having some ignition issues, could use some help

[KASilvia90]

ok, so heres the problem, i have a 90 nissan 240sx, and it wont start. just did a head gasket on it, and got it all back together to realise that its not firing now. well it does have a msd sci ignition and coil. magnecore wires. it was working when i took it all apart, and now its not. i have double and triple checked all the wiring and timing and everything is dead on. the engine is getting fuel, but no spark what so ever. i am at a loss for an explanation as to what is happeneing. its just not getting any spark. with or without the msd hooked up. the tach is also not working any more during cranking. anyone got any ideas as to whats wrong?

[KASilvia90]

Ah I discovered the problem. Relay 25230 C9980 (Accesory Power) has failed causing basically electrical chaos during the startup sequence. Will replace relay and add a new post if problem of starting still exists for other reasons.

[KASilvia90]

Alright here is the update:I replaced the previously mentioned relay and I have power at my coil again but it isnt starting! , it is just turning and turning but nothing, no popping noises, just turning.

I have fuel because i keep flooding it since I have reverted to the paranoid "fiddle fiddle, test" method.I have sparkI should have air, I cant see why I wouldnt, I checked for vacuum leaks, I guess I could have missed something really small but I've had leaks before and it starts or pops some.

The Cam/Crank timing is perfect. No contact or anything. I have triple checked it and it is fine. I also have triple checked the ignition timing, it is fine but its acting like its 180 off or something! Cables are on correctly, brand new cap/rotor and they are contacting because the points on the cap have slight usage wear showing from the cranking.

I pulled my dist. off, with it on ACC and with the cas hooked up. Rotated the shaft, I heard in this repitable sound "fuse panel area relay click, then a loud click from the injector area (all 4 firing at once..?) then the fuel pump kinda pressures up for a second and repearts. All along with some random inconsistant popping from the coil lead->ground. I have an MSD system but is bypassed, running straight from harness to coil.

I am also NOT for some reason getting ANY sign of life from my gauge cluster. I am sure the speedo and what not are working, but the tach isnt moving at all when i crank. It should be at 250+, no?

I checked my compression, cold/dry : 68/69/68/130. Now that doesnt sound right but I figure its because my oil is basically water until tomorrow (i had poured flush into it expecting it to start and its deteriorated the oil, i didnt think about that until today) and I think I am cylinder washing my walls. I will add 1 tea or table? spoon of oil in and test a cold wet tomorrow.

I havent seen a code yet on the ECU and it recieves a start signal. This has me baffled, my car has been down for a month now. 2wks longer than it should be beause of this bug Icant find.

All I can say is I MISS MY CAR...and my girlfriend

[180fan]

The cluster - check the white plug that tails off from the ecu plug and runs up to the dash, that plug probably got loose/disconnected during the shuffle.

ignition - since you've bypassed the MSD which would have been my first suggestion, check over your timing ala your distributor. Ensure it's not 180 degrees off, it's a common problem.

It is possible that your ecu could have gotten toasted as well, if all 4 injectors are firing at the same time, then you might want to pull the cover off the ecu and take a gander at the board, look for black spots.

[KASilvia90]

Thanks, I will check everything you stated. I know the ignition timing isnt off though because I double-checked and its correct. Thankfully though I have a secondary ECU w/ZIF socket I just finished up tonight.

I'll do a little more scanning around and keep everyone updated as well

[KASilvia90]

Well the little harlot decided to throw a code today. About time, its flashing a 21: No ignition reference pulse.

I really don't understand what that means but my friend who built my engine (has never seen that code in action) suggested how like the engine is turning over, it knows when to spray fuel but for some reason doesnt know when to spark. Then we kinda decided it could be my ignitor chip i believe is what it is called? Its colted to the bottom of the OEM coil bracket, has 3 wires going to it black with silver dot, green with black stripe and white iirc. Is that the problem or as it something else?

Also while I'm thinking about it, does that chip have to be sitting on a ground like the bracket or could you lets say hold it in your hand while its running? I was thinking about relocating that stuff once it is running but it looks like it needs grounding and is too much hassle.

[180fan]

your distributor is giving your ecu nothin. check out the grounds on the distributor if it was all working before.

[KASilvia90]

Thanks, I'll check that out here in a minute. I thought if the dist. was malfunctuining a C.A.S. code would come up as well. I dont know if this is gonna fix it or not, but I hope. I guess in the midst of everything something very would have have decided it was its time to fail on top of this... Unfortunatly I dont have a spare dist =(, I had to use my spare engines dist about 2years ago when I had a CAS fail.