my frustrating weekend...

[Tictakman]

Now i know this probably doesnt compare to WD's burn pics but....

I just got back my engine friday and went to install it and now im having problems. the engine has an over bore of .20 with 8:8:1 comp, a 3 angle valve job, cometic hg, arp headstuds, shotpeened rods. jwt ecu program with 72lb injectors and a 300zx mafs on a 95 ka24de engine. i got the engine in fri night then went out, sat i plugged everything in and had injector leaks bc of a crappy bd top feed fuel rail. well i got that fixed and went to start it but my clutch pedal was stiff. come to find out my slave cylinder decided to go out on me. then i went out sat night.. sunday i replaced the slave and turned her over with nothing. then my starter died on me so i had to replace that. when i did get the engine to turn over though it seemed like it almost wanted to start. i get spark in the plugs and im getting gas. i checked the timing and it looks correct too. im not sure what else to try, im lost. now it didnt help that my batteries that i had kept dying on me but i think im gonna go ahead and get now spark plugs just to narrow down the list. which ones should i get though? i had the old ones gapped at .33 but now im runnin low comp so should that be different too? any help would be great on diagnosing the engine so it will run. does anyone live in the cincinnati area that might wanna give it a shot? im going to sleep, frustrated!

Cliff notes, new engine wont start. i get spark and fuel, and timing was set over and over again by fsm standards...

Zak

[Florida240sx]

Well you said you had fuel..I couldn't get my car to run for 4 months. I had fuel when I checked it.But my lines were reversed. I sprayed some starter fluid into my engine and it cranked right up for a sec then would die due to no fuel. If you do that don't spray much because it will crack your pistons....

[MarkEmark]

Now i know this probably doesnt compare to WD's burn pics but....

I just got back my engine friday and went to install it and now im having problems. the engine has an over bore of .20 with 8:8:1 comp, a 3 angle valve job, cometic hg, arp headstuds, shotpeened rods. jwt ecu program with 72lb injectors and a 300zx mafs on a 95 ka24de engine. i got the engine in fri night then went out, sat i plugged everything in and had injector leaks bc of a crappy bd top feed fuel rail. well i got that fixed and went to start it but my clutch pedal was stiff. come to find out my slave cylinder decided to go out on me. then i went out sat night.. sunday i replaced the slave and turned her over with nothing. then my starter died on me so i had to replace that. when i did get the engine to turn over though it seemed like it almost wanted to start. i get spark in the plugs and im getting gas. i checked the timing and it looks correct too. im not sure what else to try, im lost. now it didnt help that my batteries that i had kept dying on me but i think im gonna go ahead and get now spark plugs just to narrow down the list. which ones should i get though? i had the old ones gapped at .33 but now im runnin low comp so should that be different too? any help would be great on diagnosing the engine so it will run. does anyone live in the cincinnati area that might wanna give it a shot? im going to sleep, frustrated!

Cliff notes, new engine wont start. i get spark and fuel, and timing was set over and over again by fsm standards...

Zak

Did you actually have the starter tested before replacing it (either by yourself, or for free by bringing it to Advance Auto or Autozone)?

Because when I was puting my built KA24DE engine back in, it wouldn't start either and I thought it was the starter, had it tested, and the starter was fine...replaced the battery and it fired right up. I'd replace your battery, especially if you say it keeps dying on you...

Not to mention, I don't think the gaps of the spark plugs make a huge difference just when you're STARTING the car

[Florida240sx]

I went and bought a red top optima... Thing fired up so fast...Let's see how it handles my sound system though...

[Tictakman]

well the engine did crank over fora bit, then the starter would just click. i took it out and hooked it up to a battery and it didnt work. when i get home ill try to start it again. i dont think my fuel lines are backwards bc there was fuel squirting out when the injectors were leaking. i noticed on my ecu that it was burned for an obd2 engine, mine is a obd1. would this cause any problems getting it to run?

Zak

[blckkat]

not sure about the OBD1 vs. OBD2 and I could be wrong but I think you might be overthinking this. it really does just sound like a dead battery to me, specially if its trying to turn over then it just starts to click on the starter. go take your battery and have it tested at Autozone, its free and easy.

[Tictakman]

i talked to ben at jwt and he said the obd stuff doesnt matter with me. as for the battery, i has cranked over a good number of times without any luck. ben suggested a compression test so i think ill try that out when i get off work. blckkat, where are u at in cincinnati exactly?

[Tictakman]

well here is an update... i went to turn my car over today with the new starter and i get the same noise i did with the old one, like a dead batt(but its not dead). so i went to autozone and had them test the old one to make sure. it was bad. then i went home and took off the new one and went to get it tested. it tested out ok. soooo, now on top of my newly built engine not running im not getting it to even crank over now. it was fine for a while on sat and sunday now it just clicks. any leads i can try?

Zak

[AmoebAssassin]

Check that all your grounds are clean and stable, check the starter relay for proper functionality, also check that your battery has enough cranking amps to start your car.

[Tictakman]

ill check the volts today and see what i get. where would the starter relay be exactly?

[blckkat]

i talked to ben at jwt and he said the obd stuff doesnt matter with me. as for the battery, i has cranked over a good number of times without any luck. ben suggested a compression test so i think ill try that out when i get off work. blckkat, where are u at in cincinnati exactly?

Any luck with the car yet? My curiosity is killing me (pardon the pun). FYI I'm up in Maineville.

[Tictakman]

hey, nothin really. i tested the batt and it was at 12.8 volts then at the starter and it went down to 3.5 volts. i forgot to check the batt when it was under load so im gonna do that today. im gonna try to do a compression test too today to see what i get.

[slipnfall]

Battery voltage should *never* drop that low. I assume you meant it dropped while cranking... Either deadbeat battery, or as ^^^ mentioned, poor connections. Make sure you have polarity correct on both the starter and alt.

[slipnfall]

ok, may have misread your post. If you have ~12V at the battery and 3.5 at starter, you can rule out the possibility of a cable:

1)Ground reference the meter to the battery negative terminal. Probe the + starter.2)Supply reference the meter to battery (+)...ie hook + lead of meter to + of battery. Connect meter (-) to starter.

If #1 gives you 12V, and #2 gives you 3.5V, bad ground to starter.If #1 gives you 3.5V and #2 gives you 12V, bad + supply to starter.

::edit:: you said you are hearing a click... is it the clutch interlock relay that is clicking(front/passenger side), or is it the starter solonoid? ::edit::

[Tictakman]

heres the skinny:

went to nissan and talked to a few of the mechanics that i know and they told me to try a few things. i found that my starter wasnt going because of a bad ground so i ran an 8 gauge wire from the neg batt to the engine and it cranks now.

now the second part of it not starting. i was given a little light to test my injector clips. if it would blink then it was ok but if it didnt then there wasnt power. it didnt blink. so now i gotta find out what the hell i did with wiring the resistors in. i thought it was correct but i guess not. ill look into it more tomorrow after work

Zak

[blckkat]

^^^ah ha now we're getting some where! I hate electrical crap, it's why I usually stick to old school muscle cars.

[slipnfall]

So no fuel at all out of the injectors? Double check your fuel supply/return lines, you may have them swapped. If the injectors aren't even clicking(assuming you used the test light right): might want to check your crank position sensor, in the distributor(S13 right?). If you turn the CPS, the injectors should 'click'.

[Tictakman]

nope this is an s14. i used the little diode light that the mechanic gave me and it didnt light up at all. i then tested it on my civic and it worked fine. i checked my wiring and im pretty sure its right. anything else i can check. i know u mentioned the crank position sensor...

Zak