weird no spark on stock FD

[dregg100]

car started fine two weeks ago. went out last week to move it and nothing. engine was coming out for a rebuild(bad coolant seal) so i went through and cleaned all the grounds, cleaned the faces of the crank angle sensors etc.
engine is back in with same problem

i have fuel but no spark. fuses are good as are the relays. swapped out coils with known good ones. swapped out igniter, plug wires, and plugs. still nothing. any ideas?

[Herblenny]

Did you replace the ECU or anything? Just curious.. I was helping with someone who did a auto to manual swap and it was something to do with ECU harness.. I can't remember exactly what it was though... its been 1+ year ago.

[David Jerome]

Do you have fuel pressure or have you verified the fuel injectors are actually firing?

Is the rpm needle bouncing slightly as you crank the car over?

David

[dregg100]

ecu didnt change and this car was always manual. i havent "verified" that the injectors are working with a node or anything, but based on the fuel clouds coming out of the spark plug holes while cranking, its there. i pulled the egi fuse to see if the fuel stopped and it did then plugged it back in and it started again. fuel pressure is good.

i was thinking about the tach thing tonight, but have not looked. will do tomorrow.

also david, i got the als seals today!!

[David Jerome]

ecu didnt change and this car was always manual. i havent "verified" that the injectors are working with a node or anything, but based on the fuel clouds coming out of the spark plug holes while cranking, its there. i pulled the egi fuse to see if the fuel stopped and it did then plugged it back in and it started again. fuel pressure is good.

i was thinking about the tach thing tonight, but have not looked. will do tomorrow.

also david, i got the als seals today!!

Glad you go the seals, let us know when you check the tach, however if fuel is coming out the spark plug holes then I am sure the tach will be bouncing.

[dregg100]

no tach bouncing and i have no signal to the plugs that attach to the coils. they have the 12v constant, but no ground signal while cranking. guess i should check at the ecu.

[dregg100]

did some more testing and it seems that the harness is the culprit. crank angle sensors test out good. but there is no continuity between the harness connector and the pin at the ecu for the sensor. also no resistance between the the pins on the harness at the ecu for the sensors. yay for a new harness

anybody got one for sale?

[dregg100]

update

got the harness out today and found some interesting stuff. somewhere along the lines an owner of the car cut the CAS wires and respliced them. but when i say "respliced" i mean stripped the insulation off, twisted the bare wires together, and wrapped in electrical tape!!! i am flat amazed that the car ever ran. the crazy part is, when it was running, it ran fantastic! new harness going in tomorrow so we shall see.

[Herblenny]

COOL!

Glad you found the problem!

I do have a good used harness.. but I guess its too late..

[IR Performance]

Those are shielded wires and should not be messed with unless you know what you are doing. Whoever messed with it shouldn't touch a car. If you can afford it the best option would be to go for a new harness.

[dregg100]

i have a friend with quite a few harnesses laying around. and i got the best one(really nice actually). it will be going in tomorrow.

i knew they were shielded and there is a damn good reason for it. the shielding was gone from about 4 inches, and i am still laughing at the fact that the wires were twisted together!

[dregg100]

new harness installed this morning and we have spark again!! now to just find time tomorrow to put the UIM back on and fire it up.

[dregg100]

new rebuild started first try. it was fun smoking out the neighborhood on thanksgiving! now to finish the break in!