Car runs on starter fluid ONLY
 

So I have an 90 S5 FC that will only run on Starter fluid sprayed. Story is, the car was running fine till one day I got a fuel leak. Turns out there was a little cut or split in one of the lines from the primary. I figured I'd get the injectors cleaned by RC and have put them in. Now the car turns over but won't start.

Some small details:
Fuel filter is quite new (2 years)
Spark plugs were pulled and weren't wet but did have carbon build up.
When tried to start, it sometimes sputters like there is a TINY amount of gas coming. (No starter fluid help)

Any ideas??

You need to verify if the primary injector plugs are properly mated to the primary injectors. To do this w/key to on ECU pins 3W and 3Y should have 12 volts.

You will also want jumper the fuel check connector and w/key to on verify that the fuel pump turns on.

let us assume for a second that he tested it and it IS 12 volts. what would he do next? i am having similar problems.

and the jumper you mentioned is the little green one on the passenger side in the engine bay right?

Fuel lines reversed?

The fuel check connector is Yellow and covered in a Black rubber boot and is part of the Emission harness. Connector has two wires. One Black and one Brown wire.

Surprised this wasn't the first question asked....how's the compression?

i would start backwards and go straight for the fuel pump

i see the the fc has more difficulties than a normal car would but i would start there and move my way forward

is there a way to check the compression since i cant actually start my car? cause i thought the engine had to be warm...

You don't start your car to check compression if you're using a conventional gauge. Just the opposite, you pull the ECU fuse to prevent it from starting. Doesn't matter what the engine temp is to be honest.

Since it was running fine before, my money remains that the fuel lines were reversed in the process. Most common cause given the OP's story.

which fuel lines? the ones between the rails? those were the only ones tampered with during the operation.

Reversed the connectors of the front/rear rotor?

I'm having the same problem at the moment. I currently do not have 12v to the injectors. If you have fuel pressure you may have a similar problem as I. Check your main relay (top driver's corner of the engine bay. The FSM has the test procedure. Checking the pins at your ECU is not a sure way of testing this. If you don't have 12v to your injectors, you also wont see 12v @ the ECU. start from the power source and work your way to ground.

The car was running before the fuel lines got fixed and injectors cleaned, so i doubt it lacks 12V

You can check: remove and Rotate cas with ignition on and you can hear the injectors fire.

My bet is that you got the connectors crossed, front and rear

With a 22 year old rx7 expect the unexpected. I haven't touched any of my wiring before I found my problem, i know it's a wiring problem....

Where did you measure for voltage? Was it at the ECU pins for the injectors? Does your Main Relay click w/key to on? The leading coil has a two wire plug. Pull the plug and measure for battery voltage on the Black/Yellow wire w/key to on. What do you get? If you don't have voltage then focus on the Main Relay. This relay has two plugs and focus on the plug w/four wires to it. The White/Blue and Black/Green wires should have constant voltage to them, so no key necessary. If the W/L wire has no constant voltage then check the 30 amp EGI COMP fuse. If the B/G wire is w/o voltage then check the 40 amp EGI INJ fuse. Also, if the relay clicks w/key to on and both of the wires in the four wire plug have constant voltage then w/key to on the other two wires in the same plug should have battery voltage as well and these are the B/Y and B/W wires. And if the Main Relay does not click w/key to on then check the 15 amp Engine fuse located in the interior fuse box.

I think we're overlooking some things here. You can jump straight in to believing it's electrical in nature, but I'd believe it's either a large vacuum leak or you left something disconnected. If it only runs with starting fluid, that means you're not getting fuel. As Satch already said, make sure you've plugged the connectors into the right injectors. He's already spelled out how that all works. Now, assuming you pulled the UIM off to do this (because I'm pretty sure even S5's require the UIM off to change out injectors) then you might want to take a look around for any hose you may have left off somewhere. Look anywhere after the AFM. I left a rather large (1/2".. 3/4"?) diameter hose off the intake pipe and the car wouldn't start.

So I tore down the Upper and lower intakes and saw that only one of the oil injectors vacuum line was misplaced. How do I see if the injector clips are crossed (or does it even matter) as they look identical aside from one having worn brown tape?

Are we talking about the primary injectors? If so, then the front primary, which is Light Green (no stripe) is found at ECU pin 3W. So disconnect the ECU plug and do a continuity test w/one of the plugs and if it shows continuity then you identified the front primary.

Hmm, replaced fuel filter, but also the screen at the bottom of the standard fuel pump?
Mine was clogged with something invisible. Most folks do not know they ever have one, a major cause of uneven fuel to the motor

if a car runs fine, and doesnt start after some work on the engine, it is NOT a clogged filter..

Exactly. Way too much over thinking going on here. You simply didn't put something back together the way it was.

Humor me and answer this question. Does the fuel line running from the fuel filter run to the left connection tube or right (standing on the drivers side of your car)?

^ or a hose not reconnected. Check the 5/8" to 3/4" one between the AFM and TB that mounts underneath.

Have someone else check for unplugged wires and unconnected hoses. It's easy to not see the obvious after a while checking sh*t.

edit: usually, the way the wiring is routed for the primary injectors makes the plugs end near to the correct injector. As said, focus on what you messed with.

what part of town are you on?

issue is likely very simple. as suggested switched lines, fuel filter, bad AFM or a fuel pump issue since it was replaced.

If you have voltage w/key to on at the leading coil B/Y wire but not at FEM-02 then you can disconnect this plug and the leading coil plug housing the B/Y wire and w/the key to "off" and take a resistance reading on the wire and it should tell you if there is continuity or a break in the wire I would suppose.