Hi all, A few months back I posted about my car not starting (http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318663) and I still haven't been able to get it up and running. It happened all of a sudden, was fine one day, dead the next. It was running low on fuel at the time, but I have since topped it up. So far I have tried: - ECU 55 - Battery, fully recharged - Fuel pump, pressure at fuel filter - New fuel filter - New S2 PTU Here is a video of what is happening: http://youtu.be/WY7DC3-7FzA Any ideas?
CAS plug? AFM plug? Make sure the pins are clean and the plugs are tight. Use some small files and Contact Cleaner to clean pins (available from Bunnings). Also, sometimes the pins spread and don't make contact. If this seems to be the case, use a jewelers screwdriver to close the female end of the plug and ensure a tight fit.
sounds to me like the battery is still struggling. I would try jumper leads while the battery is reasonably good. also check your earths and connections to the starter are good. as for timing belt there was no sign of it firing at all so I feel you either not getting spark or fuel. (or both) - a weak battery or connections can cause weak spark to get drowned in fuel and not start the car. also make sure there is no buildup between the battery terminals and the cables.
Rough checklist... some you seem to have already done and im assuming the battery will keep cranking a while/not flat? 1 - Is there a spark? (pull a coilpack if needed and check) 2 - confirm fuel pressure and listen for the fuel pump (if cranking there will be unburnt fuel smell from exhaust very soon) 3 - air intake filter (unlikely but possible if not changed for a very very very long time) 4 - check that injectors are "firing" - best to test with a multimeter, have not done this since my 280zx days but i stuck a LED in the injector connector and it flashed, getto method. 5 - scratch head while grumbling quietly 6 - borrow an ECU (and several other electronic bits) and swap to test. just get a nearby member to drive over if possible and borrow theirs, takes 2 mins to swap. 7 - have a beer while updating the forum post. basically if fuel is going in, air and spark there will be a bang, so 1 of them is probably missing. good luck!
OK - I'm 100% sure its not fuel related, pulled the spark plugs today and there they smelled like fuel, fuel pump arms and there is pressure in the lines at the filter. I'm almost certain this is spark related. All the plugs except one which I'm unsure about this (more about that fiasco in a minute...) have a black coating. Could this be from unburnt fuel? Also, whats the best way to clean them up? Also to check for spark, is it just a matter of hooking the coil pack + spark plug back up and trying to start the car and looking to see if there is a spark while it's out of the cylinder or should this be done with a multimeter? While taking one of the coil packs out (cylinder 5 I believe, rear left hand side) this happened: So now the bottom bit is stuck in the spark plug hole... am having trouble getting it out!
ok here is one idea a little left field. story goes like this - I recently put the engine back into my Z and it would not start.... everything was hooked up injectors firing spark and I was certain all was done correct. eventually as I was a little low on fuel I wondered if it had evaporated enough (the car has been off the road since january) that I had no fuel.... I took the fuel line off from the filter in the engine bay (rag over it just in case it had fuel in it) and yes it did have fuel. when I hooked up the fuel lines the car started first hit.... it seemed like some sort of airlock in the fuel lines. I have never experienced this before (engine has been out and in 3 times now) so not sure of actual reason or even if it was coincidence but may be worth a shot. just so you know I flattened one battery and then some trying to start it. it did not fire once.
Turns out this was all due to the plugs, that's the last time I buy the Iridium ones. As to what caused them to foul so quickly (only 6 months old!), I suspect I'm probably running a bit rich and that may have caused it. Thanks to everyone who helped out!
That's strange, i'm running extremely rich as i've got no O2 sensors in at the moment. So rich that after washing the rear bar it'll be covered in crap that afternoon. Has been running rich for over 6 months and my sparks are fine, not sure what i'm running though.
Hi, just an idea but have you checked the TPS, they can break down and if they do the car won't start. if its the case you'll need another one. it could be caused by a bad earth/ground so its work checking all of them.
TPS voltage was fine when we checked with consult. I still think something is going on as they should not have been that black and they certainly should have lasted longer than they did.
Iridium Plugs dont like overfueling, or bad timing settings. Once they fouled it is often fatal for them so if you are overfuelling some times even once then you can kill the plugs. This is not an absolute garantee of failure however. I know of a 5l commodore that had a custom ground cam that was gound with TDC nearly 60* off its mark. when it was installed the car ran (although very poorly) and chewed a set of iridiums in about 10 minutes of running. Copper Core plugs in this engine were used after the 3rd set of iridiums and ended up lasting for the several hours of attempted failed tuning before the cam was pulled and dialed in correctly. Moral of the story if the engine is in good going order then Iridium seem fine. any problems and it pays to go for coppers.
Learn something new everyday. I knew bad plugs can make a car run shit, but didn't think they could be so bad that they will stop an engine from firing up. You should of seen the plugs in our R32, the electrodes on the plugs were tapered and all white. Car still ran but badly.
yeah its crazy I have had 1 plug in my bike die (4 cyl) and within 1 minute of running the other 3 were missing and by the time I had done the 5~10min trip home I had 2 dead plugs and 2 missing intermittently. We got up one morning back in the early 2000's and our Eunos500 wouldnt start. it had parked up the night before good as gold but the cold morning, the wife maybe flooding it and the old plugs - bang not one would spark after that. new set of plugs and it was perfect again. I realise others will have had other experiences and by no means say mine are represntitive of every plug out there but I am not surprised that fouled iridium plugs have turned into paperweights.
