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interesting problem with spark/timing

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Old 08-30-10, 11:19 AM
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Semper

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interesting problem with spark/timing

ok starting saturday morning i went to start the FC.(the night before it ran perfectly fine). its a TII no emissions. it started but shot alot of smoke out. sounded horrible like its running on one rotor or just missing badly. i tried to move it and there was barely any power when i gave it some gas. the motor only has roughly 30k miles on it. i pulled the spark plugs and the front rotor top plug looked like its barely ever fired. the rest looked normal. i replaced all the plugs this morning checked all the fuses and still having the same problem. i know its pretty rare for the coils to go bad so what else could cause this.

also i checked and im not getting any error codes.
Old 08-30-10, 01:06 PM
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do a quick compression test, it doesn't need to be fancy just to make sure its not the engine.

then i think i'd check the wires, they should be under 16K ohms/foot.

then i'd be looking at the fuel system, smoke = rich?
Old 08-30-10, 03:02 PM
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yeah its got a strong smell of gas in that smoke. thats why im thinking spark. the wires are less than a year old so i dont think it would be them but ill check.
Old 08-30-10, 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by rx7 FC TII
yeah its got a strong smell of gas in that smoke. thats why im thinking spark. the wires are less than a year old so i dont think it would be them but ill check.
start with the basics first. you want to be able to narrow down the possibilities
Old 08-30-10, 03:49 PM
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wires should be around 1k ohms/foot. these generally run closer to 2k/ft however.
Old 08-31-10, 02:38 AM
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im trying to keep to the basics as much as possible. i just wish i knew what the problem was. theres only a few things it could be but those few things are all a pain to check and replace lol.
Old 12-21-10, 03:58 PM
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alright bringing back from the dead. brand new spark plugs, new plug wires, cleaned all the igniter coil grounds...still no fix.

not really sure where to go from here. compression is fine. there is alot of gas smoke coming out of the exhaust and the sound of the engine i can tell at least one plug is barely firing if at all.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Old 12-21-10, 04:14 PM
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you'll have to test the injectors manually to see if they're firing correctly or start with the basics like fuel pressure.

if it's firing on one rotor then it should be firing on both rotors unless you have an ignition cable failure.
Old 12-21-10, 04:21 PM
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are you talking about the fuel injectors? those were just cleaned and tested and they were perfect.

ignition cable failure. which cables should i be looking to because i just replaced the plug wires. are you talking about the ones leading into the coil?
Old 12-22-10, 09:29 PM
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Did you ever switch to the Rtek, Marshall? Or are you still running the stock ECU? Knowing your car and the way you keep it up, it has to be simple. I'm kinda leaning towards your coil(s). If you need some spares I should have leading and trailing for the S4 TIIs.

Hope you been doing well. It's been awhile since we last spoke. Of course, it has been awhile with several people since I made the move up here.

Todd B.
Old 12-22-10, 10:03 PM
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Might of missed it, but did you verify that you have no spark? If not, pull out a plug, attach the plug to the plug wire and ground it and crank the car over. If it doesn't spark, test your coil resistance with a multimeter.
Old 03-20-11, 07:11 PM
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bringing this back again. still no fix yet. i think im getting much closer tho.

i did a comp test and it sounded strong on all rotor turns.
got spark on all spark plugs...i did notice what looked to be oil on the plugs which also doesnt make sense because i have no emission system including oil meter pump removal. i premix.

i did check my coolant earlier and i might have a leak somewhere because it was very low. i havent been driving the car except once today to see if there was any power and i literally went about 100 feet and back. i noticed i do have a decent amount of power but it was very jerky. maybe just cold still..apparently my low coolant buzzer isnt working either.


i have an rtek 2.1 and i just got a new palm pilot that actually works so i ran a log but honestly dont know what im looking at...any help with that would be awesome. im fearing it might be a coolant seal but im holding hope that its not because like i said this is not that old of a motor.
Old 03-20-11, 08:35 PM
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Have you checked compression with an actual compression gauge yet?
Old 03-20-11, 09:31 PM
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mass air flow meter. not reading air correctly and telling the engine to add more fuel to make up for the loss of air.
Old 03-20-11, 11:23 PM
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thanks guys but i think ive found the problem. either blown oil seals or blown turbo. ill update for future searchers once ive confirmed it.
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