89 s13 w/ s13 sr20 redtop wont idle!!

[240bryce]

I don't know abut you guys but I hear all kinds of rattling like a rocker arm fell off or that his timing chain is loose.

POP open your valve cover and get us a pic asap.

Alright i'll try to pop it off and get you a pic of it by this weekend.

so what's wrong, it still isn't idling right even after you tapped that vacuum line into the hot pipe?

Yeah man. It still just doesnt idle at all even with the vacuum hose!
Oh and yesterday one of my friends came over to help me with the car, but it wouldnt start up. So we pulled the plugs and found that they were black and dripping with fuel. We took all of them out and burnt the fuel off with a lighter.. put em back in & tried cranking it again but all it would do is sputter then die.
He recommended new plugs, so i picked some up today, put them in.. started perfectly.
BUT STILL DOESNT IDLE

[USMCgetsome]

Your timing is severly off and I'm sure your rocker arms fell off causing the terrible idle. Also pull your fuel rail and check for leaks

[PyR0NiAk]

With timing off, he doesn't need rocker arms to come off to kill an idle.

[skyline084]

damn man, I would list s*** to replace but I'm sure you don't have an unlimited budget. The reason I said clean you maf was b.c that is where your air/fuel ratio is coming from. Depending on how much air that reads, is how much fuel it puts into your system.
You have a friend you can borrow a maf from?
You can check your timing but it's prob fine.. very easy to check though, if you feel like checking it let me know.

[240bryce]

damn man, I would list s*** to replace but I'm sure you don't have an unlimited budget. The reason I said clean you maf was b.c that is where your air/fuel ratio is coming from. Depending on how much air that reads, is how much fuel it puts into your system.
You have a friend you can borrow a maf from?
You can check your timing but it's prob fine.. very easy to check though, if you feel like checking it let me know.

Yeah you got it! my budget is pretty tight.
Yep as a matter of fact he's coming over either tomorrow or sunday so we can try to figure this thing out. And he said we can try using his MAF from his s13 sr20.
But i think i am gonna check the timing today. How do i do it?

[skyline084]

Yeah there ya go, hopefully he can help ya out. Real easy to check timing..
Just take the covers off to get to your cam sprockets. Make sure there both on the marks.
Check the crankshaft pulley and make sure that's on the mark. Everything's marked pretty clear.
If you're mark is faded on the crankshaft like it is on my rb, than put a long extension in cylinder number 1, then manually turn the motor over until the piston is right at the top.
You can get TDC doing this, within a few degree's.

[zauber]

when i did my swap i had an issue with idle as well... what fixed it was i had my tuner make me a grounding wire kit. he grounded the motor about 5 more times and the issue with not holding idle went away. not sure if that's your problem. but it was mine.

[skyline084]

yeah like zauber said, make sure Everything is grounded.. My car wouldn't even start because my alternator needed an extra ground. Make sure all ground wires are intact, and are securely bolted. Every piece of the motor should be grounded out.

[S14toRPS13]

Not sure if it was already brought up, but something as simple as a dirty throttle body will ruin your idle. Open up the butterfly valve on your throttle body and if it's dirty get a good tb cleaner and clean it out.

[240bryce]

Yeah there ya go, hopefully he can help ya out. Real easy to check timing..
Just take the covers off to get to your cam sprockets. Make sure there both on the marks.
Check the crankshaft pulley and make sure that's on the mark. Everything's marked pretty clear.
If you're mark is faded on the crankshaft like it is on my rb, than put a long extension in cylinder number 1, then manually turn the motor over until the piston is right at the top.
You can get TDC doing this, within a few degree's.

Yeah hopefully he can! he was supposed to come over today.. but its waaay too cold lol so he might come over later this week.
Thanks for the advice! i'll give it a try when i have time and let ya know how it goes

when i did my swap i had an issue with idle as well... what fixed it was i had my tuner make me a grounding wire kit. he grounded the motor about 5 more times and the issue with not holding idle went away. not sure if that's your problem. but it was mine.

Ok awesome thanks for the advice! Can you post some pics of what your grounding kit looks like zauber?? i think this might be it (if not the MAF) because i currently have the stock negative battery terminal ghetto rigged from the battery to the car then to the intake manifold.

Not sure if it was already brought up, but something as simple as a dirty throttle body will ruin your idle. Open up the butterfly valve on your throttle body and if it's dirty get a good tb cleaner and clean it out.

Yeah i already took off the TB and pretty much rebuilt it.. cleaning the crap outta it.
thanks for the advice tho man!

[speedeast]

I'm assuming your tps is dialed in as well? also, is the iacv drawing air through the maf? it should.

[240bryce]

I'm assuming your tps is dialed in as well? also, is the iacv drawing air through the maf? it should.

What do you mean "dialed in"?
And I'm not sure about either of those things you just mentioned. How do I check?

