Car wont start.
 

I crashed my old laser, and then bought a talon shell, and swapped everything over.

I crashed the laser about 5-6 months ago, so the motor hasnt ran in awhile. Everything worked beautifully on the laser, so I know that everything I pulled off the laser is good.

Now heres my problem:

-The car will not start, it turns over but it will not start up. I tested my coil pack, and it checked out ok, I have brand new plugs and wires, so it should be getting spark. It gets fuel at pressure at my FPR, but no fuel enters the cylinders. I know my ECU is getting power, (Stock boost gauge goes to 0, and the CEL comes on for 5 secs). And after a visual inspection of the ECU it does not appear that the capacitors have leaked.

I was thinking that it was maybe the CAS, but that worked wonderfully on my laser. So maybe its the Injector resistor box? I dont know. How do I go about testing the resistor box? what do the pros think could be causing my problem?

thank you very much!

-Charlie

Re: Car wont start.
 

I just tested the spark plugs, and there is no spark.
I also tested the voltage at the injector clips, nothing there either.

Re: Car wont start.
 

Wouldn't that mean there's an ECU problem? If both spark AND fuel aren't working, then my thought process would bring me to electronics. I'd go over the circuitry, mainly ECU, with a fine tooth comb.



Disregard me if somebody comes with some real advice.

Re: Car wont start.
 

Thats what I thought too, but I took the ECU and inspected it, but didnt find anything that seemed out of place or not normal. Im inspecting the CAS wiring right now.

Re: Car wont start.
 

Here's a simple check:

Remove the CAS, leaving it plugged in and with the key on. Turn the CAS by hand and listen for injector fire/spark (you could also pull the plug wires and check). If you get nothing, suspect a bad CAS. Replace with a new CAS (known good that is) and try again.

If you still get nothing, check to make sure the CAS is getting power. (1 wire is supply volts, 1 wire is ground, 1 wire is crank sensor, 1 wire is cam sensor) If you are not getting power, do you hear the main EFI relay turn on under the dash and turn off after key off 5 seconds. This relay is what supplies power to the CAS. If you do not, ECU could still be faulty (it turns on the relay) or more simply, check the fuse on the POS battery terminal marked "EFI Main".

Wiz

Re: Car wont start.
 

kind of dumb question? but...is your old setup 90 and the new one 91+...there is a difference in ecu and tac...

Re: Car wont start.
 

Ok, I just tested the CAS, and I could hear the injectors click, and I could hear the EFI relay kick in, when I turned the CAS the manually. so its the ECU then?

Re: Car wont start.
 

No it was a 92 into a 93. Thanks though. ;)

Re: Car wont start.
 

Well since the injectors are firing that means they are working. Whether or not you have fuel going to them is another matter. Let's work on the no spark, volts to coil pack? How about power T? Plugged in, corroded? If you are hearing the injectors click and such, I would not suspect a bad ECU. Sounds like a harness unplugged or loose somewhere.

Have you pulled the plugs and check for fuel? How about ground straps? There are 3.

Wiz

Re: Car wont start.
 

I havent checked if there are volts to the coilpack, I will go check that after this post. Power T? Whats that? It could be unplugged, because I just swapped the motor in, and I could have overlooked it. Where is it?

I pulled the plugs and checked for fuel, but they were completly dry.

Re: Car wont start.
 

I just went out and checked the ground straps, all 3 are in place.

I double checked the spark, and now it was sparking, slightly. Not vey intense sparks but it does spark a bit.

I tried to crank it over, and now it will sputter a bit, every once in awhile, but it wont start up yet.

I tried to pour some gas into the cylinders, and I think its sparking that fuel. So it will sputter but, I dont think the injectors are opening.

Re: Car wont start.
 

How are you checking for spark? A spark tester or just grounding a plug? If the spark is weak just by grounding a plug it definitely won't fire when it is under pressure in the cylinder. Get yourself a spark tester and set it to like a half inch to make sure your coil pack is providing the power that is needed.

Re: Car wont start.
 

thanks for the help. :D

But she fired up!!!


YAY!!

There was a wire going to my engine coolant sensor that was broken, I soldered that up, and she started up. :D :D :D

Now time to go figure out what that CEL was.

Re: Car wont start.
 

The CEL was the coolant temp sensor most likely.

Re: Car wont start.
 

Odd, a bad coolant temp sender (even to the ECU, since 1g's have 4 of them) shouldn't have prevented it from starting.

Wiz

Re: Car wont start.
 

Actually yes, an unplugged coolant temp sensor can cause the car to not start. the ECU adjusts fuel/spark depending on the engine temp. A cold engine requires a lot more fuel to start than a warm engine does.

Re: Car wont start.
 

Glad to see you got it fixed. I hope my starting problem has a happy ending like yours did. I am thinking I have an ECU issue. I already sent it off to get looked at. But glad yours works man!

Re: Car wont start.
 

Depends on how warm/cold it is outside. If it is below 30 degrees F the car will most likely not start. If the coolant temp sensor is bad the ECU thinks the temp is 600 degree F or some high number like that. This will prevent the ECU from seeing that it is cold outside thus not enrichening the car enough to start.

If it is warmer outside, the car will usually start with a faulty coolant temp sensor. But once you get it running it will require you to feather the throttle for a little bit. Then you should see a CEL and it will start running decent. Once you see the CEL the ECU will switch to a fail safe fuel map to get the car to idle and run without dieing. I wouldn't trust it though.

Re: Car wont start.
 

Yeah, its not a very happy ending. It still has choppy acceleration, cant go into reverse, and a bunch of other stuff that Im going to figure out tonight. ;)

Re: Car wont start.
 

Glad to hear, Charlie. Make good use of that car now. :)