thorson1234

i have been working on a project car for a while and have been having electrical problems, today i finally found the problem and got that out of the way. i went to start the car and it turns over and tries to fire but fails to do so. I can hear the fuel pump prime and i can smell gas, i also removed the spark plugs to check for gas and they were wet so i think there isnt a problem with the fuel part of this.

when the engine is cranking it will sound like it is trying to fire, it will sort of half sputter if that makes any sense. sounds like the exact problem i had when i tried to start my flooded motorcycle.

i also bridged the diagnostics connector , the ten and gnd posts, turned key to on and the check engine light came on for a few seconds and turned off completely for a long time. it did not flash with any errors. i do not know if this would be of any use since i never had the car running yet.

the spark plugs i used were out of my old engine that the apex seals were blown. would the plugs be damaged or should they still be fine? i will replace them very soon but i just want to figure out if i can rule out that as a possibility for now.

if any one knows of anything i should check first, pls let me know, not asking for a lot of info, just want to get it drivable, not necessarily top running order.

bzflag

First 2 things to check are fuel and spark. You did good checking for fuel, now check to see if you are getting spark. Real easy way is to pull a plug wire and place it next to something grounded like the intake manifold. You should see a spark jump from the tip of the wire to the manifold.

rx7will

iTrader: (6)

If you have good compression, spark and fuel and you tried unflooding the engine. You should try to take off the intercooler boot and have someone crank the engine and spray carb cleaner into the car. I had the same problem after i installed some primary injectors that have been sent out to be cleaned. The car would crank and want to start and then sound like it would flood out. I unflooded the engine 5 times with lots of atf. I finally used carb cleaner and it started. Have someone crank the car and spray carb cleaned into the intake, you might have to keep pulsing the carb cleaner to make the car idle. The person will have to modulate the gas pedal. At first the engine will not have any throttle response, when the engine has any sort of throttle response, keep the car and fast idle to burn off all the gas. It would be a good ideal to have fire extinguisher. I guess, it was not getting enough gas to start so it would flood out. I guess when it did not start the gas would make the plugs wet. A properly running fd can be easily unflooded and start by pressing on the gas pedal when you crank. I was shocked myself after i got the car to start. So if you are out of ideas and everything works, try more gas. It might not sound right but its worth a try.

thorson1234

i have always wondered, when i am trying to start the car i have not been pressing down the gas pedal, should i have it to the floor or not touch it at all?

thorson1234

also, i took the plugs out of a motor that had blown apex seals, would the be a cause of plug damage? if i need to replace them, would the best bet be to go with the origional NGK plugs from the mazda dealer? if not what would be suggested?

bzflag

Try to start it with the gas on the floor. On a properly working engine you should not have to use the gas at all.