T1 plug sparks in test, not in running motor...
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,312
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From: Hermosa Beach, CA
T1 plug sparks in test, not in running motor...
Car stats: Power FC, stock ignition, stock fuel system, non-seq, large streetport
Symptoms: Thumpier than usual idle, throwing visible gas vapor from tailpipe (incomplete burn), T1 plug is wet (not firing). T1 plug shows spark when pulled from the block & grounded (when dry). The car had rough starts for a few months leading up to this with a bouncing idle for a couple of minutes before smoothing out... didn't stall dropping to idle, though. (At the time, I figured the Power FC was just making some adjustments.)
What I've tried: Tested/confirmed continuity across T1 circuitry all the way back to Power FC, swapped Power FC for stock ECU, swapped T1 coil & igniter, grounded all plugs testing spark, swapped wires, swapped T2 coil checking spark, etc.
It just hit me as I wrote this post that this is likely a leaky/open injector on R1 that is washing out the T1 plug as the car attempts to start. The "final straw" from the rough starts that caused me to tow it home was it starting on one rotor, which likely means the leaky injector washed out both R1 plugs before the car started.
Right??
(Also something weird discovered in this process... my car runs with the fuel pump relay pulled and I cannot fathom why.)
Symptoms: Thumpier than usual idle, throwing visible gas vapor from tailpipe (incomplete burn), T1 plug is wet (not firing). T1 plug shows spark when pulled from the block & grounded (when dry). The car had rough starts for a few months leading up to this with a bouncing idle for a couple of minutes before smoothing out... didn't stall dropping to idle, though. (At the time, I figured the Power FC was just making some adjustments.)
What I've tried: Tested/confirmed continuity across T1 circuitry all the way back to Power FC, swapped Power FC for stock ECU, swapped T1 coil & igniter, grounded all plugs testing spark, swapped wires, swapped T2 coil checking spark, etc.
It just hit me as I wrote this post that this is likely a leaky/open injector on R1 that is washing out the T1 plug as the car attempts to start. The "final straw" from the rough starts that caused me to tow it home was it starting on one rotor, which likely means the leaky injector washed out both R1 plugs before the car started.
Right??
(Also something weird discovered in this process... my car runs with the fuel pump relay pulled and I cannot fathom why.)
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,312
Likes: 0
From: Hermosa Beach, CA
I'm just gonna post this here for the future reference of others since no one responded. (What happened to the people who actually knew the rotary around here??)
I took the injectors to RC Engineering and indeed, one of the primaries was "dripping" before service. Like a dummy, I didn't actually mark which ones came from the front rotor, so I'm only left to assume I was correct. Now they're all clean and flowing within 1cc of their rating.
I have a couple more maintenance things to do before I know if this was 100% the issue.
I took the injectors to RC Engineering and indeed, one of the primaries was "dripping" before service. Like a dummy, I didn't actually mark which ones came from the front rotor, so I'm only left to assume I was correct. Now they're all clean and flowing within 1cc of their rating.
I have a couple more maintenance things to do before I know if this was 100% the issue.
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