Hello all. I have an 04 Automatic, 63k miles. This problem started last Friday. This car is my daily driver. I was out all day Thursday running errands and made it home fine. When I went to leave for work Friday morning, the car would crank, but not start. I didn't leave the lights on or anything, there was/is juice in the battery. We pulled the bottom spark plug and it was dry/not fouled. Should I check the other 3 plugs as well? Should I perform the de-flood procedure even thought the plug was not fouled? The engine has flooded on me once due to not allowing the engine to fully warm up, but that was a couple years ago. I went thru the de-flooding procedure then and the car was back to "normal". About a year and a half ago I had an issue with one of my plugs misfiring. Turns out I had a loose spark plug wire. I had the plugs, wires, and coils replaced shortly after that. I don't put a lot of miles on the car, so if I had to guess I would say that was around 10k miles ago. Other than that, I had the front O2 sensor replaced in 2010. No other major work/mods to the car.


I had been experiencing rough idle/shaking with the car for awhile now. I have the issue where when I stop at a light, the car will sometimes drop down to 700 rpm and act like it's going to stall, but it never does. I've only had the car stall out on me twice, and not at all recently. It does seem to be worse in warm/hot weather. I don't use the AC, because using it seems to make that worse.

Anyway, I've searched the forums for issues similar to mine, and they mostly seem to point to compression. Since my car will not start, I'd have to get it towed to a dealer/shop to get it tested. Is it possible for the car to be running fine (fine as in running normal for my car), and just literally die overnight? I was reading that it may also be the fuel pump, and that's my next planned course of action. Is there a simple way of testing to see if the fuel pump is the problem? Also, I've read a lot of threads about people having a bad Catalytic Convertor. Again I ask, could a bad cat just pop up overnight? One day the car is running, but the next it won't even start? I'm posting on here looking for other tips/suggestions before I have to take it to a professional. It would be nice to at least diagnose the problem on my own. I don't want to replace random parts without some logic to it, especially if it turns out to be a bad engine (Gasp!). Thanks for reading.

 

I would confirm spark and fuel first.

No fuel and no spark = e-shaft sensor problem or voltage problem.
Yes spark but no fuel = fuel pump (and related system) problem
Yes fuel but no spark = grounding problem, coil failure, or wire failure
Yes spark and fuel = compression loss or starter speed (due to battery and/or starter)

 

Try jump start yet?
U mentioned there were juice in the battery, but is it enough?

 

We did try to jump it last night. It wouldn't start. The crank was slow at first, but when we gave the jumping car some gas, it cranked faster, but still not enough to turn over. I'm posting from work, I will try to confirm fuel/spark tonight. Could it be as simple as just buying a new battery? The one I have in my car is around 2 years old. Maybe even a little less.

 

Yes, that sounds like a weak battery charge, even with the jumping car.

You can pick up a reasonably battery charger fairly cheaply too. Letting a battery sit on a trickle charger for a day or so solves most low battery concerns.

 

To answer one of your questions, I would say it is possible for a cat to cause your problem overnight, but unlikely. Theory; a cat can have the strata develop cracks and a chunk could break off and not impede the exhaust flow the day before.
At start-up, it could get blown sideways and block the exhaust.
Possible, highly unlikely IMHO.
I suggest dying battery. If it's hot, they will go bad if they're already weak.
Lots of auto stores will check it for free. Remove it and bring it somewhere to check it, and possibly avoid a tow and diagnostic charge. Wouldn't hurt.
Good luck!
*Edit* also check that your battery terminals are clean & tight.