Hi there. I recently had a problem with my 2002 s2000 with 92,000 miles on it. I went out for a drive for about 20 minutes, turned off the car and had a crank no start. Waited about 5 minutes and the car finally turned back up and I was able to drive it home.

Once I got home I then again turned off the car and tried to start it again but it started to crank and no start again. Until I waited the next morning and suddenly it starts again.

i took it to a local mechanic and they couldn’t find anything wrong. Where should i start looking and what may be wrong here?

im new to owning an S2000 so don’t have much knowledge

 

Lets first make sure our terminology is correct.

By crank no start, you literally mean it went rrrr,rrrr,rrrr as engine went roundy round trying to start, but never fired correct? Starter worked fine, engine sounded like it was spinning at normal rpm to start, no straining or anything else while cranking, correct?

This is a fundamental spark, fuel, compression issue. The basic things an engine needs to fire. We know compression wouldn't miraculously heal, engine does eventually start, so that must be ok.

So fuel or spark. I like to use Starting Fluid as a simple diagnostic to rule out fuel. Next time issue happens, spray some into intake (remove filter). Don't go crazy with half the can. Just a few secs of fog. We're not trying to make puddles.

Don't have to reinstall filter to start it. Do it immediately before the stuff evaporates.

If it starts, issue is definitely fuel related. If it doesn't start, its probably not fuel (but its not definitive).

Someone is going to jump in and say never use starting fluid on a high compression engine. They'd be right, if we were using it to get the engine to start so we could drive it. Its not something you wanna do regularly. It washes oil off cylinders, etc. Would cause wear issues.

Also, there is always the possibility that we'll use too much, and cause serious knock. If we're using it to be able to drive, its easy to be tempted to ise too much or keep trying over and over, bc you need to get somewhere.

But using it once, for a diagnostic, when its an intermittent issue that is difficult to be prepared to troubleshoot thoroughly, SF can be a quick, handy way to know which haystack to look in (fuel or spark).

 

It could be the starter? It may need a bench test.

 

gotcha. From there how would you go about testing fuel or spark?

 

It could be the piece of plastic the clutch touches when you start the car which let's the car know it's ok to crank the engine. This happened to me and I thought it was the starter. Check that there isnt a plastic piece broken where the pedal touches the stopping point.

 

Which is exactly why I asked to clarify the exacr symptoms. That piece of plastic would prevent the engine from cranking. That is, no plastic stopper, starter does not try to engage, does not spin motor. No rrr, rrrr, rrrr sound. Nothing.

If this engine is indeed 'cranking', aka spinning, aka starter is working but ignition is not occurring, its not the plastic stopper.

Troubleshooting is only as good as the info about is happening and what is not.