"Super Octane" would not make it idle at 3000rpm.

Octane makes gasoline not want to blow up, to put it simply.

I would give your reference sensors & wiring a closer look...

3000rpm idle could be from a vac leak, so check that again...

 

hmm... So vast amounts of Toluol (how the hell is it spelled!!!) would not make it idle at 3000rpm? hmm... The sensor wires are in the works. Maybe Toluol requires less spark???

 

MAKE sure the AFM plug is in- this will also cause a high idle if it's unplugged. ~around 2300 rpm.

 

The only time I had a similar problem is when I had accidently put the distributer cap on upside down (with the wires connected already) so the spark was going to the wrong cylinder at the wrong time. Another time I had a backfire that popped the rubber intake boot off the AFM. If there's fuel pressure in the rail, the spark plugs are firing, and the DME works, I can't think of why it won't light off other than the timing. I would seriouslt check to make sure the plugs wires are hooked up right.

 

try the wire harness...i had a car break a fuel rail, fuel got into the harness and ruined some wiring. take the harness and check ground and hot continuity between all points including dme to fuel injectors, afm cable, all sensor cables.

 

How do I check for "hot continuity"? (not much of an electrician)

 

Man, this post is pissing me off bad! I'm not mad at you man don't take it that way, I just can't beleive that with 7 pages, me and probably a ton of other people racking their brains, the car isn'n running yet.


If you can solder, cut the injector harness covering off and look in the area of the rear of the fuel rail, the harness bents over the corner of the rail, there is a solder joint right there, they are known to break. Ask Jason-87924S, his went and it about drove us friggin nuts, everything was testing fine, swapped everything out to avail nothing. The symptoms were pretty erradic IIRC, start, no start, run on 2 cylinders, start and die, etc. All parts checked out fine. We swapped about all of them except the fuel pump. AFM, DME, FPR, FPD, Injectors, ref sensors.

 

Aaron, I am guessing your Dad can cover the soldering, but if he can't, I can.

Andy, since I feel lazy right now and don't want to look it up in the FSM, what functions connect at that solder point?

Regards,

 

IIRC it was the neg side of the injectors, 4-1 and to ground, and possibly the split of 1-3 and 2-4 on the pos side of the injectors. I think Jason took it to a shop to fix the harness, I gave him a parts harness to test with, he just bypassed the exsisting one from the 9 pin( I think) plug near the brake booster, it's a clear or whitish square plug, the injector wiring routes through this for the only one side, I don't recall if it was pos or neg, but the other side feeds to the DME, been a good year or so since then.

 

Umm guys, I think I found it... Rechecked fuses tonight and noticed one was melted?!?! Looked back up under the dash, behind where the stereo is and there she is, the nasties, blackest, most melted wire in the WORLD! Haven't pulled the center console yet to determine how many wires back there are toasted, but im sure this could reek havoc among the electrical system. This also might explain why my stereo fried on me back in August. The melted fuse was the gauge cluster lights fuse. Not sure of what else this powers or what that circuit affects.

 

With most other ideas exhausted, this looks promising as the culprit. All the other stuff we suggested was based on a sound (at least in the cockpit) wiring harness.

 

Now, Im no electrician, but obviously SOMETHING had to have caused so much power to be sent through this wire(s). What generally causes this to happen? A short? Some type of overload? When I tried replacing the fuse as soon as it made contact, it melted to my finger! (Thats gonna hurt for a while) Im talking I have a nice charred, crispy line on my finger and it was only making contact for less than 1/4 of a second. There is a TON of amps going through that fuse. Im thinking something is shorted and as soon as I turned on my headlights it sends WAY too much energy through melting the crap out of these wires and the fuse. So now, I must find this short?

This circuit is obviously connected to the headlights somehow, headlight harness under the hood anywhere near the upper radiator hose? Just a thought... (headlights work by the way...)

 

Separate each wire from the bundle and check it from end to end. If there's a bare spot, then it is a potential short. There's also a non-contact probe you can get that will tell you which wire has current flowing in it.

 

Gee, being in the middle of do this very thing on the '83, if yours is like mine, the ground for the harness by the fuse block might have pulled out. If you want to practice on my car first, come on over, Chris and I will be working on it this weekend. You can at least get a good idea of how everything is connected/what goes where, without having a complete interior in your way. Also, you can borrow my FSM, which you will HAVE To have to get through this issue.

Regards,

 

Sweet, what time this weekend will you guys be working on it? and whats an FSM? If the ground pulled out, wouldnt all circuits be shot? I have all lights except for the gauge cluster.