The Old Boat Build... part one?

[Martinator]

Is the Crank position sensor plugged in @ the injector harness since putting the head back on the block?
I had a rough time with the provided miller tune on my car. The initial tune was rich and spark plugs would foul. Remember, my tune with with a maf for 4.4i v8(& e36 m3).

[89BMW735il]

You've tried three different coils and can't get spark?
Just sounds like it's not the coil.

Until you do the checks I outlined, it'll be difficult to say anything.



Good question...

He said he's getting fuel (hasn't said anything about how he figured that out), so I assumed the DME was working right at least that far.

CEL light has never worked since ive been the owner..
fuel pump is on a seperate circuit controlled by a switch on the dash.. the fuel pump relay went up and since i couldnt find one in the junkyard i just wired a fused switch to it..


ive driven the car with this setup.. nothing electrical changed.. so i dont get why it wont give me spark.. ive used 2 different caps 2 rotors 3 coils. and 2 sets of plug wires.. the coil is getting power.. but i have yet to check the lines with the multimeter. ( i know this from putting the key in the on position and touching the wires to the coil)

[DarkSideofWill]

Throwing parts at it isn't troubleshooting.
Quit screwing around and get out the meter.

You said you "had fuel". Does this mean you have fuel pressure?

Or does it mean that you have actually verified that the injectors are pulsing?

[DUDMD]

Throwing parts at it isn't troubleshooting.
Quit screwing around and get out the meter.

You said you "had fuel". Does this mean you have fuel pressure?

Or does it mean that you have actually verified that the injectors are pulsing?

If he hard wired the pump with a switch, then he does have fuel pressure. I would just make sure it's wired through a good 30amp relay, as the switch can burn up causing you more headaches.

[darrenforeal]

If you have fuel at the rail, and no spark, this could be because the chip and dme aren't communicating. When this happens the CEL will not light up. But, in your case it is probably not wired up. So you need to find out if your DME is actually telling your plugs to fire. You should also see if your dme is telling your injectors to open (my guess is no).

sorry if I missed it, what is your tune? ie. what chip are you using?

[DarkSideofWill]

Use a screwdriver as a stethoscope to tell if an injector is actually pulsing.

If you have no spark AND your injectors are not pulsing, then you don't have a coil problem.

ive driven the car with this setup.. nothing electrical changed..

Nothing changed except the DME.
Why do you think it's the coil?

[89BMW735il]

Use a screwdriver as a stethoscope to tell if an injector is actually pulsing.

If you have no spark AND your injectors are not pulsing, then you don't have a coil problem.



Nothing changed except the DME.
Why do you think it's the coil?

unbolted rail, cranked with rail in hand. beautiful 440CC mists of gas were had..
(really makes me wanna do it again with a lighter)

by setup i mean ive had my fan ,my pump wired to switches, with the WAR chip. car was driven everyday, everywhere.. then it got a turbo and now haz no spark..

so what would be the best remedy without using a meter i am too dumb to read..(could have my dad use it, i bought it for him) replace the ecu? swap over my WAR chip?

you guys know i have a mechanical ignition system right?? the ECU doesnt tell what plug to fire.. the distributor rotor on the cam does.. just letting you know

If he hard wired the pump with a switch, then he does have fuel pressure. I would just make sure it's wired through a good 30amp relay, as the switch can burn up causing you more headaches.

yep sure is.. and i dont have it connected to a cheap switch. i use 50AMP all metal body switches.. i had one car fire. i dont want another

[5mall5nail5]

Fuel pump should be wired to a relay not directly to a switch

[DUDMD]

Have you tried installing the stock chip back in to see if you get spark/fuel pulse back to work? There's always a chance of getting a defective part when dealing with electronics

[JesterMX6]

subscribed because i always wanted to turbo my e32. build looks great. not sure why on earth you're doing that with the wheels and wanting to stretch a 195 wheel on that car but to each his own i guess.

regardless of the switch you're using on the pump, as jon said it needs a relay. as for the no spark, its not a hard thing to diagnose, work your way back from the plug wires.

wires have spark? no > coil wire getting spark? no > coil getting power? no > etc etc

you said you were using an MSD 6AL? the ones i've had were notorious for heating up and dying. check to make sure a wire didn't get hooked up wrong because they don't hold up well to mistakes.

