HHR won't start: no codes, has fuel, has spark - please help!
 

I’m trying to help my friend with his 2007 Chevy HHR LS, Silver paint, manual tranny, 50,000 miles. He can’t get it started. Here’s the story:
His wife filled it at the gas station to ¾ full and drove it home. The next day it won’t start. It’s winter here about 25 degrees. :skull1:

He thought it was a bad battery so he installed a new one.

I went to his house and scanned the OBDII – no codes.

The car cranks normally but won’t start. Here’s what it seems like to me: Turn the key, all electrical lights come on as normal, the starter cranks, the engine turns and sometimes it even begins to combust. But as soon as that happens the car shuts off. My immediate thought was that the computer is shutting the car off for some reason.

His wife was afraid maybe she put diesel in the tank so we disconnected the fuel line from the fuel rail and turned the ignition to ACC to pump some fuel into a comtainer. To us it smells like gas so we don’t think she put diesel in there.

The serpentine belt is in place and in one piece.

My friend said he checked the fuses and relays and didn’t find anything. I wasn’t there for that part though so I’m not 100% sure about it.

Then we checked for spark using one of those testers that attaches to the plastic sleeve that attaches to the spark plug and has a wire that you are supposed to attach to ground. All four cylinders have spark. The sparking seemed slow but since the car isn’t really running I guess it is sparking at the slower cranking speed the starter provides. But each one had spark.

We are thinking of doing a compression test next. I have a feeling with such low miles the compression test is going to come back fine.

Some have suggested it could be a crank position sensor or something. I don’t understand why I don’t see any codes.

I have also thought it could be the anti-theft system somehow. The light on the dash isn’t blinking or stuck on or anything though.

Does anyone have any ideas about what could be causing this? :playviolin:

Sounds like it's not a lot of fun, especially in the cold weather.

Are you sure the ODB Scanner you are using is compatible? - it has to be able to read OBDII-CAN to pull down the codes on the HHRs.

I think the scanner works...
 

Well, I just bought the scanner the other day and I admit it's a cheap one at $24.


I use the Torque app on my Android phone and it is able to read the rpms, speed, fuel mileage, etc so it seems to be getting info from the car real time.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...g.prowl.torque

I used the same scanner on a GMC Envoy and it found a P0442 code. I also scanned a Saturn SW1 and it found a P0401 code. So I think it is working. Those are both GM cars so I would think it should work on the Chevy?

Another possibility is there is no power to the data port. Don't remember what fuse it is, but this vehicle has two fuse boxes. Have you checked both fuse boxes?

How did you determine you had spark and fuel?

What type of fuel did she put in the vehicle?

Is yours rated for E85?

How I tested spark and fuel
 

I used a spark tester on each cylinder and cranked the engine.

I connected the fuel line (at the fuel rail) to a hose/container and turned the key to ACC. This ran the fuel pump and gas went into my container.

So I at least know that the pump works and the car has gas in it.

I also saw spark at each plug.

I don't think the 2007 models were rated for E85.

For what its worth, see if it will run GOOD on ether(starting fluid)

if it will run on ether....then you can narrow your problem down faster...

Spray it right into the intake

Good idea about the Ether
 

That's a good idea about the Ether. I will recommend that to my friend.

is this car fussy with gas caps? my mom has a pontiac bonneville ssei supercharged and the gas cap wasnt sealing properly and sometimes wouldnt let the car start...not sure if the hhr is as fussy

How would I test this? Push on the gas cap while trying to start the vehicle?