'94 rebuilt engine running rough and injector circuit fault

[kcducttaper]

I just rebuilt my engine as best I could without sending the block and heads off to a machine shop (broke a crankshaft, so I threw in new bearings, seals, rings, valve guides, etc while the motor was out). Before I tore it apart, it would keep throwing a code 51 (injector circuit fault). It missed on one cylinder occasionally too, so I knew one of the injectors was going bad when I tore the engine apart. I found which injector it was by using an ohm meter (5 injectors read about 12 ohms and the 6th read about 90, so I replaced that one). The battery had been unplugged for weeks, so the computer should've forgot everything regarding engine parameters, codes, etc. Anyways, I got it all hooked up today and fired it up. It started up alright but ran a bit rough (sounded rich too). I let it idle for about 10 minutes to get everything up to temperature and circulate the fluids and what not. After I shut it down, I read the engine codes. That fuel injector circuit fault is still there. I'm confused what could possibly be wrong with the injector wiring. It's firing on all cylinders, so they're all working to some degree. I replaced the obviously bad injector and tested it to be in the proper ohm range, so to my knowledge, the new fuel injector is good. I don't know what else to check on the injector wiring. Perhaps I just need to drive the van around a bit and let the computer 'relearn' the rebuilt engine's characteristics?

[kcducttaper]

Well, that's weird. I could've sworn the computer did the timing as long as I got the distributor close. Apparently it's all manual adjusting with a timing light and everything. After a general timing tweak by eyeballing it, it runs much better, though I am still getting some weird problems:

The door light on the dash never fully shuts off. It gets super dim, but never completely shuts off. I didn't notice this before tearing the motor apart, but I may just have not realized it.

The fuel circuit fault is still there even though it's firing on all cylinders well now (replaced the bad injector as mentioned before). It might be worth mentioning that with the fuel system fuse pulled, I'm still getting 3 volts to the computer injector circuit. I'm starting to wonder if the computer's crapping out, but I think that's usually more catastrophic.

The battery holds a charge just fine for a charger for a couple days from a wall charger, but after running the van for 20-30 min, it doesn't have enough juice to start the motor again. I hooked a volt meter to the battery and I'm getting 14 volts at idle. Not sure what's up with that, but I don't like it. (charging system worked fine previously)

The O/D light sometimes flashes when I turn the ignition on, indicating that the transmission computer has a code. It shifts fine (only had it up to 30mph though), so I'm thinking it's just complaining about low fluid until I get all of the air bubbles worked out and filled up with fluid.

Any tips on these things would be appreciated.

[ricebike]

The battery holds a charge just fine for a charger for a couple days from a wall charger, but after running the van for 20-30 min, it doesn't have enough juice to start the motor again.

may be related to the following:

The door light on the dash never fully shuts off. It gets super dim, but never completely shuts off.

AKA parasitic drain... attach your meter "in series" to one of the battery cables & set it to amps mode" find the door light switch fuse ~ pull it and see if the amps drop down. if it's not the fuse, it may be a sticking door switch...

how old is that battery? date code on a sticker & if unsure, go have it load tested for free at your local parts store to see if it can hold the charge after the test... charge it up first & tell the parts counter person that you charged it up before bringing it in so he can choose that mode on the tester

[ricebike]

i'm replying separately for your OD light... it may be your speed sensor on the transmission. does your tach work as well as your speedometer?

try getting it past 50mph... if it doesn't, you will know it'll bounce at around 50-55mph =FAIL SAFE MODE

i had a later model quest, but the speed sensor wasn't working on my vehicle when i looked up my particular problem

it should have set a code 14, but it's easy to remove & see if you can spin that gear by hand... my problem was that it got corroded enough to not spin at all eventhough the wiring to the plug/vehicle speed sensor was good

refer to EF & EC 103 one bolt holds it into the transmission & there's an o-ring around it so you can "wiggle" it off and test it

um edit: don't yank it off too hard like the following guy:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjtTZ9-LqyQ[/youtube]


thank goodness i used a little pb blaster on mine before i tackled it