Won't Start

Johnb868

Original poster
Member
Apr 21, 2012
7
Hoiuston
I need some serious help and to not be told I'm a dumb@ss i already know that. I let my wife drive her 02 TB knowing the cat was clogged/getting clogged. As she was driving it lost power and when she pulled over it wouldn't restart. I got it home pulled the cat off but i can not figure out why it won't start. Is there serious damage that could have been done? Any tips or tricks?
 

mrrsm

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Oct 22, 2015
7,641
Tampa Bay Area
A Few Suggestions:

(1) Visit THIS Link and Download the Complete OEM GM Service Shop Manual for your particular SUV:


(2) Obtain and USE an Inexpensive OBD2 Code Reader... as with ALL Vehicles employing Electronically Controlled Fuel Injection Systems..." You can't Tell The Players... Without a PROGRAM...". THIS Video provides a "One Over The World View" of ALL Scan Tools and what they are capable of:


(3) Itemize each and every detail concerning how the performance problems evolved, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

(4) Forget about being Chastised for Being STUPID... The Only STUPID People are The Ones who Claim They Know EVERYTHING... or the Ones who Ask for Help ... and then Insist upon Ignoring the sage advice so many Contributing Members will offer to them:

"When The Student is READY... The Teacher Emerges..." Confucius

(5) Keep a Notebook and document your Codes and responses from the Engine so things can be Checked Off in THE ORDER THAT ENGINES CODES OCCURRED.

(6) Obtain and Use a Digital Multi-Meter and a Pin-Probe "Scope On A Rope" Lighting Test Probe to assist you with Diagnosing things like Bad Fuses or Relays... or Poor Connections and Lack of Circuit Continuity. Include in that Tool Kit a Decent Cylinder Compression Test Kit... as very Low Cylinder Compression WILL cause a NO Start NO Run Condition on High Mileage, Poorly Maintained Engines.

(7) Research Youtube for any and all Videos relating to these problems that have been diagnosed and examined already by @MAY03LT as he has numerous On-Topic Videos that will Cut To The Chase in most cases.

(8) Use "GOOGLE" to your Best Advantage by using these 'Search Strings' or ones like them to quickly locate Legacy Threads dealing with the very problems you are facing right now... Like THESE (not case sensitive):

gmtnation No Start
gmtnation Low Power
gmtnation Will Not Start
gmtnation Low Compression
gmtnation Clogged CAT

...and so forth... Using your OWN imagination to "Plow The Field" of what is already Warehoused here at GMTN...if you search for them...

(9) The aforementioned OEM GM Manual is rife with "Diagnostic Flow Charts" that Help ASE Mechanics using a Tech 2 Hand Held Scanner to sort through the myriad things that can go wrong... but ALL of them require a Systematic Method of Step By Step Problem Solving that BEGINS and ENDS with KNOWING WHAT ALL OF THE TROUBLE CODES ARE.

(10) If you have Armed yourself with a "Parts Shotgun"... Unload it and place it over the Fire Place Mantle ...The GMT360 Platform with the Atlas 4.2L LL8 Engine Does NOT easily yield to running well by the 'ad hoc' changes of replacing one component after another in a Guessing Game. If you gather everything covered on this list and watch for the more intimate suggestions specific to what you post later on from Other, Better Qualified Members than Yours Truly... You will soon get to the bottom of WHY the SUV will NOT START.


Here are some Examples of what Youtube has to Offer:

 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,260
Ottawa, ON
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