sv51macross

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Alright. The alternator's regulator went, and put out almost 16V. The car still started and ran before I took it out. Had the alternator rebuilt by Robert Walters Starter & Alternator in Redford (I'm in Ann Arbor). While it was being rebuilt, I decided to tackle the wiring hackjob under the dashboard. (long story, but before this it ran just fine)

---Batt terminals were shi*, so they were replaced with shiny new clamps.
---I soldered together a corroded splice in the negative return to the batt from the ignition tumbler.
---There was a 15A fuse that simply had the (solid red) wires twisted around the blades. I purchased and soldered-in a fuse holder.
---There was a toggle switch soldered to braided gray and black wires. I re-soldered the joints to improve conductivity. Prior to this, the position of the switch did not (and still doesn't) affect the car's behavior. I believe this was an attempted repair to the security system as the car was vandalized prior to my acquisition of it. Post re-soldering, switch still functions.

And now it does not start. I installed the rebuilt alternator and realized the stalk was clocked wrong, so I loosened the nut and re-clocked it, tightening the nut afterward. Cranking the engine, it seems to crank fast, and it sounds like there is no compression (a continuous, steady whine with no oscillation like normal turning-over). I believe that the ignition system is not firing as removal of all four plugs shows them soaked in gas (and the oil that one normally finds in a Wankel left to sit a couple days). I re-examined the 'rats nest' and found that most of anything I touched went to or sourced from a connector/s that were looong orphaned, and that the car ran fine without. I soldered a couple more junctures that looked questionable, dried off the plugs (which were always tight) and it still didn't start.

Now, before I either sell this car as a rolling shell, or take my dad's 10lb sledge to it in frustration, can anyone offer me any kind of diagnosis?

satch

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What was the purpose of this?

sv51macross

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Because despite my limited knowledge about automotive electronics, I do know that the less green, corroded copper in a harness, the better. Am I wrong?

satch

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the negative return to the batt from the ignition tumbler

What wire is this was my point. There's a negative wire from the battery going to the ignition switch? Factory or something you rigged yourself?

sv51macross

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I assumed it was the neg return. It was a thick black wire with a yellow stripe.

satch

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Did you do this wiring work with the negative battery terminal removed?

sv51macross

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Yes, I had the terminals off the batt as they were going to be replaced.

satch

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Check the 15 amp Engine fuse in the interior fuse box then if that is okay proceed to the engine fuse box and check those as well, namely the EGI.

clokker

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There is no "ground return" to the ignition switch...all the wires at the ignition are power.

sv51macross

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15A engine fuse is fine. 100A main looks good. 30A EGI looks a bit burnt, but has .5-ohm when measured.

satch

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Your engine might be playing the role of being flooded and doing it well but pull the two wire plug off of the leading coil and test the Black/Yellow wire for voltage with key to on. And can you confirm if the Main relay clicks with key to on?

sv51macross

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Will do those checks, but when I first hooked-up the battery and started it, that's when this stuff began to happen, it wouldn't be flooded right off the bat, would it?

satch

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Only takes one attempted start to flood the engine when it feels like it. There also might have been some leftover fuel from the previous time.

sv51macross

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Nice big click when the key goes to 'ON'. Battery voltage @ mentioned coil wire when hot.

So should i pop the plugs back out overnight?

satch

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There's a deflooding process for the S5 which you should follow. Do a search for it. I have an S4 and I'm not familiar with it.

sv51macross

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The process I found was:

-Remove EGI fuse,
-Crank 15 sec,
-Rest,
-Crank 15 sec,
-Rest,
-Crank 15 sec,
-Rest,
-Plug-in EGI fuse,
-Crank

Now, the battery is severely drained and she still won't start. She did sound like she was going to catch a couple times, but...nope.

satch

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I think on the S5 the throttle pedal helps in the deflooding process.

sv51macross

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Makes sense. With the injectors unplugged, the throttle open would just increase the air blowing out the loose gas. Not going to have access to decent jumper cables until tomorrow though, would it hurt anything to leave the spark plugs out overnight?

satch

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No.

sv51macross

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Well, the plugs were substantially less wet than before I dried the deflooding. Hopefully tomorrow when I recharge the battery, I'll finally get her running again.

sv51macross

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Sorry for double-posting, but I just found rx7.com's page on de-flooding. How imperative is the oil change? How diluted has the oil become? And if I do need to change oil, are there any negatives to Lucas HD Stabilizer?

Skidtron

iTrader: (1)

De-flooding on a S5 is a matter of holding the gas pedal to the floor. WOT. or full throttle whatever you wanna call it. you don't have to pull fuses and all that. Thats just for s4 and earlier. So hold the pedal full throttle and crank you can hear the difference when its full throttle and partial throttle.

I know you didn't touch that stuff but maybe you should verify fuel pressure and spark. I'll re read your post maybe I didn't notice something you already wrote.

BTW all wires at the ignition switch are positive or will be at various positions of the ket. No grounds there.

I am imagining its just cranks and cranks and cranks right? Does it almost start sometimes or crank with no change in noise. I know you said sounds like no compression so I assume it makes a constant cranking noise with no pulsing or attempts to fire up.

You talk about a possibility of the 15a fuse having something to do with the security system. What is this fuse added to? you might need to bypass all the security features of the car to get it running then go back and fix it.

sv51macross

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She liiiiiveees! Thanks to satch for guiding me through this. I had no idea rotaries flooded so bad after short starts. Oil's been changed, a fresh load of 10w-30 in the case, just waiting for her to cool back down, one final check, and then test drive.

satch

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No problem. If you only start your car to move it around in the driveway and it stays running for just a minute, if that, then there is a very good chance the car will flood so when the car is started you "always" want to run the engine until it is warmed up properly. There are times I want to move the car out of the garage and instead of turning the car on to move it, which means I have to run the car for a while, I would rather instead just push it out and not have to worry about the above process.

clokker

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Jeez, I never do that stuff.
Don't make a habit of short run times but don't sweat it if I must.
Never had any trouble other than the occasional puff of smoke after a short move into the driveway or whatever.

I must be lucky.