My 2001 MPV just won’t start - suddenly, after running fine hours before. No relevant codes came up.

It turns, but doesn’t have spark. It did have spark for a second! But then back to no spark, no start. Fuel is good; air is good.

First we replaced the battery. Next we replaced the crank positioning sensor. Next we replaced the coil pack.

Any ideas? Some possibilities we’re considering: replace cam positioning sensor, have ignition module looked at, replace ecu?

Any ideas are super appreciated.

 

I'd love to know the answer to your question. I'm dumping a 2001 MPV that I honestly love, because of this exact issue and just went through a horrendous process searching for vehicles at dealerships and getting a newer Mazda used (and the hefty - for me - monthly that comes with it)

Background (unsure if related, but maybe): I bought this cheap from a shady AF indy dealer about 7 years back. (Dude couldn't even manage to get my title and plates worked out, it was a whole big deal, but that's for another thread). I drove it ALL OVER. Thousands and thousands of miles. A little trooper of a vehicle. Love the damn thing. Then about once a year I started getting check engine lights (always right around inspection time, which, of course, is an automatic fail where i am. Replaced the 02 sensor at least twice. Kept intermittently throwing 02 Code.

Anyway, just after most recent inspection (thank you lawd), check engine came on. I ignored it, because it was running fine. Then one morning met some people for breakfast, stopped somewhere briefly on the way home and went to turn the car on and nada. Now, it had done this for the first time since I had it a week or so before, but after leaving it for a few hours it started up again. This time, it didn't. (Another vehicle in our family has what is probably a faulty ignition part somewhere but that's sort of intermittent and corrects itself when pressure is applied. This definitely isn't that.) After I got towed home, I checked and sure enough, it's throwing 3 or 4 codes and at least 1 of them is that damn O2 sensor code again.

I too thought it was the batt, cause I kept using cheapo walmart batts and had had some fail, even got one swapped under warranty. But all accessories come on, everything looks normal, I hear a click but then nothing. IIRC, I might have replaced a starter 4 years ago. Honestly, and I'm not a mechanic, I think it probably still is the starter. I have heard somewhere recently that in some vehicles a simple think like a lose grounding wire can basically disable a vehicle. The leads on my battery are pretty gnarly, but they're the long style ones that aren't easily swappable. But again, I'm getting juice to lights and dash and radio when I turn to ACC.

Since I'm getting a new vehicle, question is, do I take this to the shop and just see what they say? Or is that dumping more money into a pit? It's a high mileage vehicle, don't get me wrong. Probably not treated well for most of it's life. But other than an issue with the windows side window motor, my baby is a beast of a hauler. And if I turn out to love this new ride, I know someone in need of a vehicle who would probably appreciate it as a gift.

Thanks for any insight, y'all.

 

Hey all, had a car towed into the shop the other day. Cranks, no start. Isolated the issue to spark. With a spark tester installed, I get an initial strong spark when first cranked, then it stops sparking. This is on Nox Vidmate VLC all the coils. Ruled out coils, immobilizer, cam and crank sensors/signal. Any ideas?

 

Sadly I have nothing but bad updates. I had 2 separate mechanics try replacing the crank and cam positioning sensors. We replaced the coil pack and battery. We replaced the ECU! We replaced the fuel filler pump (maybe unrelated to the no spark issue)… Anyone find anything yet? Does everyone has that O2 code?

 

A full list of codes would be more helpful. If there is more than one maybe you should focus on not only the o2 code