Chevy Cavalier Crank No Start

• Gas
• Fuel Filter
• Mixing valve
• Fuel pump
• etc....

The list can be quite long, I suggest you google a forum on this

yea I thought so.. It was running fine the other day and this morning. no start. the only other thing is that my head lights and lights inside the car like shift lights and dash light wouldn't work but my brights did.

Just read that gas was the problem all along. GA from me.

Check all of the fuses in all of the fuse boxes on the vehicle.

Based on your statement you have at least one fuse out.

Wow, Christian, I feel for ya.

New battery, eh? Well, at least we have that out of the way.

When the engine cranks, is it a chuggeda-chuggeda sort of sound or a more robust ch-ch-ch-ch-ch sound?

How about gas? When did you fill it last? Did somebody siphon it back out?

What color is it? We seem to have quite a few red Cavaliers lately with exactly the same extensive list of symptoms.

It is a chuggeda-chuggeda sound. My brother says its like it isn't catching. its silver. I have gas the meter shows half. This problem literally happened over night. Maybe gas isn't getting where it should?

Silver huh? Well that's good.

^{I feel so... oh, how would you say it...}

Christian, you really need to tell us more: Vehicle year, miles on the clock, engine and tranny combo, is it cold or rainy where you are, where ARE you...

Please tell us all you can about what you DO know, we can guess at the rest.

It goes chuggeda-chuggeda but it doesn't catch!

I'd have thought a silver one would go pocketa-pocketa-pocketa and then catch.

That rules out color, the muffler bearings and the 710 cap right off.

This is worse than I thought.

We'll need to know the exact latitude to determine if this is related to the Coriolis effect on the distributor.

Yes, more information is clearly needed.

Yeah, I was thinking that Coriolis might be effecting the distributor, but maybe the attitude sensor may need readjusting?? Those kind of attitudes causes the pockets to run lean

This is a job for Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers.

Bet you never heard about the "black sheep" of their family. His name was Crack.

Only when he bent over an engine compartment , the pig trough or the kitchen sink.

T'was his mother first used the name, when he was six !

I was going to highly recommend Moe, Larry and Curly, I'm almost sure one of would them right up

I'd have thought a silver one would go pocketa-pocketa-pocketa and then catch.
I was laughing so hard i had coffee coming out my nose.

You really need to use the search this forum box on the right. After all, this is hardly the first Cavalier not starting post in this forum. Do you want me to rate this as a duplicate post, then?

"... engine cranks fine [so] it cant be the battery..." - well spotted!

Sorry, buddy, but coming on here with "Chevy Cavalier Won't Start", you're gonna get ripped to bits!

We are doomed!

Typing "Cavalier won't start" into Google produces about 1,850,000 results, the first one being: CR4 - Thread: 98 Chevy Cavalier Won't Start.

I didn't try the thousands of other "Cavalier won't......................didn't......................combinations.

OP may be better served by typing "Cavalier forums" into Google.

So this really is a duplicate post. I thought so!

...it cant be the battery ... because it cranks over right?

Its one of the other reasons.

Is fuel in the tank?

ill let you know what happens when I do what you said. thanks

First I would like to thank every one for actually trying to help :). Its a 98 Chevy Cavalier. Im in Virginia and it just got done snowing not to long ago, a week. Today was in the 70's. My fuses look good the battery seems to be strapped in good. Maybe a connection problem els where? maybe gas flow problem?

Do you have any automotive experience? Access to any tools?

Back to square one.

This looks like a game of 20 questions.

1. Why did you get a new battery?

2. Was this before, or after, the mighty Cavalier wouldn't start.

3. Is this car equipped with a factory anti-theft system?

4. Did you change the batteries yourself?

5. Have you ever diagnosed or repaired cars by yourself before?

It has that anti lock system yes I got the battery because it wouldn't do anything at all. after I got the battery it ran. like I said I drove it yesterday. and this morning it would crank but not start. I put in the battery myself two weeks ago.

It could be any number of things.

• Check your battery Terminals, at times the threads could erode/strip and not make good contact.

http://www.haynes.com/repairmanuals/chevrolet/cavalier

At least the manual wont try and make fun of you! Well, it seems like that at first anyway....give it a shot..it's much like paint-by-numbers!

Could be their to close to the District of Columbia? I've heard rumors that everything around DC is broken!

I'm going to D.C. on vacation next week,...... I'll bring my tool box.

