not starting need help

[snownut1]

My first thread here. A friend has a 1988 or 89 hcrysler lebaron 2.2l. I've already replaced the cap, rotar, plugs,wires,map sensor, and fluid temp sensor, also fuel pump and filter. The car was running alright but decided to quit and not start. Did this before, that is why all of the above was replaced. Like I said it all worked but now it won't start again. Could it be the fuel pressure regulator, vacuum system, or the computer causing this problem? Also when it was running it blew black smoke. Could an o2 sensor or plugged cat contribute to it not starting?

[madmanmapper]

Well there's only a few reasons why a car doesn't start: not cranking, no compression, no fuel (or too much), or no ignition. Obviously what causes these things are more complicated. Black smoke you say? Perhaps the computer is injecting too much gas. First, make sure you are getting ignition. Unplug one spark plug wire from the plug, then get another plug, any old plug, and plug it into the wire. Hold the wire with the plug in it so that the metal side of the plug touches some metal component under the hood, like the intake, so you ground it, then have someone else get in the car and crank it for about 2-3 seconds. You should see the spark plug sparking, if not, maybe you have a bad coil. If it does spark, plug the wire back in and move on to the fuel issue. Test the fuel pressure. To do this, locate the fuel rail (I'm assuming that it has fuel injection). Somewhere along the fuel rail there should be a valve, like an A/C valve, or a large tire valve. Use a key or something to push in the valve, with the ignition ON, once you push the valve in, gas should squirt out. If it doesn't, you have no fuel pressure. If it does, maybe the engine is flooded. Go to the fuse box under the hood, and pull out the fuel injector fuse (or the fuel pump). Then sit in the car and crank the engine for about 4 seconds with the gas pedal all the way down. Let the start rest for about 10 seconds and do it again. Then maybe once more. Then plug the fuse back in and try starting the car normally. If the engine starts, but it's sputtering, you might want to hold the gas pedal down a bit until the engine stops sputtering. And if you cant get it to run right (or at all) then it's probably a fuel issue.

[snownut1]

Thanks for the tips! I'll see if I can try this during the week.