This post is for my brother because it happened about 10 mins ago and he is still out.
I guess he pulled up to a toll booth and his car stalled, he said it would not start but it was turning over. He then said that it starts to smell like gas then finally it started after like 5 minutes.
anyone heard of anything like this and maybe know what to check?
any help would be great thanks!

 

ok, so it wasnt today it was last night. lol

 

what you probably have is a problem in the ignition

you flooded the car making it impossible to start

you waited 5 minutes for it to evaporate and then it started.

happens when you park uphill also

when you smell that gas stop starting it for a few minutses. theres probably nothing wrong with the car but i would change all the spark plugs.

 

do you think the starter could be a factor in all this?

 

No... It's ignition related.

Also if your car is flooded, floor the gas pedal to enter "flood" mode which will kill or retard the injectors back during start, and it should start, worked for me.

 

so if the car doesnt start, he should floor it once? then it might start?

 

floor it keep it floored and try starting while floored like the above post said it cuts the injectors back.

 

thanks guys! i will tell my bro and see what happens!

 

Figured it out.. His ignition was worn down to the point where his car did not recognize that it was trying to be started or even running for that matter, quick fix and its good. Thanks guys

 

Yea it was ignition related, It was my car =P Anyways, any word on this? I got my ignition changed, and it was running fine, for a day. Then it stalled at a stop light, and then was acting weird. I left it at the shop for a day so he could diagnose it some more, called and said its been starting all day, and now I have it and its driving perfect. Is this the spark plugs or anything I should change? It hasnt happened in a day or two, but i am wondering if i will eventually have a problem again.

 

not sure what u mean by ignition. DO u mean the ignition switch?

Any codes?

I would check both crank sensors and the cam sensor.

 

ignition goes from the ignition switch where you put your key to the spark plugs where you get spark

so its some problem in that whole system/

it could be fouled plugs definitely

 

Exactly thats why i needed some specifics. prolly switch got worn contacts.

 

i used to work at a used car lot so I know a certain troubleshooting starting guide by heart.

not a truly comprehensive one because if a problem is complex the car would go to the mechanic.

for my personal vehicle, especially if I dont know what the spark plugs look like, I put in brand new spark plugs because spark plug fouling can mimic a few different symptoms.

its intermittant and weird.

I also put sea foam or deep creep in the combustion chamber because spark plug fouling is OFTEN caused by inevitable water leaking into the combustion chamber and causing gunk.

So first I clean it out with the old plugs in there then I put new ones in.
when i first got my i30 i took out the lazer platinum 15$ plugs in it and put in copper ones because i just had no feel for whether or not they were fouling. they could have had 195k miles on them they sure were dirty. you can use something called a spark tester but by then just put new ones in screw it.
I cant tell from here but it seemed like it could be fouled plugs from over the internet. Thatll do that

theres a few places in the lines. theres also the coils. that should bring an error code though is your cel on?

 

This is going to sound completely unrelated but check your MAF or try swapping yours out with a buddy who has a good running car.

I bought a aftermarket MAF on ebay for my OEM as a replacement and after a few days my car would run extremely rich and stall and smell like burnt gas along with a ton of nice smoke. It was so bad that my car wouldn't even start anymore with the MAF connected. But since I couldn't drive with the MAF disconnected my car was dead as a door nail. But it would idle just fine....

And the strange part? No codes what so ever... there was a code when my OEM MAF went out but there wasn't one for the new one when it shorted out.

 

Yea. I got the ignition switch replaced. And it happend again the same day. I will probly change the spark plugs. The MAF sensor is actually a good idea, I was thinking that myself. But i wanna start where i should first i guess. Also my CEL came on, it was in a few weeks ago, turned itself off, and then turned back on today. I dont have anything to check for codes.

 

Yeah thats how I found out my MAF was bad, just unplug it and everything was A-OKAY except the being able to drive part.

But that helped me pin point the problem.

 

turn the screw on your ECM or go to autozone/checkers or local part store and they should be able to get codes for you