Still Won't Run.
 

Problem:

Cranking the car will do nothing. Cycling the cranking (crank for a bit, off, crank for a bit) in quick succession will bring it to the next point in a couple of tries.

While cranking, car will sputter for 4-5 seconds, but will not start. After the 5 second, it just cranks (like it would if it was flooded). Turn the key off and then crank again, it will sputter for 4-5 seconds again. Will do this all day or until the battery dies. Deflooding procedure yielded nothing.

I've Checked Air: Vac Line Simplification, Full block off kit used.

- Map sensor is working as it should.
- No vacuum leaks
- Throttle body, cable and TPS have been adjusted.
- IAC is off/removed.

I've checked Fuel: Factory Spec Primaries, 1680cc Secondary Kit

- New Fuel filter
- Proper fuel pressure, no leaks (pressure holds after pump is shut off)
- Primary injectors were replaced by freshly rebuilt and tested injectors.
- Injector wiring was checked with NOID lights
- Myth about secondaries firing on startup and causing flooding condition debunked via FSM and NOID lights
- Injector plugs are in the right order
- Fuel lines are in the right order
- Duty cycle avg. 2.5-3% while cranking

I've checked Spark: Factory plugs, Magnacor wires, HKS Twinpower

- New plugs, cleaned after each starting attempt.
- Twin power providing wicked spark on all four plugs.
- CAS connectors plugged in, right order.
- Cranking timing is 1º and 7º while cranking?

Compression

- Motor was just rebuilt. I don't have numbers. Pulling the leading plug results in solid, even sounding pulses on both rotors. Front does sounds quieter, but still even and it could be muffled by the PS. I'll get a second set of hands and a cheap compression tester and see what I can see.



Sorry for the long read, just trying to be thorough.

The only thing I can find that doesn't work is the coolant temperature sensor (feeds the gauge and the display on the PFC commander). Broken wire (I'm assuming, as I already replaced the sensor) somewhere along the line. Still need to fix that. It reads 4.99 volts on the Commander, could that be causing an overly rich starting condition?

Going to try and pull start it tonight. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I may have missed in the meantime?

Ive always had luck putting about 4 oz of atf in the leading plup hole and starting it up, smokes like hell but itll quit. It just helps with compression if its been flooded!

I did that with a few drops of oil, didn't seem to help.

A non-functioning coolant signal will definitely cause problems. I'm not sure if it would cause it to not start, but it is definitely possible.

I'm guess you are running a PFC...do you have a datalogit or anything you can use to log what is happening?

Yes, I do have a datalogit. As for logging, I can log all day but I still don't know what any of it means yet. I could make a log and post it up, I should be able to figure that out.

If its low on compression pull starting should help! Good luck.

Tried pull starting it, absolutely nothing. Didn't even get a hint of it running on it's own. I'm going to run a temp wire to bypass the coolant temp sensor wiring and see what that gets me.

Well shit. I should have done that compression check 2 months ago, would have saved me a crapload of time, and probably money too. I have 0 PSI on all faces of the front rotor, and 70ish (hard to tell with a cheap compression checker) on all faces on the rear.

On to attempt number 2!

Out of curiosity, who did the rebuild? Was it a fresh rebuild with no miles?

That really sucks man...but I'm glad that you were able to get to the bottom of the problem.

:o I did. First time, it was a learning experience. It was a fresh rebuild, with the only 'miles' put on during the attempted pull start. Rotors, housings, and irons were reused, with new seals.

Oh well, it'll be easier the second time, now that I have half of an idea what to expect.