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The car will only run if I disconnect the blue slide clip wire on the front coil - I believe this is for the injectors, and then for as long as I spray the starter fluid the engine will run.
Also as I was spraying the starter fluid I used my other hand to reconnect the blue slide clip wire on the front coil for the injectors and the car would start to die, if I quickly disconnect it again still spraying the starter fluid it continues to run. So as soon as I touch the blue slide clip wire on the front coil the car dies. It was also giving me a shock and zapping me each time too.
Anyone have any idea where to start?
Back ground on car:
The PO let me spray starter fluid in the car and it started up and sound good but only while I continued to spray the starter fluid, as soon as I stopped spraying the engine would stop. PO said he thinks fuel pump is bad, so I purchased the car and towed it home to get on to bring her back to life.
The pump was dead, so I fitted a new fuel pump and fuel filter purchased from Autozone.
I also fitted 4 new spark plugs NGK R
I have fitted to new coils - Edlebrock Max Fire 12volt coils
I removed the Injectors and took the to RC and have reinstalled them in the car.
That is all I have done so far
The very first time I started the car after fitting all of those items and unflooding the engine through the spark plug holes the car fired up for about 2 minutes but then died.
One last thing is I poured a can of Seafoam in the tank and now when the car does start on the starter fluid it blows so much white smoke the house disappears, and it stinks, like rotten eggs, REALLY STINKS!!
Oh and I run a compression test - 120 front and 115 rear - sorry but was using a standard compression tester.
Did you check if you're getting fuel up at the engine? Maybe a fuel damper (not sure if these cars have them)?
Want to sell it? lol
Thank for your reply.
Fuel:
I added a new fuel pump, new fuel filter, fresh gas and took the injectors to RC for refurbishment. Check the pump and it runs when cranking. Also took of the fuel line at the engine and gas pumps out when cranking. T1 and T2 injector get very wet when cranking.
That's a gorgeous looking 5 letter, man, I sure wish mine was in that hood of condition lol. I know in your other thread you said that the spark seemed weak, have you taken a look at your spark plugs, coil, and wires? It sounds like you are getting fuel & air into the engine and your injectors have just been freshened up. Whenever my GSL-SE starts being a pain to start it's usually after I've flooded it and gunked up the spark plugs. A wire brush or some new plugs might do the trick if you haven't fixed it yet.
There's a ground point for the injectors that's located under the dynamic chamber. The ring terminal is bolted to the rear housing and has a couple of wires crimped into it. The wires have a black insulation if I remember correctly. You will have to remove the upper intake manifold and dynamic chamber to inspect the ground to make sure its clean and secure. If there's an issue with that ground, the injectors will not pulse.
Alternately, since its been sitting for so long, you may want to consider draining and removing the fuel tank and having it professionally cleaned. The gas can turn to a caramel substance and wreak havoc on a fuel system when it loosens up.
Funny thing, I went down to the garage to snap a pic for you and when I came back, infinite scroll brought up another thread from 2017 that I posted on this issue, so reposting it here for you; (*yes, I read your specific symptoms) First off - good that you have spark; running it on the starter fluid at least determines that you have solid spark and eliminates that as part of the problem. Your problem sounds like fuel injection - could be injectors, but more likely Ignitors, Coils which trigger the ECU firing the injectors, or the various wiring to the Fuel system.
Method of Operation; 1) Fuel Pump - Your fuel pump is energized ONLY when the Air Flow Meter tells the ECU that there's air coming into the engine. There's a plastic connector under the Air Flow Meter that can be shunted (paperclip, or 2 spade connectors on a wire) which will run the Fuel Pump even without the engine spinning sucking in air. Be sure you have good fuel pump operation, as there's a 'Circuit Cut' relay on the same mount as the ECU under the passenger footwell which may have gone bad and isn't switching on fuel pump power. If you run the shunt, and can hear the fuel pressure at the rail (or the pump under the car), then your pump is probably fine. Fuel pumps last a good long time, and don't fail very often. If you don't hear fuel pressure, you're back to troubleshooting the pump or the wiring to it. ***Make sure you remove that test shunt under the AFM when you're done, or it can cause flooding if you have leaky injectors...
2) The ECU - To tell the injectors when to fire, the ECU takes a trigger signal from the Trailing Coil (front one on the fender) via a single white wire that goes into the harness from there. That white wire tells the ECU when the trailing plug is firing and the ECU determines the injector firing pulse from this. If your Trailing Coil is bad, you won't get a trigger signal, and the injectors won't fire. Quick test - move the white wire from the Trailing coil to the Lead Coil (same position at the top spade - in the picture above, Ive spliced in a blue-insulated spade connector), and see if the car will start and run normally. If it does - your Trailing Coil is bad - OR, your Trailing Coil Ignitor is bad. Your car would be running pretty rich if that were the case, and while you can run it from Leading Spark only using the Lead Coil as your trigger, you'll eventually want to get that coil replaced. If switching the trigger wire effects no change, put it back on the Trailing Coil where it belongs.
