midnight mechanic

car won't start, did every separate variation of :

charging the battery , removing plugs , dumping ATF, engine oil, methanol HEET down the carb, clean ignitor connections with wd40, with contact cleaner, with waterless degreaser , old plugs that worked before, and try starting with plugs back in. I can smell gasoline on the sparkplugs.

sparkplug's spark is WHITE now (does it need to be BLUE?)

Is the ignitor ($$$) bad?

Should I convert to DIRECT FIRE ?
DIRECT FIRE use to be a very popular topic here.

weather is super HUMID now!

yeti

iTrader: (1)

Are you getting compression? While a compression test would be nice, do you at least hear three even pulses per rotor? Only other thing I can think of would be trying to start it with WOT and after it cranks for a bit spray a little starting fluid down the carb. Oil may or may not need to be used to help hold compression until you get it going on it's own.

I don't think you should convert to direct fire until we figure out 100% that it's spark related, otherwise you are introducing extra complexity to diagnose/troubleshoot if the addition of direct fire doesn't solve the problem.

midnight mechanic

WOT?

compression? yes, there are consistent pulses or wooooshes. And I know what a bad rotor sounds like. So it's not the compression.

Not having a BLUE SPARK concerns me.

Yes, converting to DFIS now would be introducing too many variables now.

thankyou,

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Well blue is hotter than white but its subjective. What did you do last before it stopped starting for you?

midnight mechanic

changed the fan belts. I drove to the store without a problem after changing the fan belts, then it wouldn't start when I tried to go home

it has a front coolant leak, I think the coolant fouled the ignitors. Very humid down here right now, it always had trouble starting when it was humid.

thankyou

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Yeah then it probably is electrical. I would get some electronics spray cleaner and go through all the under hood ignition related plugs, open them, clean em up and then apply dielectric grease to the boots and plug them back in. Also check your grounds to make sure they are good. Ignitors usually work or don't but they do sometimes exhibit failure that varies by how hot they get. Doesn't sound like the case with yours.

midnight mechanic

>>>"Well blue is hotter than white but its subjective."<<< then white spark is OK ?

and if the sparkplug is making a spark outside of the engine, then it isn't fouled. And it is doing its job????

Are only the leading sparkplugs are required? because trailing sparkplugs are for emissions?

Next I'm trying extreme dry deflooding with the fuel pump fuse pulled. I will crank it over with out the plugs in until the battery needs recharging. I checked the fuel flow and it was good.

Before that, remove the ignitors clean the backsides, and connectors with crc qd contact cleaner. Is thermal paste on the ignitor backside for heat conduction required?

midnight mechanic

Fully charged battery---->started right up + 20 minutes of billowing smoke. I'm going to reclean the ignitor with more electrical contact cleaner, use thermal paste, and protect it with COOL TAPE (insulating metal fiberglass tape good up to 400F)

Lessons learned: 1>blue sparking spark plug isn't required. 2>fully charged battery is required 3> clean dry ignitor, backside, and connectors is required.

To get to autozone, I wrapped aluminum foil around the distributor to protect the igniter. GLSE4ME would just love that.

midnight mechanic

turns out it was the water pump that was throwing coolant everywhere. Just enough of a leak to throw coolant around, and not enough of a leak to lose pressure. Yet the water pump felt tight when I pushed and pulled on the fan.

Now there is a large white stain of sodium silicate in an apartment parking space. I moved my car 50 feet there, dumped the coolant, then moved my car back.

The jack *** apartment manager will be scratching his head. hee heee heee ! ! I'm such a badass !

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Good to see you sorted it out. All that moisture on the dizzy probably didn't help it.

midnight mechanic

dizzy = distributor? distributor looked dry. alternator is covered with sodium silicate, so I have to watch that.

also I'm watching for your >>>DFIS FINAL SOLUTION<<< dissertation

I hope it is like you drop a total of $200 on any brand of receiver and speakers, and you have a kick *** car audio system.

LongDuck

Consider putting on a new Distributor Cap and Rotor. Of any moisture from the coolant got in there, it would quickly corrode the contacts inside and cause weak spark across the electrodes. As it is, the ignition system on our cars is very weak compared to modern Coil-On-Plug or even CDI ignition systems, as far as efficiency and robustness. A new Cap and Rotor (*and new tension wires to the plugs and coils) never hurts an old Rx7.