Using Starter Fluid to check for fuel problems

[Julian]

Hi,

I was helping a buddy diagnose a no start condition last weekend which got me thinking of quick checks for diagnosing no start problems. I was aware of the spark plug on the engine test to check to determine spark (and used it), but later Googled for fuel tests and learned about starter fluid in the intake. I also found a lot of disagreement on whether it ruins engines or not. It seems like a quick and certain test to point you in the fuel direction if the car starts. So what do you guys think? Is this something I should keep in mind or something to stay away from?

Also, Eric, do you have a video on this procedure? I couldn’t fine one.

Thanks!
Julian

Topic

[college man]

Its not a bad test at all.

[Bluesnut]

If you mean ether then I’m not a fan of that stuff at all. A quick shot is fine for some farmer or trucker trying to light off a balky old diesel on a cold winter morning but it should be avoided with general auto use.

The lot porter at a dealer where I used to work would go nuts with ether firing up cars on cold mornings and he created a few problems with the use of that stuff. One involved blowing up an intake manifold and the other involved washing the cylinder walls down on one vehicle and causing a no-start due to low compression. The ether had dropped cylinder compression to about 60 PSI and even the engine oil smelled like either. I had to change the oil and squirt motor oil into every cylinder to bump the compression back up enough to where the engine would even start.
Thankfully after that, the lot porter was banned for life from ever touching that crap again.
(I’d come into work on a cold winter morning and one could smell an ether cloud hanging over the car lot. The running joke was that if someone lit a cigarette up out there the entire lot was going up in a fireball…..) 😆

Aerosol carb cleaner works much better and is far safer as it’s less volatile than ether.

The shot of carb cleaner is a good test but it’s also not 100% definitive. If an engine runs momentarily on the carb cleaner does this mean the problem is in the fuel system itself; as in failed pump, etc? Not necessarily, as there could be an electrical fault causing the injectors to not pulse, etc.
It’s a good preliminary test to get the diagnostic ball rolling though.

[Julian]

Thank you for the replies!

Bluesnut– you had me worried until the end of your post as I thought you didn’t like the test 🙂 But it’s ether your against 🙂 Sounds like I’ll keep this test in my toolbox.

So, do I understand correctly, to do it on a car, I take off the rubber house from the intake, manually open the butterfly, spray carb cleaner inside, put the hose back on and start the engine? And if there’s spark and compression (and perhaps the timing is fine 🙂 ) the engine should run for a few seconds?

How much carb cleaner do I spray in there? My biggest concern is backfire in to the air cleaner 🙂

Thanks again!
Julian

[Bluesnut]

Just a couple of seconds of spray should be enough for the engine to run for a second or two before sputtering out.
The spray can be applied into the throttle body bore or any vacuum line on the intake manifold.

With just a few seconds of spray I would not be too concerned about a backfire.

[Kevin Criswell]

I prefer carb cleaner for use as a starter fluid. Ether is VERY volatile and can cause backfiring through the intake.

[Julian]

One more thing. Just saw on one of the forums someone mention spraying the carb cleaner in to the PCV hole. Does that work too? Seems like easier then taking off the intake hose.

[Bluesnut]

You can do that.

[Kevin Criswell]

Bad things can happen with Ether

[Julian]

well yeah, if you spray it everywhere 🙂 Looked like the guy had a death wish 🙂

[Author]

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