I changed my water pump and got everything put back together. I made sure to plug in everything right, got all the hoses correct, got all the plug wires on correct, etc.

I got everything put back together and now my car won't start. When i turn the key, the engine cranks. I pulled one of my wires and set it on the engine and it does arc so i am getting sparks.

Possiblities: I forgot to plug something back in, a blown fuse (will check), everything is a little wet down there so it may need time to dry.

Do you have any other ideas?

 

how badly did your stock WP leak? would it start fine before you replaced it? your opti may be soaked/going/shot. id let it sit overnight and check again tomorrow.

 

There wasnt a huge leak on my wp but iwas sick of it leaking and it got everything wet underneath because of the accessory wheels.
Btw, i checked all my fuses and everything seems to be ok, i checked for fuel pressure in my schrader valve and dont seem to be getting any(any suggestions here?).

 

Could be you soaked the Opti when you changed the pump. Or, the connector for the Opti is wet and corroded. If you lose the low res pulse signal from the Opti, the PCM will shut down the fuel pump and the injectors.

However, the fuel pump should still kick on for a few seconds when you turn the key on, but don't start the engine. Are you saying you have no fuel pressure at all, under any circumstances? You can test the fuel pump using the "prime" connector near the PCM.

 

It is very possible the opti is soaked. I kept it dry as best i could but when i took out one of the screws on the pump, everything got wet. If I let it dry, is there a possibility that it should be ok or will i need a new opti? It is a 97 w/ vented version. Ill see if the fuel pump is working in a little bit.

 

Well i tried to start it a few minutes ago after letting it sit the entire night. It started the first time and had a terribly rough idle for 5 minutes and steam was pouring out of the hood. I let it warm up completely and by the time it got there, the idle smoothed out. It snowed out here so i cant take it out right now to test it comepletely. Thanks for the help guys. I think it was just wet like Injuneer said.