Cranks but no start

[racer33]

Ok, for the record, I have quite a bit of automotive knowledge, but very little ABILITY. I was performing a few "tweaks" to my '93 S13 (took off the tube leading to the airbox, regapped the plugs, tried to replace the PCV valve but found it to be bypassed?) and when I was done, the car won't start. Turns out it's not getting any spark. I have power to the coil, the Ignition relay seems to be ok. Any idea what I might have done? I expect I disturbed something or other, but everything is connected, and the wiggle test doesn't help. I'm stranded here at work at 8PM. IF anyone can help soon, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, help anyway in case I have to abandon the car here tonight. Thanks in advance.

Mike the Ignorant

[slipnfall]

Sure your distrib signal harness is hooked up? Did you mess with the distributor? Lastly, are you 100% sure you aren't getting spark?(did you actually check by letting the plug arc while turning it over?)

[manasol]

I had a similar problem to what you described where it would turn over but not start check the knock sensor.
Modified by manasol at 12:46 AM 9/15/2005

[NISTECH]

knock sensor wont keep it from starting.

What tube did you remove? not the big one that runs from your airbox to the throttle body I hope.

[racer33]

No, not that one. I took off the U-type plastic hose that leads from behind the headlight to the airbox. I've checked every harness and ground that I can see, but none appears to have been disturbed.

Mike

[NISTECH]

did you disconnect or remove the battery during your work?

[racer33]

Nope.

Mike

[NISTECH]

what did you remove to try and gain access to the PCV valve under the intake?

[racer33]

Nothing actually. I thought the PCV valve would be at one end of the rubber hose going from the valve cover to the intake hose. I took off both ends of that hose, and found nothing but thin metal connectors. I replaced those the same as they were when I took them off. I also checked all the connectors nearby: I thought I might have disturbed the injector ground, but it seems fine also. I know I have no fire at the plugs, but I don't think I have fuel comming through either. I had the car hooked up to a battery charger and have cranked it quite a bit now, but I haven't had ANY fuel vapor from the exhaust either.

Mike

[slipnfall]

Not many things inhibit your car completely from starting: the crank position sensor is one, in the distributor. This was just from personal experiance(don't ask how i know )

[racer33]

Would a bad crank position sensor prevent the fuel injectors from firing also? How do I test to see if fuel is getting to the injectors, and how do I test to see if the injectors are firing? When I crank the engine I don't hear any injectors clicking, or at least I think.....

Mike

[slipnfall]

I'm not sure about the spark, but I know that you will not get fuel w/out the CPS. You can test your injectors in-rail by:

Remove rotor cap, place mark on rotor and front cover(this is important!)Removing distributor, but leave harness plugged in(you can remove spark plug wires.Turn ign key to 'RUN'(not start)Turn the distributor by hand(gear end).Injectors should individually click/pump fuel.

This may be more than you want to do, because it could introduce more trouble(getting it back in time).

Pulling those fuel lines is a PITA, but you can pull one to see if you're getting fuel. First off, can you hear your fuel pump priming when you first turn the key on?

[racer33]

Thanks Slip, I'll check that out and let you know what I find. It will probably be after work though.

Mike

[racer33]

I called Nissan to check on the crank sensor, and they tell me that the car doesn't have one?

Mike

[slipnfall]

Sure it does, but it's not on/near the crank(like the S14's). It's integrated into the distributor housing. See:

[racer33]

Update: On a whim, I made a couple of jumper wires and bypassed the EGI and EGI pump relays. No change. Is my next best bet to try swapping distributors or ECU's?

Mike

[slipnfall]

Well before you do that, you should make sure you're getting fuel to the rail: pull the feed line from the fuel filter and turn the key to 'on'. Make sure to have a towel/wrag to sop up the gas.