SR red top spark issue!!!

[frankies1390]

So i pulled into my driveway today and turned the ignition off. Car started sputtering like it was misfiring? so i jumped back in to look at my gauges. Fuel pressure is ok, oil pressure is ok. then it shut off and will not start back up! there is fuel getting to the motor but no spark! What is generally the first thing that goes out? Ignitor, CAS, or maybe the ECU?What powers the coil packs?I dont even know where to begin? Please help in anyway possible thank you!!!

[T-rev]

I fought (no) spark issues for a long while, this thread helped me out immensely, so much that I bookmarked it.

Thanks to hijacker for the explanation of how the coils work, very informative

zerothread?id=329904

[frankies1390]

hey thank you very much ok so now onto problem number 2!!! i have spark and fuel now.... the problem i think im having is too much fuel at this point plugs are soaked and brand new platinum bkr7ix's installed it ran for 3 minutes perfectly fine then it started to sputter so i jumped in to check my Fuel pressure gauge and it was perfect at 45. so if i let the car sit for a little and head back out there to fire it up it starts but takes a while of cranking. When it starts it is fuelin out bad like sputterin and if i dont keep my foot on the throttle it dies. After that it will not start up for a while until it sits. Is this Fuel pressure regulator related or is this somethin else?

[T-rev]

you're right, sounds like too much fuel, also soulds like it could be only running on 3 cyl, but you will have to be the judge of that. All of my problems have come back to spark related, but here are a bunch of things I found out when troubleshooting my fuel problems.

A few of the problems I had: after installing the injectors, one of the o-rings got pinched and ripped. I figure that was leaking into the cylinder. I replaced the o-rings with new, and used silicone lube when installling them back in.

Also I figure my stock injectors were flaky and sticking open, so I bought a set of used ones only to get a set that looked worse than mine. These basically ran about as good as my stock ones, so I think it is rare for stock injectors to stick open. At least I ruled that out in my case

You could try swapping coil packs from one cylinder to another to rule out a faulty coil pack (coil packs do randomly die on you). And while the car is running (you may need somone to help you keep it running) unplug injectors one at a time to rule out one injector not firing. If its only running on 3 cyl this is how you will find where the bunk cyl is.

[frankies1390]

ok i will hit the garage tonight... thanks! so what would cause an over fuel problem besides a bad injector? or could my spark be going in and out (ignitor related?) i just cannot find out where the main fault is? but if i let it sit it will start up for sure im assuming when the fuel evaporates?

[T-rev]

Other than a bad injector (which I think is rare) no spark burning up the fuel leads to an over fuel problem.

In my case I had no spark on one cyl, so continuously trying to start it just filled up the cylinder with gas until it hydrolocked. I spent all that time troubleshooting fuel, when it was spark. Overall just a very bad situation.

Coilpacks do randomly crap out on you, seems to be common on SR's. I bought a couple spares, after having to buy one for $100 when I had one go out on me.

[frankies1390]

alright so after troubleshooting all day about which injector is bad or cylinder... i found if i unplug my fuel pump fuse to stop the flow of fuel it runs fine until there is no more fuel causing the motor to die.

when i plug it back in the car will run fine for around a minute until the rail or injectors load up forcing me to keep my foot on the throttle so it will stay running but as soon as i let off it dies. Its almost like its running on 3 cylinders? where should i turn to next? Is this a fuel pump problem or in fact a bad injector...

i've swapped injectors around and unplugged them to see the difference in idle and it seems the one i chose we'll call injector "X". which was in cyl #2 then i switched to cylinder #3 and so forth. so injector X that i keep switching around makes no difference when unplugged. but if i unplug that particular coil pack, then at that time is when i see a difference in hesitation?

So im thinking its a bad injector?

[T-rev]

If the engine is running on 3 cyl it should be oblivious, the engine should be bouncing side to side and sound like a subaru.

When the engine is running, unplug one coilpack, if the engine gets worse (nearly stalling) that cyl is firing, plug that coilpack back in, and repeat the process on the next cylinder. When you unplug a coil and it doesnt change the sound or roughness of the motor, you've found your bad cylinder.

Here is the most effective (and dangerous) way to check for spark and fuel. On the non-firing cyl, pull the plug out. It really helps to have someone cranking for you. Keep the coilpack plugged in and sparkplug over the hole. Have someone crank it a few time, and keep your face out of the way. Watch for spark (and/or flame, seriously be careful) Also you will have gas spraying out. This is the only way Ive been able to definitively diagnose if the cause is spark or fuel.

[frankies1390]

Alright so i have an update. After spending 4 or so hours i was able to eliminate the starting issue with new o-rings on injectors, new plugs, and re-did my intercooler pipng. finally got it to start running but very roughly i must say. sounds almost as if its missing. did the coil pack test and all cylinders are firing. i did the wire pull test on the harness... where you twist and bend the harness to see if there is a line break. checked out fine.

But check this out when my ecu was hanging from its mount, with the car running i can tap the ecu well kinda knock on it and it kills my car! Has anyone ever heard of this? i re connected all of my afc wires, checked grounds the whole 9 and it still sounds as if its missing?

[dc1984]

i have an afc neo and sometimes when a passenger unintentionally kicks my ecu, it will sputter and soemtimes die. i dont loo at that as a problem though.

are any of ur plugs still coming out wet with gas, if so how many/which ones?

dont worry about ur fuel pump.that is not the issue. ur not gonna have a problem with the fuel pump sending too much fuel. thas its job, its to keep a solid source of fuel for the injectors in the fuel rail. then the injector takes what it needs. the only fuel pump problem u should be worying about is if ur not getting enough fuel to the injectors, and that obviously does not sound like the case here.

[frankies1390]

yeah that makes sense... i just cannot figure out why its missing? at idle it misses i can hear it through the exhaust and as well cannot time my car correctly because of the idle jump? its running now just runs what i think as very rough! changed oil, new plugs, checked spark, re-wired afc to harness. Would this be a result of not using an oem o2 sensor? i have a aftermarket one for the 3000gt tt?

thank you all for your input feel free to share your ideas!

[dc1984]

a different 02 sensor could verry well be the problem. an 02 sensor works by sending a voltage to the ecu, that voltage signal represents a narrowband air/fuel ratio, the problem with using a different 02 sensor is that the voltage representations might be different. that means ur ecu might be getting inaccurate readings so it could be trying to correct somethin that isnt even a problem. it mostly boils down to if the 02 sensors are similar. if u searched, u might be able to find the voltage representations for the two and compare. i would just put in the oem 02 sensor just to be safe. i think they go for like 80-90 bucks or so

[drkidd22]

So you have spark and fuel but I'll say that Even if your fuel gauge says 45psi or it is withing the range you want it to be, I would still check with aother meter, a manual one or something. Also check your MAF Sensor. With your car on unplug the hardness and see if you notice any diffence, if the car behaves the same way then you have a bad MAF sensor or the wires from MAF to your ECU are not connected all the way in. If your ECU is so sensitive to movement that is not good (you have bad contacts), you will have intermitten problems all the time.