I have had no problems driving the car.  Parked it in the garage last Friday.  Monday morning, it won't start but it does turn over and cranks.  I have checked the following things:

-- spark, good in #1 cyl.  Didn't check the rest

-- fuel, appears to be getting fuel, didn't measure fuel pressure

-- timing belt- took of the end covers.  Belt is intact and has good tension.  Didn't check timing marks.

-- codes- only stored code is 32 o2 sensor

 

I did notice that the radiator fans run continuously when the key is on.  Is this normal?  I'm thinking about replacing the coolant temp sensor.  Can the CTS fail in a way that would prevent the car from starting?

Edited March 25, 201313 yr by Sister7

I'd say yes. Takes more fuel to start a cold engine. Because the fans are running, the ECU "sees" a hot engine and therefor no need to add the extra fuel. The CTS along with  the ECU  performs the same function a choke did in the good old days. 

do you hear the feul pump ? should cycle with the key for about 10 seconds fans are probly on because its on defrost or ac is on also check all engine harness conectors see if any are loose or not pluged in all the way you could putt a long screwdriver up to your ear and to the injector and listen for the clicking or niod light. no start = no feul; no spark or no timing everything else it will run

perhaps it's flooded?

 

pull a plug and see if it's wet, or try cranking with the gas pedal held to the floor ('clear flood' procedure)

Another thing to try is spray some starter fluid into the intake to see if that gets some fire in the engine going. If that doesn't do it then you most likely need to check the ignition next and then the compression.

Starter fliud can damage rings it gets behind the rings and explodes cracking rings should not be used on gas engine

You bring up a good point Ivans Imports because you do have to respect the amount of power this fluid is capable of. I suppose if someone sprayed a huge amount of the fluid into the intake what you say could happen but the fluid vaporizes very quickly when it is sprayed out and I think it would kind of hard to get that amount of fluid into the cylinders. By being frugal with the amount of starter fluid used it won't harm the engine at all. Spraying the air filter with a one second blast is the best method, that way the only thing that gets to the cylinders is fumes within the airflow and that is what you want. I have used the stuff for many years on different types of gasoline engines with no problems. For anyone who uses this stuff just keep in mind that a little shot goes a long way. If the engine doesn't respond to that then it usually means something else besides fuel is wrong with the engine operation, like the ignition system or a compression issue. This trick is one of the fastest methods I know of to help determine what is going on with a engine that won't start up and you are unsure what is causing the trouble.

 

Some folks my still disagree with my statements here as this isn't the first time I have heard about damaging engines using starter fluid. I for one sure don't want to pass out advice that will cause more damage to someone elses engine. If you don't feel doing this thing is good to do then don't follow what I say here. I am just passing on what I truely feel is something that will work very well and is safe to do if you do things correctly.

Starter fliud can damage rings it gets behind the rings and explodes cracking rings should not be used on gas engine

Not for gas engines?

 

What kind of engine is starter fluid used for, Diesels ?

 

LOL

Never use starting fluid on a diesle they will become dependent on it. Gas engines can handle it better but just as cougar said a little bit goes a long way.

Ether Starting fluid is awful for diesels. It's best used in low compression gasoline engines, but even then it has to be used wisely.

 

Fans running indicates the ECU thinks the engine is hot, or the test mode plugs are connected.

well i perfer to dribble some gas down the pcv into the intake. But is all erelavent to the problem if its right it will run so find the real problem is there enuff feul preshure do the injectors fire did the ecu and realy power up.

Fixed it!  I replaced the CTS and there was no improvement.  The rad fan turned off when I moved it out of defrost, I will remember that one now... I attempted to start it with the gas petal floored incase it was flooded.  No dice.  I read the troubleshooting procedure in the FSM, and it listed that a symptom of oxygen sensor failure was "failure to start".  I had no idea the o2 could prevent it from starting.

 

I disconnected the o2 and was able to start it with the gas petal floored, and it would stay running but was really rough.  I replaced the o2 today, and she's all better.  It took a while to clear all the extra gas, but as soon as it was up to operating temp again she was running nice and smooth.  Thanks all!

well, I guess code 32 is kinda severe!

Thanks for the follow up Sister7. Good stuff to know.