2004 Aveo won't start Help.

[aldnaiels1989]

Hi, I have an Aveo that wont start. I bought the car in 2012 and it was running great and fine. Had no big problems with it at all. 2014 I worked long shifts and hit concrete drain that damaged the brake line and radiator. Replaced those two items and the car was still running amazing for 2weeks. Then, the transmission dropped when I was driving it. Come to find out, the transmission was being held up by some chains in the engine where you couldnt see them at all. But even then the car was still starting up because everything was still connected. I replaced with anew transmission, cv joints and starter just in case. After all the repairs were said and done the car would only make clicking noises!! Had a mech. check the voltage on electronics and such and saw the sparks were not getting power. Changed spark plugs, wires, and ignition coil. The car now cranks but will not start. My mother says something is not firing and she said that has to do with the spark plugs and everything i just changed. Is there something that I am missing?? Help.

[06T200]

Since your problem is a bit vast, what have you checked so far?

Is the battery good? 12+ volts? under load?
Does the battery have a solid ground to the chassis and to the engine?

If the engine was flopping around, I have no clue what all may have been damaged, so you will need to literally check every circuit, ground, and all fuses, fusable links, and on and on. Does the PCM have power? Do any lights work on the dash?

If you can get power to the PCM, be sure and pull any codes if any. This may be a clue what was failing before it died. Aside from that keep checking power circuits, grounds, battery condition etc. Once you have power, move onto fuel. Sounds like quite a mess you have! Hope we can help.

[avguy]

Are you saying it hasn't ever started after the tranny was replaced?

[aldnaiels1989]

I don't know if the battery is good. I'm going to take it to be tested and will try a jump when I can.
The lights on the dash do work. I looked to see if the engine light was on but it's not.
I think it is a big mess but can't afford a new vehicle yet :/ I appreciate your reply

I've had a mechanic check voltage on the starter, the old battery I had, the ignition coil(which was getting none to #2, and #4 so I replaced it and the sparks and wires) He checked to make sure everything was plugged up correctly.

I know the fuel pump is coming on and I can tell fuel is getting to the engine. Someone said it could be a sensor.

Since your problem is a bit vast, what have you checked so far?

Is the battery good? 12+ volts? under load?
Does the battery have a solid ground to the chassis and to the engine?

If the engine was flopping around, I have no clue what all may have been damaged, so you will need to literally check every circuit, ground, and all fuses, fusable links, and on and on. Does the PCM have power? Do any lights work on the dash?

If you can get power to the PCM, be sure and pull any codes if any. This may be a clue what was failing before it died. Aside from that keep checking power circuits, grounds, battery condition etc. Once you have power, move onto fuel. Sounds like quite a mess you have! Hope we can help.

[aldnaiels1989]

Are you saying it hasn't ever started after the tranny was replaced?

It hasn't started not once since I replaced the trans.

[06T200]

Make sure the battery is ok, but I would refrain from 'jumping' any car with as much electronics as these cars have. Also if you swapped the coil, make sure it has a good ground. These cars are well known for having ground problems even with the engine and trans bolted down. So I would start at the cheap items, and work my way toward the expensive stuff. Don't overlook the simple stuff, it sucks to find out it was a bad fuse after blowing a grand on diagnosis work.

[aldnaiels1989]

Oh I definitely went through ALL the fuses lol. I'm not advanced on cars (i know what I do from my family who are mostly mechanics but not available to come look at it which sucks!!! they tell me what they can over the phone) could you give me a list of what you would check please? My family is stumped. I think I got fairly far for being a novice and a girl lmao.

[WyrTwister]

So , starter is working ?

For a car to run , it has to have air , fuel and spark . Air , it probably has . Fuel and spark ( spark also has to happen at the correct time ) , I do not know .

Take the top off the air cleaner box and remove the air cleaner . Spray a TINY amount of something flammable , in the tube going from the air cleaner box to the engine . Ideally , starting fluid . But be very careful , some starting fluid used to be ether . Do not know if that is what is used now . But ether is very powerful and too much can be disastrous .

Quickly , before the starting fluid dissipates , try starting the car . If it briefly starts or coughs and tries to start , I would say you probably have spark , but not fuel . If it does not try to start , you probably do not have spark .

You said some one told you it is possibly a sensor . Trouble is , there are lots of sensors on the engine and transmission . There are even sensors on the exhaust system .

How many miles on the car ? Has the timing belt ever been replaced ?

Report back with more info .

God bless
Wyr

[06T200]

could you give me a list of what you would check please? .

Not to be too redundant, but I would check the battery, and grounds, especially the one that bolts to the bottom of the engine as there are many ground circuits that all terminate under the engine, and again under the battery. Do a search for 'g103' and you should find chatter about it.

So take a flashlight and slowly go over every wire you find, trace it to it's ground point, and make sure nothing was missed during the other work.

This is an 04, so it should have a throttle cable correct?

If everything seems good wire wise, you can always do the old school method of; pull a plug, ground it to the engine, and check for spark as someone turns the key. This would tell you if you have spark at least?


Without seeing the car I can only lend these guesses. lol Keep us posted. What has the ECM reported if anything?? Any codes? Any power at all to the ECM?

[06T200]

If you can clue us in as to what sensor may be bad, or even an ECM code, I can dig into the manual to give you the test procedure for the sensor in question. Everything has a test procedure, just need to know which one.

Good luck!