SO.... last weekend I had a code for a MAP sensor, replaced it... car went back to normal and I took it on a 4hr round trip, drove it all week with zero problems.
So today I go to leave my girlfriends house and it won't start. Finally I had to bury the clutch against the carpet for it to fire up. So then I get going... thought it was kind of weird. So while I'm on the highway, I realize that it won't accelerate over 4k. I get home, turn the car off... reset the ecu.. now it won't start. Sounds flooded out or maybe a different sensor or o2? Super frustrated, lol. Anybody have any ideas? I literally did nothing to it this week except put half a tank of gas in it yesterday.

 

Are there any codes present now?
Have you tried swapping out the old MAP sensor to see if it will start with it installed?
Have you checked the sensors down by the clutch pedal?

These all would be good starting points to look at. The clutch pedal does activate an electromagnetic relay when it is depressed. A magnet should be able to trip it without the pedal depressed. The forums here have better details then I do right now as I have read how it was done but haven't had to do it myself.

 

Cant get it to anywhere to read a code now. I replaces the map because it was giving me the DSC light and was hesitating when driving. This is different, its acting like it's not getting gas? Turned it on tonight, fired back up.... revd fine the first time, up way past 4k... then again.. fine.... 3rd time, started bogging out at 4k, revved again and it started flooding at 2k, then was sputtering at idle and died. Wont start again. lol. ??

 

I mean.. does this sound like fuel pump... does it sound like plug wires? So frustrated.

 

How many miles on the car? When was the last time plugs, wires, and coil were looked at? Have you inspected the harmonic balancer lately?

It sounds like you are getting fuel to the motor from how you describe things so I would check the above items. A harmonic balancer that is about to die will give you issues at higher revs if it is failing. It can be visually inspected with minimal tools. The coil might be worth taking off to inspect it and clean up the contacts if need be. Make sure you don't over tighten the bolt on the reinstall if you do remove the coil for inspection.

 

It has a proud 215k on it
I just did oil change / plugs last week... could grab a wire set but, why would it all of a sudden not start? It's trying to rollover, I see where it could not be getting a spark.

 

Check the contacts on the coil to the wires. If it is the stock coil, the contact at the coil for cylinder 3 does get corroded and can be cleaned up.

The sudden difficulty in starting could be a number of things. Weak battery, loose ground, failing ignition switch, bad coil, failing alternator, EWS sync error. Some potential problems are easier to check then others. It comes does to process of elimination sometimes.

 

it's what happened leading up to it that makes me wonder though. Not being able to rev over 4k, then less and less... then flooded to a stall. now won't turn over. Seems super weird.

 

Some electrical issues are easy to overlook sometimes until they completely fail. Here's my post where I talked about the things that happened to my mini https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...n-my-mini.html

Since then I've redid my headliner, wrapped my pillars, and a few other odds and ends. Sometimes things just wrong all at once.

 

 

To me, the revving issue just screams fuel pump and the associated relay/wiring. You can run a little test by letting the fuel pump run a while when you turn the key to ON to build up what pressure it can in the rails, and then trying to start. If the car runs for a few seconds again before dying, the pump would be suspect. If you have a reader you can also look at the fuel trims to see if the long-term trim is super rich.

 

 

About #3 it is due to its placement and the contact material. Sometimes you can take steelwool to it and get some more life out of the coil. When I replaced mine it was pretty bad. The stock coil is fine replacement as well as the Screaming Demon coil from WMW. I bought my coil from WMW and it was just a straight bolt in. The MSD coil does take some modifying for it to work and seems to be the cause of an occasional problem.

 

 

I'm sure the rust probably plays a part in not wanting to start. I keep a Bluetooth OBD reader in my glove box. It keeps it handy for when I need to pull a code when I'm not home as I can do some stuff directly from my phone.

Let's us know what you end up finding is the problem.

 

+1 on the BT readers. I got mine for $12 thinking I'd replace it when it inevitably failed, but it's still going strong and has been great for this sort of thing along with the Torque app. I think it's a veepeak.