Please Help! car wont start!!!!

[-240-]

I just turned the key a couple of days ago on my CA18det swap. The Fuel pump primed and the starter turned but she didnt start. I took the spark plugs out and i'm not getting any spark. It sounds like my injectors are clicking and i can smell gas after turning the starter, but i dont see mist coming out of the cylinder head. should there be? I also checked all grounds and made sure all plugs are in place.

Heres whats on my mind. When i bought the motor it was an Automatic CA that came with a 5spd transmission. And I installed this onto my Manual 240sx. This makes the Engine Room Harness No.1 and the No. 2 Harness not wire up directly, so i had to do some wiring to match up the different style plugs. Also i dont have the automatic transmission control unit hooked up since the motorset didnt come with the harness peice that connects the E.F.I. harness to the auto control unit. I dont think that should be a problem though. Has anyone had to install an automatic CA motorset swapped to 5speed, into their 5spd 240sx????i need this going asap since this is my daily driverplease help if you've done this before or if you can think of any other common ignition problems. (the car was running several months ago in the last owners car)thanks for reading if you made it this far haha


Modified by -240- at 12:45 AM 9/8/2008

[ca18detgabby]

make sure your ignitor is tight..

going to need to do some more indepth searching.......

does it want to turn over and stalls? does it never attempt to start?

HELP US HELP YOU

Ps the search function is great you may try it as well

[Buddyworm]

How did you verify that you weren't getting any spark?

If it was running before it's a pretty good bet nothing broke while it was just sitting around so the problem likely lies in whatever you've changed since then. Unless it's just suffering from stubborn CA syndrome... I've known more than one of these engines to not want to start after it's been sitting a while even though everything's right. In which case it's usually a matter of pulling your fuel pump fuse, and trying to start the car.

Eliminate the obvious things first, then consult the gospel according to Nissan (CA FSM).

[-240-]

hey guys, thanks for the replysThe engine doesnt attempt to start, but the starter is cranking the engine over. im getting no combustion whatsoever.

i checked the ignitor chip and dropping resistor plugs allready and that doesnt seem to be the problem. I've also been reading through the CA fsm for the last couple days trying to diagnos my problem. tonight i'm gonna check the ignitor chip and dropping resistor with a multi meter but the previous owner said it ran fine before removing the engine. unless in the couple months it sat it managed to get damaged somehow>?? i verified it wasnt getting any spark by removing the spark plugs and cranking it to see if i was getting any spark. is there a way to crank it with a voltmeter hooked up to an ignitor chip and check whether its getting any spark??

also i think it could be a matter of the ca auto to 5spd swap, in a 5spd 240. anyone have to do this before??? encounter anyproblems??i've allready done tons of googling and searching on here but no one seems to do this type of swap. they usually just get a ca thats 5spd and swap it into their either 5spd or automatic 240.

[Buddyworm]

My first CA was one with an auto DE harness into a manual 240 and it ran (not well, but it had bad rings). Recheck your wiring. A dude where I live just finished diagnosing his lack of ignition on his SR swap and it was due to the wiring over by the battery.

[ca18detgabby]

it sounds like the engine isnt cranking..... the auto to manual guys always have to override the neutral safety switch

though it is a KA, the main harnesses and trannies are the same and should be a straight forward swap.....

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=183606

[-240-]

it sounds like the engine isnt cranking..... the auto to manual guys always have to override the neutral safety switch

though it is a KA, the main harnesses and trannies are the same and should be a straight forward swap.....

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=183606

haha thanks, but i've def read that article. as well as a dozen other 5 speed swaps. all of them are about swapping a 5spd transmission into an automatic. i'm talking about swapping an automatic CA with a manual transmission into a previously manual 240. because of this all those 5spd swap guides are useless to me. I've allready made sure the neutral safety switch isnt the matter. im just hoping someone who has swapped an automatic CA into a 5spd has some info to pass on to me.Buddy worm, did you install that auto CA?? using an automatic CA harness?it seems like there are some missing wires in the plug that connnects the engine room harness no.1 to the enine harness (E.F.I.) but there are no extra wires hiding in the harness when i opened it up. so im wondering if its been tampered with or whether its just something to do with the automatic vs manual harnesses... for anyone who doesnt know where im getting the no. 1 and no.2 from, the fsm marks the harness that comes on motorsets that connects to all the upper engine components the E.F.I. harness, and the no.1 harness is the one that is connected to starter, alternator, oil pressure sensor, transmission, etc. The No.2 harness is the one that everyone leaves on their car when doing a swapp (connects to all accessories like horn, lights, alot of fluid level sensors, cruise controll, goes into the driverside of the dash, both fuse and relay boxes, etc..) thanks to everyone who responded. i'm gonna go look at the wiring diagrams to see which wires are missing if any?, and whether the wires that arnt there would cause ignition problems.

[Buddyworm]

Yes I installed it and there are some wires that go unused. I followed this wiring guide exactly: http://www.srownersclub.com/faq/index.asp#harness

[boost_boy]

If your engine is priming, then it's definitely a wiring issue. Doesn't matter if you swap in a tip-tronic transmission transmission from a 4spd transmission, it would affect your engine cranking. That's an engine harness issue and if done incorrectly, you can damage other components. Take your time and do it right or at worst, pay someone to wire it for you.

Dee

[-240-]

hey guys,thanks to everyone who replied. i got it running! and its running well too. soo once i took a closer look at the wiring near the battery i found that the 2 main ignition wires hadnt been properly spliced together. i made the mistake of assuming this plug was wired up properly, since the previous engine owner said it was running in his car and the wiring had allready been done.

o well, its running now and seems to be in great condition. engine has only 50 000kms! one thing im gona need are some proper engine mounts. I DONT recommend hockey pucks haha. vibrates the hell outta the car at idle. thanks again guys





i'll post engine pics laterits just stock soo you all know what that looks like

[Rin5]

hey!! i was wondering what stockie back lights would look of you blacked the center... thanks for that hahaha i was having a a hard time imagining it by painting it black with MSPaint

[Cams]

clean ride. Love the subtle yet fitting body kit.

Good to see you got it running.

[-240-]

clean ride. Love the subtle yet fitting body kit.

Good to see you got it running.

thanks its the OEM CDN skirts and rear valance. i've got a pair of 180sx side skirts im contemplating throwing on. not really sure though since i like how it looks right now. plus i like that the OEM skirts are urathane

hey!! i was wondering what stockie back lights would look of you blacked the center... thanks for that hahaha i was having a a hard time imagining it by painting it black with MSPaint

I like the center peice painted black much better IMO. i used glossy black plastic paint.heres another pic of the tails. i painted the signals red using Rona glass paint