[240bryce]

Heres what my idle is currently like after new plugs, cleaned throttle body, cleaned MAF and re adjusting the TPS to 0.45 volts...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5keGhxBqSo[/youtube]

[speedeast]

The IACV has a hose on it that is supposed to go back to the intake after the MAF sensor. When the car is in idle, it gets its air from the IACV, but the MAF still has to meter the intake air in order to provide the correct amount of fuel, etc.

Here is my car idling before IACV through MAF and after I hooked it up to draw through the MAF:

Before:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26XaSw5SjwI[/youtube]

After:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRtiP87AkEg[/youtube]

[240bryce]

Ahhh okay i know what hose your talking about. Yeah, its going back into the intercooling piping right before the throttle body.

[speedeast]

Also, make sure your iacv is operating. figure out which side is the power source and add 12v while you ground out the other side. i used a 5amp fuse when i tested mine, you shouldn't need it though.

[240bryce]

Also, make sure your iacv is operating. figure out which side is the power source and add 12v while you ground out the other side. i used a 5amp fuse when i tested mine, you shouldn't need it though.

Thanks for all your help speedeast! i really apprieciate it!
But im pretty sure its my MAF. Check out my video...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUysqZ8bobc[/youtube]

p.s i wasnt giving it any gas the whole time. just turned the key, and let it idle.

[speedeast]

Which MAF is it? If Z32, has it been tuned for it?

[240bryce]

Which MAF is it? If Z32, has it been tuned for it?

Its the KA sohc maf.

[skyline084]

did your friend ever bring by his car so you can try switching mafs?

[240bryce]

did your friend ever bring by his car so you can try switching mafs?

He hasnt been able to come over because of work. Which is very frustrating cause i just want my baby to run! lol

[speedeast]

When you extended the MAF wiring, did you shield the signal wire? If it's not shielded, the power supply wire interferes with the signal. Could be your problem with the MAF. Double check your wiring to make sure it's correct. If all of that's good, then you can test the signal voltage of the MAF at idle to see if it's good.

And for the time being, double check to make sure there are no vacuum leaks. Make sure the nipple for the charcoal canister has been sealed up on the intake manifold. It would be worth it to pressure test your charger tubing and intercooler for leaks. Maybe all of the silicone couplers are good; there can still be a leak in the intercooler itself.

I hope we can get this resolved for you.

[240bryce]

When you extended the MAF wiring, did you shield the signal wire? If it's not shielded, the power supply wire interferes with the signal. Could be your problem with the MAF. Double check your wiring to make sure it's correct. If all of that's good, then you can test the signal voltage of the MAF at idle to see if it's good.

And for the time being, double check to make sure there are no vacuum leaks. Make sure the nipple for the charcoal canister has been sealed up on the intake manifold. It would be worth it to pressure test your charger tubing and intercooler for leaks. Maybe all of the silicone couplers are good; there can still be a leak in the intercooler itself.

I hope we can get this resolved for you.

I didnt do the wiring, the owner before me did. And again, thanks for the help.
Well i removed the tape from the whole maf wiring harness extention.. and all the wiring was done right (correct wire splicing) but all 3 wires were twisted together all the way down to the mafs plug. Now i dont know if the wires are shielded (dont really know the difference in appearance) so im just gonna assume that they arent shielded. That would mean that the signal is being interfered.
How do i shield them?? Can i just wrap them in electrical tape??
Thanks!!

[speedeast]

Electrical tape will work. I would recommend 3M electrical tape; it's much higher in quality than just about anything else out there.

[PyR0NiAk]

Zach, I'm glad you've stepped in to help this guy. Work's had me stupid busy, and I haven't had a chance to come in to the SR forum and help people out this past week.

[speedeast]

NP Chris. Did you every make the wiring write-up into an official deal?

[240bryce]

Electrical tape will work. I would recommend 3M electrical tape; it's much higher in quality than just about anything else out there.

Ok awesome, thanks!
Well i wrapped it again with electrical tape, protecting the signal wires from the power supply... But still no luck.
It still has the same idle issue.

[speedeast]

Then it's time to test your MAF. Check the voltage of the signal wire at idle, so you might need a second person to try to start it while you observe since it won't stay running. Let us know what you get.

Don't lose hope; this is a process. With every swap, you swap, then troubleshoot.

[240bryce]

Then it's time to test your MAF. Check the voltage of the signal wire at idle, so you might need a second person to try to start it while you observe since it won't stay running. Let us know what you get.

Don't lose hope; this is a process. With every swap, you swap, then troubleshoot.

Ok cool will do. I'm gonna try to get to it later today if I have time as I'm leaving for Illinois tomorrow. So I'm gonna be away for awhile.
And no worries! I'm not givin' up on er!

[PyR0NiAk]

Honestly Zach, I forgot about it. Shoot me an email at [email protected] with a link to remind me. Thanks.