For an engine to run

For an engine to run, you need three things to happen inside the engine, compression, fuel and ignition, without any one of these components the engine will not run.
• Compression - Engine compression caused by crankshaft rotation and pistons moving up and down inside the engine block. If the timing belt or timing chain fails it will cause the camshaft to become out of correlation with thecrankshaft or allow the camshaft to stop rotating. Either of these conditions will cause the engine to lose compression and sometimes cause internal engine damage.
• Fuel Delivery System - The fuel system includes: fuel pump, fuel injectors, pressure regulator, fuel filter and pressure lines. This system is used to supply fuel under pressure to the fuel injection system, the lack of fuelpressure or volume will cause the fuel delivery system to fail and the engine to stall or not start.
• Ignition Spark Delivery System - The ignition system components include: spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor (if applicable), crankshaft angle sensor, camshaft angle sensor, ignition coil, ignition module, knock sensor and ECM (engine control module). The engine relies on the ignitionspark to be delivered to the combustion camber at the correct time. If the ignition spark stops or is delivered at the wrong time the engine will not run or run poorly.
If Your Engine Cranks but Does Not Start Follow this Troubleshooting Guide
Most vehicles operate by the same principle; basic troubleshooting procedures apply to most cars.
• Step 1: Anytime you have a problem withelectronically controlled components such as an engine, transmission, ABS brake, or SRS (supplemental restraint system, Air Bag) inspect all fuses using a test light and check the under hood power distribution center and under dash fuse panels. If all fuses test ok continue to the next step.
• Step 2: To check for problems with electronically controlled components such as an engine, transmission, ABSbrake, or SRS (supplemental restraint system, Air Bag) and the fuses test ok a trouble code scan is needed to identify any system trouble. Use a simple scanner tool to retrieve trouble codes and see if they relate to the specific problem, like a crank angle sensor failure code. If the trouble code present does not pertain to the immediate problem like an EVAP code ignore it until a later time, afterthe car is running. The reason we repair non-related codes after the engine is running is because sometime false codes can be triggered by the engine not running. Once the engine is running again the code present might cycle and turn itself off. You might say "if the engine doesn't run shouldn't it have a trouble code?" Sometimes conditions occur that will not be detected by the computer, example:if the fuel pump fails the computer cannot detect the failure, so the engine doesn't start and the computer thinks everything is ok with no codes. If no trouble codes are present proceed to the next step.
• Step 3: The spark plugs in your engine are used to ignite the compressed fuel air mixture. If the condition of the spark plugs are fouled by excessive fuel or carbon the engine will notstart, backfire or run rough. Remove all spark plugs to inspect their condition. Please use this spark plug condition reference guide to see how the spark plugs are operating.
• Step 4: Determine if the engine has compression, this can be done a number of ways but the most complete method is to perform a compression check. Remove the spark plugs and perform a compression test on one cylinder.If one cylinder has compression then the remaining cylinders usually will be close to the same. Crank the engine over about 5 seconds, normal compression readings should be between 125 psi and 160 psi on each cylinder. If no or little compression exists additional tests will be needed. The most common reason for an engine to lose compression is a timing belt or timing chain failure. If low or no...