CA18DET will not start, no spark

[TheSilviaGuy]

Hey, I was driving the other day and my car flat out died. Tried to start, fired up but stalled in a few seconds, then wouldn't start since. The car is an 89 Silvia with factory CA18DET, minor mods

I have power at my coil packs as well as ground, But no signal. I have replaced my ingnitor, still the same problem. checked and cleaned my plugs. I am getting fuel. Tried to check for codes but my red and green light just stay on.

I have a small black piece under my ignitor that clicks while the ignition is on, it never did this before, it has one plug on it and two vacuum lines (not hooked up, has aftermarket boost controller). I pulled my CAS out and spun it with the ignition on, I couldn't hear any clicking (maybe bad CAS?). Running out of ideas and I need the car asap. Is there a relay or fuse I should check? All my fuse boxes are in japanese or worn off, so it's difficult. all of my under hood fuses are fine.

I know my timing belt is still good, I'm really running short of ideas. Also found this morning that the black thing that was clicking has become intermittant, but still won't start.

[boost_boy]

Check the codes on the computer. Make sure code 13 is not being displayed. But if so, change your water temperature sensor as it has the ability to show your car down for the count.

[TheSilviaGuy]

Forgot to mention, both the green and red light on my ECU are on and will not go into Diag. mode.

I tested the connector at the CAS. One reads .03 volts, one reads approx. battery voltage and the other 2 are at 5 volts. Does this seem right? When I spin the CAS with the ignition on, I don't hear any clicking from my injectors at all. Possibly a bad CAS?

I swapped my relays around to see if it changed anything and it didn't. My car also has the Integra resistor mod which appears to be okay. I'm pretty lost right now.

[s13drifter88]

possibly a bad cas but theyre too expensive to buy on just a guess. find out what the voltage spec is supposed to be at each terminal and then check it. if u have access to another cas u could try it and see. if it starts then u kno what the problem is. what resistance is the integra resistor pack supposed to be. ive heard of ppl using dsm's a rx7's but never a honda resistor pack

[TheSilviaGuy]

Yeah, I have been having trouble finding the spec for voltage. I remember reading 5v somewhere though. I'm trying to find one from a scrapyard, because what they charge for a new one, I could buy an entire Pulsar (or maybe two :p ). I don't know anything about the resistor pack, the worst thing is that the car was built by mikesims on here, so I have no idea what has been done, plus another owner had replaced the motor since.

The CAS doesnt cause the injectors to click, anything else that I could check that may cause this to happen?

[s13drifter88]

if you remove the CAS and spin it by hand you should here the injectors snap. If you dont then theres deff a prob. either a bad CAS, improper input or output voltage to or from the CAS, or the resistor pack wasnt within the right impedence and it fried the injector drivers in the ecu.

[boost_boy]

Forgot to mention, both the green and red light on my ECU are on and will not go into Diag. mode.

I tested the connector at the CAS. One reads .03 volts, one reads approx. battery voltage and the other 2 are at 5 volts. Does this seem right? When I spin the CAS with the ignition on, I don't hear any clicking from my injectors at all. Possibly a bad CAS?

I swapped my relays around to see if it changed anything and it didn't. My car also has the Integra resistor mod which appears to be okay. I'm pretty lost right now.

Your ecu is screwed! You'll have to figure out how it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. One last thing, unplug everything and hook it all back up and see if you can get the ecu lights to cycle. If they do not, your ecu is shot.

[TheSilviaGuy]

if both lights go on, it means the ECU is done?

And if I spin the CAS I am not hearing the injectors at all. Voltage on the first 2 pins are 5v, third is 12v and the last on is a ground I think.

The resistor has been wired in for years without issue.

[TheSilviaGuy]

Checking the vehicle out currently. My connector at the CAS is still reading the same, when I spin the cas nothing happens. I removed the ecu and uplugged everything, still nothing. Checked the 4 pin connector at my ignitor, all have power, the 5 pin connector out has ground at all 5 pins. Any ideas would be great. I will be getting another CAS soon, then I can rule that out if it doesn't change anything. I'm really lost and sort of need the car asap : \

[roast]

Look into borrowing a CA18DET ecu to test in your setup, or maybe not... i wonder if the improper resistor pack could fry the injector drivers...

[TheSilviaGuy]

The only guy I knew that ran a CA sold his S13 last year. I don't know who has it now. I don't know that it would. I heard of this mod before and mikesims did this mod years ago ('o6 I'm geussing?) with no problems. I've found a used CAS but it wont be for at least a week until I have it.

[s13drifter88]

D*mn why cant ppl live closer to me. I have enuf leftover goodness to build/solve/troubleshoot/diagnose any problems

[TheSilviaGuy]

I still have no luck starting this thing. replaced the CAS and had no change. The next thing is the ecu I guess. Anyone have one for sale?

Any other ideas what to check or what wires I should trace to see if it is the ecu? Anyone have any insight on this ECU code problem (won't flash, just lights on constantly)?

edit: went to reset codes just now. no matter what I do, the lights stay on constantly and it will not flash through modes. I guess I'll start looking for a new ecu...

[sjbsuperman1425]

Megasquirt or SDS if you have the cash flow and time lol

[float_6969]

Yea, the ECU is toast, but I'd look into why before you put another one on there. They don't just fail for no reason.

[TheSilviaGuy]

I'm thinking it could have been a moisture issue. Either the ingnitor or something got damp, or a ground. Or maybe even a wire in the fender well. I'm going to check out all the fender well wiring before swapping one in. I've had to drive this car this winter (in Canada) and left it slammed, so a lot of snow gets picked up and put into the engine bay. I've replaced the ingnitor and CAS so I don't think there should be issue with those if something went with them.

I won't be putting a standalone or anything into it, I need to sell this car to start building my S14.

[TheSilviaGuy]

I have replaced the ECU, and it runs. however it is sputtering like crazy, will not idle and tries to die if I let the clutch out in gear. I have no clue why it would be doing this now. The ECU numbers match, any ideas?

[boost_boy]

What probably happened is you had a voltage spike that may have damaged other components to include your ecu. I would monitor the voltage off that alternator by dry revving the engine with a voltmeter attached to the alternator's power output. Also, check the codes on the replacement ecu and don't drive the car until you find your issues or you'll be looking for another ecu "SOON".

[TheSilviaGuy]

my last post was a little hacked together. I'e found now the car runs fine, but in limp mode with the MAF unhooked. found one broken maf wire, fixed, no change. I realize now that I have an RB maf on this car and it propbably will run like crap unless I get the proper maf or my ecu re-mapped. I checked all my wiring, repaired any wires my tire rubbed through. The ecu is giving me code 55 - all normal. So I figure I'll have to look into re-mapping this ecu (no one around here deos this kind of stuff on Nissans :s ) or putting it back tothe stock MAF/wiring

Working on a car you didn't build yourself gets confusing.