Car at exhaust shop: suddenly no longer starting

[hatchke]

This is going to be a hard one to troubleshoot remotely but i'm trying to gather some other ideas to help these guys out a little. The shop is about 40min from my house and i'm not about to just run down there blindly yet.

I drove the car down this morning to get a new tailpipe made. Not a single issue this morning getting it down there. They started it and got it onto the lift, new tail piece all done and now the thing won't start and get out of their shop.

Fuel pumps are running and building fuel pressure but it's just cranking over and over. They say it's not getting spark. I already have PATS disabled in the tune, so I don't know what else to tell them right now. The car does have some sort of PATS issue (bought it like this) and the car won't start without PATS being disabled.

I don't even know what could have possibly gone awry in the last 2-3 hrs that they've had the car. I mean, it's kind of their problem now, but obviously I want to help this along and get my car back lol. What could I possibly be missing here?

 

[94slowbra1]

Possibly shorted something out if they did any type of welding on the car?

 

[hatchke]

Possibly shorted something out if they did any type of welding on the car?

That's literally all I can think of. They shouldn't have needed to even weld anything while it was on the car, but I don't know what else they could have done here. It went from a functional car to a non-crank and the only variable that changed was exhaust work.

 

[BlackStang00]

Did they check all the fuses? I know it’s an exhaust shop but can they check for codes? Also make sure the crank position sensor is plugged in all the way. I’ve seen the connector break and not seat all the way.

 

[hatchke]

Did they check all the fuses? I know it’s an exhaust shop but can they check for codes? Also make sure the crank position sensor is plugged in all the way. I’ve seen the connector break and not seat all the way.

Yeah I just got off the phone and told them I have a SCT Livewire in the console they can check codes with. I'll get them to check the main fuses too.

 

[2003RedfireVert]

Fishy AF. Hopefully they find it and fix it on their dime. Another story that solidifies my paranoia which is why I don’t use shops. I know they aren’t all bad but this is why I avoid them like the plague. I have trust issues.

Keep us updated.

 

[94slowbra1]

Also if there is no spark check all the connections in the spark plug harness

 

[03' White Snake]

Stupid question, Do they know to press clutch down to start the car?

Is it cranking and no start or not cranking at all?
Battery issue?

I would try and reflash the tune. Possibly see if it resets PATS system.

 

[hatchke]

Yeah i'm just going to bring spare keys now and run down there. They still can't get it going and I don't even get a good sense of what they've tried or not at this point. I don't feel super confident in their abilities at this point.

They're afraid to touch the thing with it being "this modified". I guess i'm probably the most qualified person to troubleshoot it, but man this is frustrating.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

Stupid question, Do they know to press clutch down to start the car?

Is it cranking and no start or not cranking at all?
Battery issue?

I would try and reflash the tune. Possibly see if it resets PATS system.

he said the tune disabled PATS, if PATS was the issue fuel pumps wouldnt be turning on (PATS kills power to the pump)

 

[Murderedsvt]

Do you have a boost a pump ?

 

[Murderedsvt]

What about the cut off switch in the trunk

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

What about the cut off switch in the trunk

cut off switch in the trunk is fuel pumps...

 

[Roots-type]

Floor mat could be keeping the clutch switch from making contact. Been there. Felt like a complete tard afterwards. Hopefully it's something simple.

 

[SVTdreamin04]

Yeah i'm just going to bring spare keys now and run down there. They still can't get it going and I don't even get a good sense of what they've tried or not at this point. I don't feel super confident in their abilities at this point.

They're afraid to touch the thing with it being "this modified". I guess i'm probably the most qualified person to troubleshoot it, but man this is frustrating.

Reminds me of taking my Cobra to a local speaker shop and telling the guys they can't leave the key on because the fuel pump won't shut off. Dude looked at me and told me "it will shut off once it builds pressure".

You're right, you're the best one to troubleshoot the problem unfortunately. I would ask them when they did their welding where they placed their ground clamp. If they threw it in any old place, that itself could be bad.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[98 svt]

I had a chip fail in a key once. The spare key worked, but not my usual key.

 

[hatchke]

Well it took me forever to figure out and it's.... a lot worse than I expected. The FRPS failed in a catastrophic manner and pressurized that whole vacuum line with fuel.

I'm taking a quick break and running to the store for a new FRPS and then i'm going to have to pull the plugs and see where all that fuel was going. This is... certainly less than ideal.

 

[beau t]

I'm taking a quick break and running to the store for a new FRPS and then i'm going to have to pull the plugs and see where all that fuel was going. This is... certainly less than ideal.

Might want to grab oil while your at the auto parts store just in case it filled up the bottom end.

unsure how i managed to get it to say you said it lol.

 

[gimmie11s]

Hopefully they weren't out raw-hiding the damn thing before doing the actual work.

Ugh... I hate shops!

 

[hatchke]

unsure how i managed to get it to say you said it lol.

lol I was just wondering the same thing. Yeah oil is unfortunately on my list as well. I checked the oil before leaving and the oil level looked normal and didn't reek of gas, but I didn't really focus on it too heavily.

Looks like i'm lugging a bunch of tools, a jack and stands down to a random parking lot tonight. I probably should have just had it towed home earlier, but I was right on the verge of figuring out wtf was happening.