JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Currently I've been trying to get my car started but it's just cranking. Last month I was able to get it running but it was misfiring. Now during the time it was running I've replaced the distributor, Maf, spark plug wire. The spark plugs are fairly new. The distributor , MAF and spark plug wires were used parts but the car is still misfiring like before so there's no change. Today, I have fuel, spark and my mechanical and distributor timing are correct. Don't know what else to check for, maybe a sensor that prevent the car to start. Any input will be helpful. When I was checking for spark it seems like the spark is weak. I got shocked a few times checking spark which I was able to tolerate. Don't know if weak spark is possible or not. Maybe a faulty ignition coil, guess I'm gonna try to replace that next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Harps Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Compression numbers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Forgot about compression. Gotta get a compression tester and check compression Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93 GSX TURBO Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) Did you check for fuel at the injectors? Or did you just hear the pump prime? How old is the fuel? Edited October 21, 2014 by 93 GSX TURBO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliConquestAlex Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Are you sure that you have spark? try to use a spare spark plug and take of the plug wires off and ground the plug against something metal and you should see a visible spark. What year is the car? If it's pre-1988, it could be the ignitor (black box near coil). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Well the fuel pump does not activate when the ignition switch is on but activates while cranking. The injector is spraying fuel. The fuel is 3 months old.I will double check spark again. My car is a 89. Made weird discovery just now. I was moving the distributor back and forth with the ignition switch on the on position and the fuel pump turned on for a quick second and spark came out of the ignition coil. I started hammering the aluminum part of the distributor lightly and the fuel pump keeps turning on and spark out of the ignition coil. Then lightly hit the ecu and nothing but hit the ECI relay and saw spark coming out. Any suggestion about this and what to do next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedyquest Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 I think you will need to be more clear. Are you saying that if you lightly tap on the distributor that suddenly the fuel pump kicks on and that your spark plugs start firing?!.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 I definitely have spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Yes when I lightly tap the distributor the fuel pump turns on and spark comes out only from the ignition coil when being tapped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 And I meant the ECI relay was arcing inside when lightly tapping it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhansenconquest Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) Clean all connections !!!! they shouldn't be sparking....if your getting gas and spark....it must be timing,,does it fire....??when u tap on diss it fires ,,which turns on fuel pump...which is right...pump only runs if car is firing...( safety !!! )there a philp screw on the back of ING switch they get loose ...tighten it up (ING SWITCH DOESNT TURN OVER QUITE ENOUGH.... ) sometime it would start and sometimes it wouldnt..worked for me... Edited October 21, 2014 by markhansenconquest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 I'll check again for timing. The car does not start at all. I have to check compression also. I was thinking about getting another ecu and ECI relay after I recheck things again. Will give an update as soon as next week since I'll be working Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 Rechecked timing and it's correct. I did a compression test and all the cylinders are between 120-125. It still just cranks over. I ran out of ideas. Should I replace the ecu and ECI relay? That's only thing left to do unless anyone has any ideas what else I can check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
station Posted October 26, 2014 Report Share Posted October 26, 2014 Why not, it'll rule another possibility out if it isn't that.I have had one of the springs on the relay melt before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Well the fuel pump does not activate when the ignition switch is on but activates while cranking. The injector is spraying fuel. The fuel is 3 months old.I will double check spark again. My car is a 89. Made weird discovery just now. I was moving the distributor back and forth with the ignition switch on the on position and the fuel pump turned on for a quick second and spark came out of the ignition coil. I started hammering the aluminum part of the distributor lightly and the fuel pump keeps turning on and spark out of the ignition coil. Then lightly hit the ecu and nothing but hit the ECI relay and saw spark coming out. Any suggestion about this and what to do nextThe ECI relay is really two relays in one case. One side powers the ignition system and is pretty much ON whenever the ignition key is in START or ON. The other relay powers the fuel pump and fuel system. It is ON when the ignition key is in the START position... but just having the key in the ON position does not power this relay. The ECU must power the relay while the key is in the ON position. And the ECU will turn the relay ON whenever the ECU sees pulses from the ignition system (same wire that drives the tachometer). That's probably why you're hearing the pump run for a moment when you wiggle the distributor. For testing: look at the wire harness bundle between the air filter canister and fender. You should see two connectors hanging from, or taped to, this bundle going nowhere. One will have a black+white wire. That's a tap into the power feed for the fuel pump. Hook a voltmeter set to read 12 volts, or ue a mechanic's test lamp, to this connector and to chassis/battery ground. Turn the key to START. You should see +12volts on this wire. If not, the ECI relay is bad or the ECI fusible link (one of those upside-down "U" shaped wires by the battery) is shot or has lousy wiring. If you have voltage there, then the fuel pump should be running and the ECI relay is working enough to at least get the engine started. While holding the key in START, does the dash tachometer wiggle? If not, you don't have ignition. The ECU won't command the injectors to flow fuel until the ECU can see ignition pulses. If you know the injectors are spraying fuel, and you can verify ignition pulses (spark), the only things that'll keep an engine from starting are:* no compression* ignition timing totally wrong* not enough fuel... or waaaayyy too much fuel You've verified compression. It's possible the ignition timing is way out of phase even though a timing light says it looks okay... it could be 1 engine revolution wrong though. How to tell? Take the valve cover off... use a big wrench to rotate the crankshaft pulley bolt in the normal engine direction (clockwise as you face the front of the engine) until the timing notch on the pulley lines up with the TDC mark on the front of the engine. Look at the camshaft drive sprocket... look for the metal index pin that connects the sprocket to the camshaft and that stubby shaft that drives the distributor - basically look for a hole about 3/16ths of an inch in diameter near the edge of that stubby shaft. Is that hole near 12 o'clock on the cam drive sprocket? If it's near 6 o'clock, turn the crankshaft pulley bolt one full turn back to the TDC mark. Once you get that hole/index pin close to 12 o'clock (it'll be between 11 and 12 o'clock) you'll know the engine is at the #1 cylinder Top Dead Center. Now remove the distributor cap. Look at the metal end of the rotor and see what post on the distributor cap it points to. That post should be the post with the wire going to the #1 spark plug (the one closest to the front of the engine). If not... your distributor is installed incorrectly. I wouldn't be surprised if you said it was pointing to the #4 post... that'd be one engine revolution incorrect timing. Take the distrubitor out and turn it half a turn, put it back in, and re-assemble everything. Then try starting and checking ignition timing. Too much fuel, or not enough fuel, can make the engine sputter but not run. It's hard to "see" the fuel flow from the injectors as the 87-later cars sync the injector pulsing with signals from the airflow sensor...and unplugging the air pipe from the throttle body is the only way to see the injector tips. With that hose unplugged the airflow sensor sees no airflow so the ECU won't command the injectors to flow fuel. "Noid lights" can be used to verify voltage pulses at the injectors; these are basically small lights that plug into the injector wire connector. You can hook a voltmeter to one of the two wires at the injectors. One injector wire basically connects to the battery (via the ECI relay and a resistor) so it'll read close to 12 volts... the other injector wire connects to the ECU and is grounded by the ECU to fire the injector. This wire will read 12 volts dropping to zero for an instant while trying to start the car. Too-low fuel pressure will also lead to a no-start condition. mike c. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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