3) Ignitors - The ignitors use the Distributor to tell the ignition system when to fire the coils into the spark plugs. There are 2 Ignitors bolted to the side of the Distributor base. These do go bad from time to time, and you can follow their wiring harness to the Coil they control. The coil closer to the front of the car is the Trailing Ignitor, while the one toward the rear is the Leading coil. On the distributor, the Ignitor facing the front is Leading, and on the side is Trailing ignition. Remove the rubber boots which protect the wires, and swap the Ignitors. Try to start the car. If the car starts and runs normally, you now have Trail Ignitor firing the Trailing Coil, and a proper Trigger to the ECU firing the Injectors, and have also identified that your Trailing Ignitor (or the one you swapped to the Lead position now) is bad. If no change - put the ignitors back in the positions they came from and dig deeper.
4) Injectors - Typically injectors will fail by overspraying fuel, that is - they get stuck open or partially open, and lead to flooding and rich running conditions. The injectors have a weakness whereby the wiring harness can get brittle over time and cause the electrical connection to break at the harness. These can be replaced by Borg-Warner 'Injector Pigtails' for about $7 each, and is worth looking at as a last resort. You'll want to wire them identically to how they came out, and then see if you get injector pulses - and the car should start and run normally without any other changes. My originals lasted about 185k miles, and then needed to be re-wired. The replacements have gone another 70k without issue and I don't expect to ever replace them. The injectors eventually should be cleaned and flow-balanced for best performance, and RC Engineering does this for a moderate fee. Get the car up an running for now, and consider their services down the road after it's running. Even bad, leaky injectors will allow the car to run if everything else is in order.
5) Main Relays - There are 2 round barrel relays mounted right next to the Brake Master Cylinder on the driver's side fender. These control the ECU power and you should hear them 'click' when you turn the key to 'Run' (not 'Start'). If you're not hearing them click, give them a firm 'whack' with a screwdriver and try again. They're nothing special - just relays to run 12V power to the ECU, but if you're not getting power there, you won't get fuel injector pulse.
6) Fusible Links - As someone else mentioned, the GSL-SE has 5 fusible links in a dark brown plastic mount at the front side of the driver's side wheel well, inside the engine bay (obviously?). One of those links is marked 'INJECTION', and if that link is burned out, no fuel. These are designed to be 'slow-blow' fuses which can carry a higher initial current than a regular fuse could handle. If you tug on both ends of the spade connectors and they're solid, that's good. Also check for continuity with a volt meter to be sure they haven't failed internally or broken and you can't see it. I always carry spare fusible links in my glovebox, just in case.
7 - (this is an RX7 forum, right?) Stuck Air Flow Meter - If you've checked everything else, the air door on the Air Flow Meter could have something jamming it closed or otherwise not be opening smoothly. There's a switch inside the air door which tells the ECU when air is opening the air door as it's being sucked into the engine, and which tells the Fuel Pump to run. This is the same switch you forced to 'ON' with the shunt in step 1, above. If the air door can't move smoothly, the ECU either doesn't register that there's air coming in, or doesn't know HOW MUCH air is coming into the engine, and thus how much fuel should be injected to be burned. Check this by removing the Air Filter lid and the Air Filter, and then running a stick or screwdriver down the throat of the Air Flow Meter until you feel the Air Door resistance. Push the stick in and out and make sure the Air Door is able to travel smoothly and without hitching or catching on anything. This is a longshot, but I thought I'd throw it in there. You could also turn your key to 'Run' (not 'Start') and listen for the Fuel Pump coming on when you open the Air Door manually.
Start with those things, and then report back. The GSL-SE can be a bit of troubleshooting to get it running well, but it's also well worth the effort and once you understand the system, it's rewarding in terms of driving comfort, performance, and reliability. Good luck,
It was also giving me a shock and zapping me each time too.
Is that...expected? Since it sat so long, are you sure nothing got in and started chewing on some wires, causing a short? Seems like you have fuel and spark and it dies when you hook up the Trailing coil, so have you tested the coil primary/secondary windings to make sure there's nothing wrong with it?
Just to be clear, you aren't the OP on this thread, correct?
May be better to start your own thread with your specifics so we can get a better feel for what's up. There are a TON of threads out there on GSL-SE troubleshooting if you search with my name. Have a look, and start anew on your own thread and let's go from there,
03-21-21, 12:10 AM
