Heck. Pull the Illumination fuse and try starting the car. I'd use starter fluid with the fuel puimp plug off/disconnected.

He definetly has a problem with the light switch/harness and it could be related to the aftermarket gauges/etc. I really don't think it will keep the car from starting. It sounds like it is firing but semi-flooded. Screw lights, start the engine then take care of misc.

 

Yes it does

 

I dont know if it shows in the video, but when the gauges flicker on and off, the SAFC and EVC lose power. They get power driectly from the ignt wire on the ecu. So if theyre not getting power, than neither is the ECU. This will explain why it isnt starting.

Spark is sufficient, i've been rotating between three sets of plugs

I have been unflooding it for a looooong time...That was the first thing I tried, and I have tried it countless number of times since. Starter fluid didnt do anything at all, because if the ECU's power is cutting off than there is gonna be no spark to ignite the starter fluid

The engine is good, it is brand new, 0 miles, so that question is out

The CAS has been out, but I followed the directions in the "locating TDC" article that i think hailers gave me

As all the guys at my job say...my car is possessed....any rotary exorcists in here?

 

start with simple grounds, like the main battery ground. simplify the car. remove all the aftermarket stuff(if possible), take it back to original, then add things one at a time and diagnose problems that may arise

the power of Christ compels you

 

have you checked the connections at the starter? If that looks ok, its got to be a short...

 

Also, I dont know if i said this already, but this problem is not a result of my motor swap. Everything was working fine for about a month and a halfafter the swap, then this started happening out of nowhere

 

It's gotta be a short somewhere.
I'd start be removing your aftermarket stuff one at a time, beginning with the giant tach.
Once you've got that complete, check the charge/power harness and then head for the grounds.

 

Ok...update...I tested out the ignition switch as per Hailers' diagram and got all 0's...So my switch is good right? So it's a short somewhere...And it's most likely not a result of the "giant tach" or the SAFC or EVC...because everything was running fines when I first installed the accessories...it was a month later that this started happening...So where should I start?

 

lol...why does everyone give up on me?

 

you may have a short or a bad ground cause i see your lights going off like a disco.... you might want to recheck your aftermarket gauges the way they are hooked up and check there grounds also check the entire electrical harness for any shorts of burns maybe two wires are touching each other somewhere canceling out each other umm thinking what else lol get a multimeter and check your CAS crank angel sensor sounds like the timing is really off.

check fuses check relays good luck

 

I'm gonna have to take my dash out aren't I? This sucks...hopefully It's warm tomorrow...thanks guys...keep the suggestions coming...

 

ok.....removed all three gauges....removed SAFC and EVC...still the same problem...puttin it all back in tomorrow

 

i dont like the fact that you are stealing power from the ecu to run your gauges. you should have wired those from some other sourse imo

 

I've got a sure-fire fix for you (no pun intended). It, though, requires a little time and determination, some growing pains and a few collective hours of troubleshooting. The end result will give you a car with more power, more torque, much more reliablility. A car that will out accellerate, out handle, and generally out perform cars that cost 10 times what you have.

Come to the dark side

Here we will be glad to help you out, but best of all, you won't see any one with a car that won't start.

 

^ haha, ***.

 

woah, badass. fishing for people, eh??

 

not the smartest in the world but i say a bad relay

 

It it fixed yet. Update???

 

Havent had the chance to **** with it...the car's in a carport and it's 17 degrees outside...in other works too cold to be fishing for a short circuit...im gonna bring it up to work maybe this week....heated garage...

 

Yea definate possesion dude....maybe the ghost of christmas past........

 

Your car is super clean, though.

 

Try unflooding it with HAILERS method one more time. Then try putting the CAS in at TDC again. Check your resistance on the AFM too, that might be giving you starting problems. Also, what kind of plug wires do you use?

(I personally ran into the following probs with my car when attempting to run it: AFM had a dead short, TPS was waaay off, and the plug wires I was using were inferior to the stock ones (don't use NAPA wires). I still have yet to get mine running, but that's just because I got fed up and I am probably going MegaSquirt this winter. Good luck though!)

 

TPS is right on, says the SAFC. AFM is hooked up with the SAFC, so I basically control that anyways. Spark plug wires are not a problem, MSD 8.5mm. As soon as I fix this short, Ill re-time it and attempt unflooding it.

 

UPDATE!!! I was driving, In my Fiero, and I turned the lights off. I noticed that the heater controls and the radio dimmer works off the headlight switch, with the gauges. I realized that when i turn the key in the Rex, the heater control's lights don't come on, nor do the switches on the side of the gauge cluster. Only the gauges, which are aftermarket! I think I just fixed it in my head! But it's wayy too cold and dark to mess with it now...check it out:

When I turn the key on, the gauges light up. Tach, A/F Ratio, Boost and my AFTERMARKET factory gauge covers! When I put the white face gauge covers in I took out all the 194 bulbs that lit up the original gauges. They get their lighting power from the same place the autometer gauges do...the CIGARETTE LIGHTER LIGHT! So here's my problem. BUT, I still have intermittent power to the ECU, which is odd. I'm absolutely positive that these problems are related, so hopefully I can fix my lighting and everything will be nice...I'm gonna prob put a relay in there instead of just wiring it straight to the wire.
What do you guys think? Am I onto something?

 

HOLY **** I'M GETTING CLOSE!!!

I go out to check my soldering on the lighting power, and I turn the key on. It does it's usual lights coming on and everything. So i lean over to take out the screws to the radio surround and my arm is resting on the shifter. All of a sudden it switches back. So i play with the shifter. It does it again. It only happens when i pull the shifter (in neutral) all the way to the left. It doesnt happen in any gear, or reverse. Only when I pull the shifter all the way to the left...What does this mean?