I'd like to know what you think. I have a one owner car w/77,000 miles on it. I havent put a lot of mileage on it, and it seems a lot of the parts on it are original...I've had to replace the alternator, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and ignition module in the past 3 months.


2 months ago, my bf was driving my car home, I was riding along, when it just stopped running. It didnt skip or make any noises, it just stopped running. My dad knows a mechanic, so he's been paying the labor and I bought hte manual for my car, and the parts. Its not the fuel pump, and the mechanic narrowed it down to ignition module. I bought it and he installed it yesterday. I think he may have installed it in haste, for when he started it, the car doesnt turn over still. Smoke and popping sounds come out from where the filter is, close to where the idle thread is, i think its the air filter area. its very dirty, so at first he thought we should keep starting it to clear it out. But it makes popping noises and a lot of smoke, almost sounds like its going to start but doesnt. Its getting spark and the fuel is definitely getting where it needs to go. We also charged the battery just in case that was the problem. He and my bf said it sounds like the timing is off now. This was NOT a problem before ignition module was replaced. So I called around and apparently my model doesnt use a timing chain or belt, but some kind of part most places havent heard of nor carry, excpet for napa. So I need to know what could be wrong, so I can buy the right parts. I have the parts napa read to me saying thats all I need, but its at home, I'm at work so I will have to add that to this when I get back home and maybe that will help a bit.


I'm getting desperate, please help me please please. I'm going crazy and we all know towing cars to repair shops is costly :( *cry*.


Thanks in advance,


Kristy

My first thought was indeed the ignition module died. As to the popping, check the firing order and timing.


C.J.

Thanks for such a prmpt reply!. Sorry about the delay.. Here's the rest of the details. The ex mechanic my dad's been paying says its the timing, and yes a lot of ppl are saying to check that, but I dont know what we could test to check and make sure that thats the problem

I called Napa, and was advised that my car needs two parts if its timing, that my car doesnt have a timing belt or chain:
1) match gear set
2) timing gasket

I dont know if theres something I can use to test the car and see if its the timing. Also, have you ever heard of these parts? I cant find info about these parts w/auto zone or advanced auto parts.

I'd trust NAPA before I'd trust Auto Bone...but not by much.


Let's start from scratch.


Remove the negative terminal from the batery for at least 30 seconds. This resets the computer. Reconnect and retry.


Still the same problem?


Just a thought...HOW was your bf driving it?


C.J.Edited by: texasred

he drives my car gently I suppose, he wasn't beating on it or anything, no heavy acc. or braking, any sharp turns or flying over bumps...I'll get back to you on the reset.

OK so I had my car towed in to my bf's family car shop since they usually give discounts to his mom. It was towed on Thanksgiving holiday weekend and they looked at it finally the other day for a few minutes to discover the cables were on backwards. So the last mechanic, or "mechanic" my dad hired, was a moron like I was worrying....They say the car should be fine and is ready for pick up and they didnt charge much at all mostly because of that. So I was lucky in this case.





Thanks for the responses and suggestions :).