So I just got my rebuilt motor back into the car. While it was out I street ported it. Upon getting it back together, I did a compression test and it was fine, both front and back rotors. I put the plugs back in and it would turn over but wouldn't start. I pulled the plugs and they both smelled of fuel. I then pulled the EGI fuse and de-flooded the motor with lots of atomized fuel coming out. I took this to be a good sign as the fuel system is obviously working. I then pulled the trailing plugs (on the bottom) and tested for spark, which also passed the test. When I tested for spark, fire shot out of the trailing holes so I'm positive that I'm getting leading spark on both housings and fuel. I didn't even have the throttle body elbow on so I'm positive that it was getting air as well.

I'm using an Apexi PFC that was tuned for the car by Steve Kan and it ran great until it chipped an apex seal. It never had any problems starting. The only difference is that it's a fresh rebuild with a streetport. Is there something I should try differently? It seems like it almost wants to kick over but never quite does.

If anybody has any ideas, I would really appreciate it.

Jeremy

 

try some new plugs.

 

Well if it is a 5Speed, just pull start it. Fresh rebuilds sometimes have a hard time starting if they have been flooded. When you rebuild a motor you put alot of oil into it to make sure there is enuff compression to fire over.

I bet if you pull start it, everything will be fine.

You know that if you press the gas all the way down it turns off the injectors for de-fuel

Make sure that the major sensors are hooked up

MAP
Air Temp
TPS
Idle Control

 

One thing I forgot to mention now that you're talking about sensors is that after I crank it a couple of times, the idle control (white plug next to firewall on the side of the UIM) buzzes. As soon as I turn the key back to off, it goes away. I can turn the key back on and no noise until I try to crank it again. Any thoughts?

Jeremy

 

The isc is just starting to fail but that has nothing to do with why the car wont start. Buy new plugs, inject so ATF into the engine, and hook the battery up to another running car like you are trying to get a jump to make sure there is enough battery power after all your attempts to get it started. I imagine it just needs a little more compression to fire up.

Good luck

 

Thanks,

I've got new plugs, they're still shiny. I'll put the trickle charger back on the battery. What is ATF?

Jeremy

 

ATF- Automatic Trans Fluid

It helps get the compression back up, It is a thin oil that gets into the small seal areas. On a seasoned motor it breaks down carbon also.

 

what he said(auto trans fluid,had to edit post)

 

Automatic Transmission Fluid

 

could I not also use a little Marvel Mystery Oil?

 

Another question.... the FSM doesn't make any distinction between the front and rear rotors for the trailing plugs, what is the order the spark plug wires are supposed to be routed? I've got the top plug routed to the front housing and the bottom plug routed to the rear housing... is that correct? Could that have an effect on starting?

 

From your first post and last post, it sounds like you need some education on plug position.

Leading = Lower
Trailing = Top

The front rotor is #1, rear rotor is #2

If you have these crossed up, you can DEFINITELY have starting problems. The coilpacks are marked L1, L2, T1, T2 so you can figure out what plug wire should go where. Trace EACH connection and make sure it's right.

If you have trailing and leading swapped, that could possibly make the car not run, or be hard to start. If you have leading hooked up right and trailing reversed, the car will run but WILL DETONATE under load. Leading can actually be either way, since leading fires at the same time, but it's good form to hook it up properly.

Dale

 

Yes, any oil will due. you'll only need a few drops per rotor housing.

Not true, this is just a characteristic of the PFC.

Check your plug wires as Mr Clark suggested, then I'd tests the fuel pressure as per the FSM. You may have a leaking injector that keeps flooding the engine.


Paul

 

Thanks for clarifying the plug wires. I always mix up the leading and trailing terminology. I guess I always think about the rotation of the engine designating which plug is leading and trailing.

The bottom line is that I had the wires hooked up properly. However, at about 9:00 last night I received a gut shot! While allowing my motor to rest with the plugs out after de-flooding, I changed the oil on my dd. When I scooted out from under the car, I sat up and looked down. What I saw was a little piece of metal that looked uncannily like the corner piece of the apex seals I just put in the motor. It had been broken and scarred up like the cherry-picker had run over it a couple times but what was left was unmistakeably 2mm thick with a rounded edge on 1 side and a 45 degree angle on another side. Apparently when I lifted the intermediate housing to make sure the seal was seated properly, the corner piece shot out and I didn't hear it. 100% my fault.

The reason the motor wouldn't start was that it didn't have good compression on the rear rotor. I checked the compression again and sure enough 1 puff was louder than the other two. I wish I had caught it earlier but I didn't. Now I have to pull the whole motor, get a replacement seal and start all over again.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Glad you figured it out but I am very sorry to hear what it was

 

Sorry to hear that.... for future reference on the plugs think of it as trailing or T which is top and leading or L which is lower. 1 in the front and 2 in the back.