96 Toyota Camry not starting... stumped

Lord Tin Foilhat

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alright im trying to help fix my roommates car and ive run out of ideas to try. the car still isnt starting. it turns over but no start.

he said it died on him in the middle of driving on the highway and needed a tow back.

weve tried jumping it, and i just replaced the alternator with still no start. i checked all the vaccumm hoses and everything looks good. we have a spark, im sure we have air, and we have fuel (smells a bit when we try to start it, nothing unusual though)

it doesnt seem like a starter, ive tried the tapping it while starting with no luck.


cliffs -


-died while driving
-turns over but doesnt start
-replaced alternator
-tried starting it with jumper cables attached
-im sure we have spark, fuel, and air
-fuses are all good

any ideas?
 

Dasfinc

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Gas
Air
Spark

:dunno:

Sounds like an ignition issue, especially if you are smelling fuel, Coil pack/Rotor/cap? Check for frayed wires, etc

I've heard odd horror stories about air filters getting so clogged up that it caused no-starts.

*edit*

If its turning over, with no start, why did you replace the alternator? Cars *Can/Will* run off just the battery.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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i know thers a spark, i stuck a screwdriver in one of the plugs and turned it over lol got a little shock :)

and the car runs off the alternator AND the battery, you cant have one or the other (unless your alternator produces more power and is able to also power the extra electrical components which your battery usually takes care of)

the alternator does most of the heavy voltage while running and charges the battery. but the battery will run misc electronics and usually the car is dependent on that power source also #edit#to complete the circuit
 

Dasfinc

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i know thers a spark, i stuck a screwdriver in one of the plugs and turned it over lol got a little shock :)

and the car runs off the alternator AND the battery, you cant have one or the other (unless your alternator produces more power and is able to also power the extra electrical components which your battery usually takes care of)

the alternator does most of the heavy voltage while running and charges the battery. but the battery will run misc electronics and usually the car is dependent on that power source also

What are you talking about?

My Ranger drove a solid Hour problem free on the Optima alone with the headlights and stereo on....
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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What are you talking about?

My Ranger drove a solid Hour problem free on the Optima alone with the headlights and stereo on....

ugh lol here this is a common misconception, and it was only a limited time because the battery still had juice

Most here find it impossible to accept that ALL electrics in a car are fed from the alternator while the engine is running and that the voltage prevailing in the circuits is close to 14 volts at such times, if not a tad higher!
If the battery were to feed the same loads, with engine off, the voltage would be 12 or lower!

The higher voltage source will feed all loads. This is not easy for many to digest!

If an alternator is malfunctioning or its capacity has been exceeded, the output voltage from it will drop. That is when the battery will start feeding the circuits, but will do so for a very limited time before it runs out of juice!

Point # 1 - The alternator IS the primary source of electrical energy in the vehicle. It is the generator.
Point # 2 - The battery is a reservoir, an accumalator of charge. The battery supplies power one or more of three conditions are met; the engine is off, the electrical load exceeds that what the alternator is able to supply given a certain RPM AND if the alt is malfunctioning. The battery makes up for the deficit.
 

Dasfinc

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ugh lol here this is a common misconception, and it was only a limited time because the battery still had juice

You JUST said:


i
and the car runs off the alternator AND the battery, you cant have one or the other (unless your alternator produces more power and is able to also power the extra electrical components which your battery usually takes care of)

I had simply stated that a car WILL Start and Run soley on the battery. A no-start condition will rarely, if ever, be caused by a bad alternator if you have a charged/good battery under the hood.

Maybe I'm wrong? But I've NEVER worked on a car that couldn't START AND RUN AND DRIVE on just the battery assuming it has a good charge...

I in NO way said that the Alternator doesn't provide voltage to the system, or that the battery was the 'primary'.

*edit*

I made a grammatical error on my first post, I changed it. I know cars use both, but they don't NEED an alternator to start/run/drive.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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i wasnt specific enough, i should have said on SOME CARS the battery is required aswell as the alternator. some cars dont need the alternator or battery to run, ur correct.

but if your on only battery your very limited to the amount of driving time

same thing if your on just the alternator, you can run for awhile aslong as the rpms are high enough to produce enough voltage to power the car from just the alternator
 

Dasfinc

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i wasnt specific enough, i should have said on SOME CARS the battery is required aswell as the alternator. some cars dont need the alternator or battery to run, ur correct

I'm almost entirely sure the Camry will run on just the Batt... Its a 'redundancy' system, cheaply wired/designed cars, or maybe specialty cars need both.

Either way, I'd still check the coil, You can get spark but with not enough Ohms it may still not fire. You can get the Ohm specs for the coil/pack online, or from Advanced/autozone.

HONESTLY, if the Timing belt was replaced recently, I'd say it could still be suspect... If a shop replaced it, but didn't replace the tensioner and it lets go, thats game-over for all of the valves.... Pull the cover, check for slack, Comp test will also give it away.

How low was he on gas when this happened? I've also heard of cars running till almost empty then sucking in all the crap off the bottom clogging up the filter/injectors.
 

Fish

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Sounds exactly what happened to my 97 camry. One of the coil packs failed, and the car died on me on 53 just north of Woodfield in the middle of a rainstorm. Had to have it towed, and fixed it myself the next day in the parking lot of the shop. :rofl: If its the second pack, its the more expensive one.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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Sounds exactly what happened to my 97 camry. One of the coil packs failed, and the car died on me on 53 just north of Woodfield in the middle of a rainstorm. Had to have it towed, and fixed it myself the next day in the parking lot of the shop. :rofl: If its the second pack, its the more expensive one.

coil packs? i just see a distributor cap and wires
 

Fish

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There are 2 packs. Each poweres 2 plugs.

Unless Toyota changed things within the year, which is totally possible cause I think 96 was a previous bodystyle as well.

Finc Das beat me to it. It probably is different. Still something to look into. Cant be a coincidence that I had ignition problems that caused the car to just die while driving. POS Toyotas.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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On the boot and threads. One had it on the tip but I think that was just from overflow as I removed it the others didn't. But they did smell like fuel.

Also it sounded like the fuel pump turned on. I haven't got the tools to check compression, ill rent one later today. I also sprayed starting fluid while cranking it with still nothing
 

Dasfinc

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On the boot and threads. One had it on the tip but I think that was just from overflow as I removed it the others didn't. But they did smell like fuel.

Also it sounded like the fuel pump turned on. I haven't got the tools to check compression, ill rent one later today. I also sprayed starting fluid while cranking it with still nothing

Compression tester is $25.99 at advanced,

$10 off $25 or more is "BIG10" Discount code

Pick it up at your local store for like $16.XX (I just did this last night)
 
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