alright so my pan gasket got all jacked up when it was put on so i put a new one on today so the oil would stop leaking all over.
alright pulled the header then the pan and put everything back together, didnt touch anything else.
i push it off the ramps and check the oil real quick, its full, hop in and go to start it. the battery was dead, just figured i left the key in it on acc. or something. throw the charger on it and go to start it again. it turns over just fine but wont start. the cams are still in time, but there is no spark(held the plug wire next to distributor and nothing).
i had an extra distributor laying around that i threw on it real quick and still no spark.
now i drove the car into the garage just a few hours ago and it ran fine just leaked oil. what would cause it to not start like this?
The main fuel relay (MFR) and integrated control unit (ICU) are two different things. The MFR can keep your car from starting, but it only controls fuel, not ignition. The ICU has no effect on starting the car.
I would confirm that you are not getting spark. Take a spare spark plug and pull a plug wire off of one of your spark plugs. Put the spare in and turn the car over looking for spark. If you are sure you have no spark, then have your coil and ignitor tested.
Or you could always remove your air intake off of the throttle body and spray some starter fluid in the throttle body. Then try to start the car. If it fires up for a few seconds and then shuts off again, you know that you aren’t getting fuel (MFR probably) and the ignition is just fine.
i am getting fuel, i have and aftermarket regulator w/ gauge and am getting full pressure sitting right at 40PSI so i know i am getting fuel.
now for the spark issue.
when i pull the plug wire off the distributor and hold it there while cranking there is no spark/arc at all.
the only ting i can come up with is the ECU went bad, so last night i pulled it out and opened it up and nothing looks bad in it, no moisture, no burn smell, nothing black on the circut board.
Odd, being that resoldering the MFR fixed my problem. I was getting fuel, I could smell it coming out the tailpipe after a long period of cranking. I was not getting spark, I tested and had none. I am not saying the MFR controls ignition (ICM does that), but I am saying that I was not getting spark until after I resoldered the joints in the MFR.
Simply resoldering the MFR fixed my problem.
OP: Its under the dash on the drivers side, to the left and below the steering column. Take the panel off from the driver’s side, and between the dash and the metal shield you should be able to see it. I could pull it from behind the metal shield.
As for what you said about the ECM, are you getting the check engine light on the dash for 2 seconds, then going off? I would check your ICM in the distributor.
Taken from the Helms manual.
How to check your ICM:
Take the cap rotor and shield off of the distributor.
Disconnect all wires to the ICM, its the thing with 4 wires plugged into it.
Turn ignition on, make sure none of the disconnected wires touch ground.
Check voltage between the black/yellow wire and the body ground.
4a. If no voltage, check black/yellow wire between ignition switch and ICM.
(That will eventually tie into the MFR, and where my problem was)
4b. If voltage, goto the next step.
With ignition on, check voltage between white/blue wire and body ground.
5a. if no voltage, check your Ignition Coil or the White/Blue wire itself.
5b. If voltage, goto next step.
Check the yellow/green wire between ECM and ICM.
Check the blue wire between the ICM and Tach.
If all tests normal, replace the ICM.
Check the Ignition Coil:
Ignition Switch off.
Remove distributor cap, rotor and shield.
Remove the 2 screws on the Ignition Coil.
Be careful. If they fall, they will hide in your engine bay. Put a dixie cup under the distributor or a towel incase they fall.
Using the ohmmeter, test the resistance of the following:
Primary winding (between the 2 screw terminals): 0.6 - 0.8 ohms
Secondary winding (between the bottom screw terminal and where the Ignition coil makes contact with your distributor cap. sticks out of the coil, and has a spring sticking out if it.): 12,800 - 19,200 ohms.
If any fail, replace coil.
If your taking off the rotor, might as well replace that screw. Goto a hardware store, and get a allen wrench head screw. M5 x10 will work perfectly. Also get a lock washer for that screw. It will make it easier in the future when you have to replace the rotor. They also do not strip out like the cheap screws you would get from a replacement rotor. I keep an extra one in my “happy fun honda” kit just incase.
i will play with it more tommorrow had a graduation to go to today. the car is really starting to irritate me, now the starter is about 98% shot, the solenoid isnt engaging now(been an off and on problem for a little while now) so i am buying one off a guy on here right now then i will see why the no spark is going on.
i doubt it has anything to do with the distributor itself or anything inside the distributor, that was the first thing i checked, i had a spare laying around that worked fine that i swapped out and still the same no spark issue.
It just went out like that. Walked into the store for 5mins, came out, and it wouldn’t start. Thought it was just the main relay playing tricks on me, but it wasn’t.
Check engine light stayed on, and no codes were coming on when I jumped it.
Luckily I was only a few blocks away from my house, so I took off the front bumper, and towed it back.
I stand corrected, the Main Fuel Relay is actually two relays. One when the ignition is turned on, will give power to the ECM, injectors, and ignition. The other gives power to the fuel pump. So your problem still could be a faulty MFR. Ok, I submit myself to 40 lashes minus one.
No not 40 lashes minus 1, we don’t do that here. I believe your looking for the chat section of www.alt.com. :lol:
I first thought it was not related too. Until I tested it and got only one power up of the relay after 10 tries. I figured with those odds, even if it was not the relay, it still was not functioning correctly and I had multiple problems.
I had the same problem with my 91 ls. It just so happens that it was distributor, here’s a simple idea for you. What year is your car for starters? Second if its 90 to 91 the distributor will mount up to either car, hence the reason why i know this is because it was done to my car to find the problem. i hope this works for you.
i just got a chance to play with it(for the spark issue) today, pulled the MFR out.
anyway to open it up and see if its bad on the inside or not?
now i also have to get a new starter, she’s just about shot from all the trying to start but not wanting to start this car has caused me. once in a while the solenoid doesnt engage.
[QUOTE=Da9tegra;1683161]i just got a chance to play with it(for the spark issue) today, pulled the MFR out.
anyway to open it up and see if its bad on the inside or not?
now i also have to get a new starter, she’s just about shot from all the trying to start but not wanting to start this car has caused me. once in a while the solenoid doesnt engage.[/QUOTE]
On the side where the wires plug in, you have to get 2 small screwdrivers, one on each side between that plate, and the housing. You will feel like you breaking it, and possibly could crack it, but I really went at it with screwdrivers, and popped it apart. I could only see one cracked joint on the board, but I soldered all of them. Might as well while you have it open.
As for the starter, other than it not turning the car over, it should not affect your ignition. If you can solve the no start (from spark/fuel/whatever) first, I would put off replacing the starter. You will have the money to replace the completely faulty part if needed.
Your tach isn’t bouncing. It should bounce even if it does not start. Your not getting power to it. The power that is given to it comes through the ICM, and the MFR. It also comes through the ECM. Have you checked the voltages at the ICM like I showed you in post #8?
