Why doesn't my Kia Optima Start?
Asked by David Jun 01, 2023 at 09:51 AM about the 2004 Kia Optima EX V6
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
2004 Kia Optima V6 EX
Recreantly there was no power and no start. The battery worked, so I
thought starter. Changed it. problem remains. Father n law squeezes the
starter relay, starts right up. This was Sunday. The car was driving just fine.
Monday cold start seemed weaker then Sunday. Tuesday cold start for sure
slow start. Wednesday cold start slow. While driving Wednesday out of
nowhere the car stalled for 2 sec then kept driving. 10 feet later I loose
RPMs the MPH was 40 goes slightly up hill with the foot on the gas. Died at
the top of the hill. NO start but cranks over. Double checked fuses (all
good). The fuel pump can be heard charging up with every cycling of the
key.
Now I am lost. How can it be loss of fuel pressure if the fuel pump charges
up. Fuel pump would charge if the relay was bad. Maybe spark plugs
Maybe wires. I don't know.
10 Answers
A fuel pump can run and still not make enough pressure, fuel filter can be plugged also the fuel pump strainer inside the fuel tank. You also need a good cam and crankshaft signals to the computer to make the injectors and spark plugs fire correctly. Any codes?
No codes. I tested my coil packs with my vault meter. I tested the crank shaft positioning sensor with my volt meter and all have voltage running Choose them. I took out one spark plug left it in the coil pack and turned the engine over there was no spark.
Cam and crank sensors are signal generators, so to test them you need a signal/pulse width meter. Or a very good scan tool that has live data capabilities then you can see if the computer is getting the signals. How many volts were you reading?
When I used my voltage meter I did not have it on the voltage setting. It was on the ohm's setting and there was nothing consistently staying. It kept jumping all over the place.
Ohms measures resistance, the reading should be stable or show open cause your only testing the internal windings.
So spark plugs,crank and cam sensor has been changed. No start still. I don't want to send it into a mechanic for an easy fix where it's gonna cost me a fortune.
Do you have a scan tool with live data and a fuel pressure tester? Your going to need some diagnostic equipment before you can go much further.
G A I don't have any of those tools. I had the car towed to a shop. Thanks
Good, if you don’t have the tools you can’t find and fix it.
