Engines with Starting Problems

All engine regardless of manufacturer need three things to start and run. Air, Fuel and Spark, lets look at each one.

Air- this refers to air intake on four stroke engines this intake is created by the piston pulling in air with the intake valve open. You must have a combustion chamber that is sealed, meaning that there are no compression leaks from the head gasket, or from the valves. The valve timing must also be correct, meaning that the intake valve is open while the piston is going down on the intake stroke. Associated parts include the air filter, air intake manifold, intake valves, pistons and intake hoses.

Fuel- this refers to fuel supply, with out fuel an engine can not run, the fuel supply has to be correct for start and run conditions. Associated parts for fuel are fuel pumps, fuel pump relays, fuel pump fuses, fuel lines, fuel injectors, fuel hoses and carburetors.

Spark- this refers to the ignition source provided to ignite the fuel mixture. Spark is generated from an ignition coil and released in several ways. Associated parts to ignition are the ignition switch, coil, ignition module, crankshaft position sensors, camshaft position sensors, spark plug wires, spark plugs, distributors, and ignition points.

If you have a vehicle in which the engine does not run one of these three things are missing, otherwise it would work, so remember to always check the basics first it will lead you to your problem faster and cheaper.