Someone help!

[Owen]

Don't know if this belongs in this forum or not, but I'm pulling my hair out trying to solve this apparently simple problem!

 

I'm ready to start the engine. Got fuel, oil and water all in. Crankshaft is turned to 20deg BTDC on the compression stroke. Distributor is dropped in with the rotor turned to the number 1 firing post.

 

I crank it up, engine spins, got spark, but that's it! What am I doing wrong??? I've got this gut feeling that the distributor is not being installed right, but every thing I've read is basically the same as everything I've tried.

 

My second gut feeling is that the injectors are not firing. I have them enabled in the Haltech and all, is there a way to test them? Should I pull one out and crank the engine to see if it sprays?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Yours truly,

Dead Battery, Rusted Engine

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

20BTDC is a bit much, what's your injector system/ECU spec? 10 is more normal for starting/locked in and then you can 20+ for idle-no load

-pull a spark plug after cranking and see if it's wet to know if you have fuel , that'll help you eliminate one possibility, do you hear your fuel pump when you first turn on, before cranking? did you wire your fuel pump to run during cranking....?

[Owen]

Ok, I'll try less than 20BTDC.

ECU/Injector spec...off the top of my head, Haltech E6K, RC Engineering injectors low impedance at 35lbs/hr I think. Systems is in basic mode setup for multipoint injection.

 

The pump does prime when I turn the key on, and it should be pumping when I crank the engine.

 

Anyone have an MSD distributor? I have the rotor pointing to my No. 1. plug tower but still no juice.

 

Owen

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

"I have the rotor pointing to my No. 1. plug tower but still no juice." What do you mean no juice? up above you said you have spark and you haven't checked to see if you have fuel yet so what's 'juice'?

 

-as well with injectors if you have an assistant handy you can hear them ticking with any stethoscope if they're opening(ie. long screwdriver from ear to injector etc)

[blueovalz]

Raw gas smell if you snort the exhaust pipe )woo hoo but no dain bramage( will tell you real quick if gas is entering the chambers and being expelled out the exhaust

[Kevin Shasteen]

Is it spitting/sputtering at all? Even if timing is off...you should get some kind of a sputter as the engine [attempts] to start.

 

The ignition occurs so fast (in relation to timing) that sometimes, even tho you think you have the rotor pointing at #1, in reality, the distributor is 180* out. After you dropped the distributor where you think it should be...go ahead and spin the engine over a few rpms; then as you slowly bring the piston back up on the compression stroke check your rotor & also check your harmonic balancer for proper timing (is this balancer the correct balancer for your engine?).

 

As Ross illuded to earlier; How have you confirmed you have "SPARK"? Either you have it or you dont!

 

If your tool box includes a spark tester-now would be the perfect time to use it & confirm if you are getting spark to the plug or not...even more importantly...are you getting electricity to the coil?

 

If you do have spark...then chances are your problem is fuel related (I know you know this-just thinking out loud).

 

1) Make sure your distributor is getting electricity

2) Make sure the coil is sending that signal to the spark plug

2) Make sure your fuel pump is operational

a) Be sure the fuel pump is operational during engine cranking at all times.

3) Confirm fuel is making it to the spark plug; as Ross mentioned-remove one & see if it is wet!

4) If you are getting fuel...you should be able to smell it!

 

Once you have done the above you should have an idea as to the problem at hand; if it is still not functioning correctly then you should atleast have a new set of answers to this problem...report back here w/an update; and we'll go at it again.

 

Even if you get it running-report back to us & inform us as to what the problem was as it might help me or someone else in the future.

 

Kevin,

(Yea,Still an Inliner)

 

[ August 27, 2001: Message edited by: Kevin Shasteen ]

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

quote

Is it spitting/sputtering at all? Even if timing is off...you should get some kind of a sputter as the engine [attempts] to start.

IME, it's easy enough to have no sputter or audible sign of ignition with timing out. That's how it was with my EFI startup anyhow, 'most' prior carb startups just fired up

 

. Just rotating the dizzy as I'd passed on to BLKMGK while the boss/missus was cranking did the trick both recently and previously. That 5 seconds of dizzy testing is faster/easier than triplechecking initial timing before startup IMO. I"ve had it bang on before and then out a couple other times so just seems an easy out.

[Owen]

It's the injectors! (I'm still at work tho... ). It just occured to me that when I changed from advance setting to basic setting, one of the wires I did not change.

 

Also I did some calling outside on my cell phone and confirmed that it is better to have the injectors wired with the correct polarity. For example, continuous 12V would be on the left and the signal wire on the right.

 

AHHHHHH! I need to get home!

 

Thanks for all the help guys (this better be the solution), I do have spark and power to the pump. Checked both visually/audibly/and electrically.

 

One thing that was kind of cool was disconnecting the high voltage wire to the distributor, turning the ignition on, and spinning the dizzy shaft. Sparks and more sparks! Don't do this with the high voltage wire connected to the dizzy, it'll give you a major shock.

 

1 hour and 14 minutes and counting....

Owen