohms function . put the meter's red and black leads to the two connections that attach to the pickup coil , there should be a measurable resistence there (a search will likely turn up the expected reading) but generally you want SOME resistence there , not a 0 ohm reading (shorted) or an infinate reading (open) .

Oh yea , to put your mind at ease about your ECM , yes , the ECM does see the distributor's electrical signals , it uses them to control the injectors . But , the ECM is not in control of anything that would outright kill the spark , so I don't think your ECM is at fault here . Tell me , when you installed the new ICM , you DID clean the place where the ICM mounts of it's old thermal compound and you did use the new thermal compound that came with the new ICM when you installed it , yes ? I have seen new ICM's burnt out in as little as a few days use by overheating due to lack of proper thermal compound use during replacement .

 

Like an idiot I didn't even think to clean it but I did use the new thermal compound

 

tomorrow I will replace the ICM just because I can get one for free with the warranty. Is there any other advice if that is not the problem?