MichaelK

Which clock position is the rotor cap pointing when your mark is at TDC?

From Clarks Garage:

roman944

if you mean the screws that lock it in the position - then no, everything is fine there, and rotor is/was pointing to Cyl 1

can I rule out DME/fuel pump at this point?

next thing would be to double check and make sure there is spark on all 4 cylinders? how do I do that?

rgs944

Get an old spark plug, insert it in the wire and ground it to check spark. If all 4 are getting spark, then I would do a compression check on all four cylinders to make sure you do not have a weak or dead hole.

Van

You don't know what a timing light is?

Back in the day before electronic ignition timing, you'd have to time your car by rotating the distributor. You'd use a timing light - it has a sensor that clips around a spark plug wire... every time the spark plug fires, the light will flash.

With the car running, you could aim this flashing strobe light at the flywheel or crank pulley, where there would be a line painted, and you could check to make sure the ignition timing was correctly synced to the crankshaft.

Van

Also, if you pull a spark plug after you've been trying to start it, are they wet with fuel? Dry? Have any unusual color or smell?

Can you pressure test your intake system to make sure there are no vacuum or air leaks?

Van

Here's a video that shows a timing light in use:

roman944

ok, more info:

we took out #1 spark plug, plugged it into the wire, grounded it on the block, and turned the engine - and there is a spark

and apparently if ignition switch goes - there is no spark, this also would rule out ignition coil and wires? distributor cap, and rotor (these 2 are brand new) ...

could my problem still be the fuel pump? not enough pressure? clogged fuel filter?

Mike C.

It is possible. If the mixture is too lean it won't burn. Does it look like a good strong spark? (hard to desrcibe weak vs. strong spark). For starting/idling I would guess fuel pressure is more important than fuel volume rate (cc's per minute). You may be able to find a fuel pressure gauge at Autozone, Pep Boys, etc. Many of these places will let you borrow tools with a deposit.

rgs944

If you do not have access to a compression tester you can use your thumb for a quick easy check. Remove each plug and seal it off with your thumb while someone cranks the engine. Not very accurate but it will tell you if one hole is significantly less than the other 3. All of the holes should blow your thumb away with ease. If you can hold your thumb on any of the holes you have major problems. Trust me it does not hurt, just startles you a little the first time.

roman944

ok, so I looked up Clark's on the fuel pump check - by how much fuel comes out in a given time - all the measuring cups we have at home are used for food - so tomorrow we'll run out and get one

going to check how much fuel my pump puts out in 30secs and compare that to the # on Clark's

my dad said that when he undid the nut on the end of the fuel rail, fuel just poured out ... I specifically remember that the first time I took off that nut, I got scared that I broke something when fuel sprayed out of there

with the plugs installed, turning the engine wasn't exactly hard, but wasn't easy ... I know what you guys mean when you say its hard to describe how something feels over the internet

but if you have got any more ideas on what I can check, I'm all ears

what would be required for a compression check? and would Autozone have the "timing light"?

roman944

also, we have a vacuum leak tester, connected that, and no problems were found

we also took off the J-boot to see if the "door" was opening or not - and that's working fine as well

just the way the car has been running, I think that it is fuel related myself ...

I ran out of fuel last Monday because my gauge was lying, right across the gas station, went in, got canister, filled the car - ran fine ... until Friday night ... so this can totally be related (though, the car ran just like always and did not get progressively worse until Friday night when the car stalled and would not start - just crank)

roman944

woah, was able to check how much fuel my pump pumps out

so we got the 850ml of fuel in 18 seconds

Clark's says that the pump should pump out 850ml in 30 seconds

did I just find my problem?

Mike C.

I'm guessing the 30 seconds is the maximum amount of time it should take. I can't imagine this being the root of your trouble. Keep in mind that most of the fuel in the fuel rail gets recirculated back to the gas tank. As long as the rail stays full it is the pressure difference across the injector (fuel pressure in rail vs. intake manifold) that will govern how much fuel sprays out in a given time. You should be able to borrow/rent a timing light and compression tester.

rgs944

Would definetly put on a new fuel filter and test the flow rate again. Maybe you just have a plugged filter. That woud make sense. You might have stirred up some crap in the bottom of the tank when you ran out.

roman944

can my problem be a fuel dampner valve or fuel pressure regulator?

Clark's has these listed as a cause of no start

but I'm having trouble understanding what to do here:

also, the tests for FPR require the engine to run ... if the car doesn't run ... how the hell am I supposed to check if its FPR or not?