[89BMW735il]

subscribed because i always wanted to turbo my e32. build looks great. not sure why on earth you're doing that with the wheels and wanting to stretch a 195 wheel on that car but to each his own i guess.

regardless of the switch you're using on the pump, as jon said it needs a relay. as for the no spark, its not a hard thing to diagnose, work your way back from the plug wires.

wires have spark? no > coil wire getting spark? no > coil getting power? no > etc etc

you said you were using an MSD 6AL? the ones i've had were notorious for heating up and dying. check to make sure a wire didn't get hooked up wrong because they don't hold up well to mistakes.

i want a MSD 6AL just to play with its rev limiter

fuel pump is connected to a 30A relay as i said in the first reply.
"yep sure is.. and i dont have it connected to a cheap switch. i use 50AMP all metal body switches.. i had one car fire. i dont want another"

and my war chip works fine.. just had it in my buddies car today to rub it in his face that he cant afford it LOL. sooo i eiether need a new coil or new ECU as cheap as they both are should i replace both?? i can get the parts tomorrow for free..

[DarkSideofWill]

so what would be the best remedy without using a meter i am too dumb to read..(could have my dad use it, i bought it for him)

Learn how to read the meter. (At least you *have* one)

Otherwise you're wasting your time and ours. And you said you don't have much time to waste...

[5mall5nail5]

You said you wired it to a fused switch.

It should be wired to a relay. So now you've got a high current live wire running through your dash some where. This is how fires start.

[89BMW735il]

You said you wired it to a fused switch.

It should be wired to a relay. So now you've got a high current live wire running through your dash some where. This is how fires start.

i was replying to the second part of what he said. wired thru relay. relays take the load off the wires so to speak.. nothing ever gets warm

[milKt]

Relays carry an amperage rating?

[89BMW735il]

the ones from pepboys do lol

[5mall5nail5]

You're confusing me about relays taking the load off of wires - but ...


relay trigger should be a switch to ground. It can be a 0.1 A switch because there's no current going to the relay to trigger it. The relay itself is a switch and needs to be rated for the amperage that the fuel pump requires - so should the wire gauge. Always switch relays with a switch to ground so that if you have a short the circuit just stays on (you can pull fuse or relay to turn off in that event) rather than shorting +12v to your chassis.

[5mall5nail5]

You're confusing me about relays taking the load off of wires - but ...


relay trigger should be a switch to ground. It can be a 0.1 A switch because there's no current going to the relay to trigger it. The relay itself is a switch and needs to be rated for the amperage that the fuel pump requires - so should the wire gauge. Always switch relays with a switch to ground so that if you have a short the circuit just stays on (you can pull fuse or relay to turn off in that event) rather than shorting +12v to your chassis.

[89BMW735il]

used a new map today Millers AFM 92OCT base no luck but my ecu works fine.. put it in a buddies E34 today and it ran.. sooo im thinking the 3 coils i used are bad.. idk what else to do besides use a new ECU and coil in my car

[5mall5nail5]

3 bad coils...really?

[DarkSideofWill]

idk what else to do besides use a new ECU and coil in my car

Learn how to read the meter.

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+read+a+DVM

You'd probably be driving it by now if you'd made a serious effort to troubleshoot it instead of throwing parts at it.

[JesterMX6]

protip: if you try 3 different parts of the same kind and the problem is there, its probably not the part.

like it was said before. use a multimeter. there's a bad connection somewhere.

[89BMW735il]

i used a old MSD coil that has a cracked cap.. a stock coil that has been left out in the rain and a old 3 series coil that is god only knows how old.. soo yeah its a possibility.. new coil tomorrow (im grabbing 3 more from a junkyard)

and i havent been home all day due to my woman.. so il update this with results tomorrow hopefully. and i went over EVERY wire i extended with the DMM.. everything has solid connections

[DAHHN]

and any update with the wheels? did you already sell the 19x10?

[DarkSideofWill]

and i went over EVERY wire i extended with the DMM.. everything has solid connections

It's great that you started using the meter. Just like any other tool, there are effective and not-so-effective ways of using it.

Do you have +12 at the green wire at the coil when you turn the key on?

Does the ground wire to the coil get a pulsed voltage when you crank?

These are the questions you need to answer about why you don't have spark.