If you are going to work on your own vehicle, you should purchase a 'service' manual for the vehicle. General coverage manuals from Chilton or similar can help but are often lacking information. Shop manuals from the manufacturer are 5-10 times more expensive, but they contain information specific to that model.

Before the use of semiconductors and microprocessors for control, it was simple to check, if you had fuel in the range of burn mix, and a spark at the proper time when you cranked it, it would most likely start to run. It is not so simple today.

Example: My little brother bumped the curb in his RED vehicle(not hard enough to spill the coffee on the dash) (not sure if it was a Cavalier), came back out from appointment and car cranked but would not start. After checking all the standard failure modes, walked to a parts house and purchased a manual, and after skimming through the manual for another hour or so, removed a kick panel and pushed a little white button on a little black box(crash sensor reset) and the car started.(overly sensitive sensor replaced soon after)

Example: My '90 Chev. 4X4 stopped running on the freeway and I coasted to the shoulder, checked the usual, spark ok, no fuel, fuse OK. Crawled under truck with VOM, pulled connector at tank, no pump power. Checked pump relay mounted on firewall, lucky the relay has contact diagram on top. 12V present on N.O terminal, no voltage to coil. Made a jumper out of piece of extension cord to power up the pump, truck started. There is no output from the ECM to power the relay. Question is still- is it a failed ECM, or a currently unknown input to the ECM and the ECM turns off the pump. I am funding the purchase of a Chevrolet shop manual so I can service this vehicle as I plan on keeping it. If I took this to a dealer or other shop for service, they would most likely start by replacing the ECM (most expensive), then whatever else until the vehicle ran and hand me a bill for twice the value of it.

Good luck in your endeavor!

See what I said about red being bad?

A spray can of starting fluid. available at any auto parts store sprayed in the intake of the throttle body will tell you if you are not getting fuel. A fuel pressure gauge (around $14) at the same auto parts store screwed down to the Shrader valve on the fuel rail will tell if your fuel pump is delivering fuel. Usually about 45-55 psi. Bob C described how to check for spark.

There is a bill before congress that should put the Cavalier on the endangered feces list, should it pass.

Let me check with my friend here and I'll get to you!

Oh my GOD! Her hands are HUGE!

She needs to hook up with that other Cavalier guy... you know the one, it would only start if you thumped on the gas tank.

Hey, Christian: Have you tried thumping on the gas tank whilst trying to start it up? We know first hand that sometimes works.

Didn't we discover that method works only on a certain colour ?

I mean really...pocketa pocketa Thump,pocketa pocketa Thump, pocketa pocketa Thump ?? Surely the inherent properties in the paint colour must jerk the co-valent bonds in the substrate, and result in a catastrophic failure before the car can start ?

We didn't consider the gender of the vehicle either...maybe it is a female refusing to start...Nuh-uh Nuh-uh Nuh-uh Nuh-uh Nuh-uh Nuh-uh NuhNuhNuhNuh !!!

We all know there is no fix for that symptom.......except... maybe.... I wonder....

what about a daffodil mounted under the fuel cap, or an orchid on the dash ?

Hell yeah...expensive chocolates in the cubby!! Am I close, or what ?

I would hate to get my prostrate exam from her.

Her rings add some additional stimulation and watch out for the ....

Hey every one. I learned it is the gas pump. No gas is going anywhere. But I fixed it and would like to thank every one for the input! It really helped!

Did you find that red wire terminal under the hood?

The fuel pump does seem to be a common failure point on these cars. I hope you did not get the red fuel pump.

Well, now that your chariot is off the disable list, I hope you will stay around, and break someone else's balls share your knowledge and wit with others.

There are several possibilities for solving problems like this:

• One involves towing it to the local breakers and leaving it there.
• Another involves listing the vehicle with photographs on a well-known internet auction site (name withheld). After a few days, someone calls by, swaps the vehicle for some money, and takes the problem away.

If it cranks that means the battery is functional, the starter is turning, and the engine is not seized up. You are way ahead of most owners already! Next is the fuel delivery system. Don't add too much gas, you may exceed its value if it still won't start and run. I would put it in neutral and try to push it forward a few feet to see if the transmission is locked up before you replace the fuel pump or filters. But those would be next. If the fuel is reaching the cylinders, then spark plugs and ignition wires would be next. Finally the air filter and the timing check. If it starts, drive directly to the nearest auto dealer and let them give you a cash offer to sell the car on the spot. Then take the cash to McDonalds and get a Happy Meal, you deserve a reward for dumping the car without having to pay a fee for disposal.