No Start Frustration, 1983 X1/9

B

BrioPA

Daily Driver
A lot of frustration with my X1/9 project at the moment, after much fettling and fiddling. Hoping that someone in the hive mind can inject a bolt of clarity to help me out. Here's the scenario:

1983 X1/9. 52k miles. Pulled the motor over the winter because of multiple oil leaks and high leak down (40% and 60%) on two cylinders. In characteristic mission creep, decided to go with a MWB performance head. Replaced all gaskets, coolant and fuel hoses and clamps, and generally freshened things while I was there. Rebuilt the fuel injectors and had them cleaned. New timing belt and bearing. Plugs, distributor cap and rotor all less than 200 miles.

Have the motor back in. Everything is properly attached (all grounds, wire connectors, vacuum lines) and triple-checked.

The car won't start. It turns over, but not a peep regarding firing. Car ran before I embarked on this fool's errand.

I've verified spark, fuel flow, injectors running, cam timing and ignition timing to #4. Coil tests good, TPS is set properly.

What am I missing? I've seen stronger spark, but it's there, and should get at least a chuff out of the motor.

The car had A/C, but a PO had removed the condenser and the belt from the compressor. I went further and removed the compressor and the lines in the engine bay, which was necessary to fit the new headers, alternator and water pump from MWB.

I'm just about at my wits and experience end, and am hoping for your insight.

Thank-you!
 
Low hanging fruit: I know you checked everything twice, but is the injector trigger wire hooked to the coil? It has a piggy back connector in the middle of the wire. It can appear hooked up at both ends, but that piggy back has to go to the coil. It goes to a spade on one of the coil posts. Without that wire, the engine will crank forever, but never fire off.

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I learned this by experience. It is very easy to dislodge this wire when reaching behind the engine for the spark plugs, etc. I spent an hour putting all the old plugs back in before i noticed I had knocked the wire off. :(
 
JimD said:
Low hanging fruit: I know you checked everything twice, but is the injector trigger wire hooked to the coil? It has a piggy back connector in the middle of the wire. It can appear hooked up at both ends, but that piggy back has to go to the coil. It goes to a spade on one of the coil posts. Without that wire, the engine will crank forever, but never fire off.

View attachment 73174

View attachment 73173

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I learned this by experience. It is very easy to dislodge this wire when reaching behind the engine for the spark plugs, etc. I spent an hour putting all the old plugs back in before i noticed I had knocked the wire off. :(
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Thanks, Jim. I did find and fix this issue already.
 
BrioPA said:
Thanks, Jim. I did find and fix this issue already.
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So does the problem of not starting continue or was that the issue? (It has happened to all of us who have a FI X at least once after working in the engine bay).

If it continues will it at least try and run if you spray some starter fluid into the intake? If no then there is a timing set up issue or a problem with the ignition. The spark should be plenty strong and not weak.
 
kmead said:
So does the problem of not starting continue or was that the issue? (It has happened to all of us who have a FI X at least once after working in the engine bay).

If it continues will it at least try and run if you spray some starter fluid into the intake? If no then there is a timing set up issue or a problem with the ignition. The spark should be plenty strong and not weak.
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It won't run at all. Just churns and churns. I think I'm correct in saying that the cam and crank pulleys are indexed, and I've set and checked and rechecked the timing and the distributor and rotor position. The spark is there, but it's not as hot as I'd like. The coil tests good, but it's possiby original, so I'm thinking to throw a new one in there. Of course, it worked fine before I started messing with it....
 
When you look at the distributor with the cap off and the engine at TDC, does the rotor look like this with the rotor pointed at #4 contact in the cap? The rotor aligned to the screw as shown? This set up is effectively 10° BTDC when you go back and check with a timing light. (FYI these images are before I finished up as the belt is on backwards in this image :) )



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kmead said:
When you look at the distributor with the cap off and the engine at TDC, does the rotor look like this with the rotor pointed at #4 contact in the cap? The rotor aligned to the screw as shown? This set up is effectively 10° BTDC when you go back and check with a timing light. (FYI these images are before I finished up as the belt is on backwards in this image :) )

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Yes, thanks. I have it lined up for #4
 
BrioPA said:
Yes, thanks. I have it lined up for #4
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Have you tried starting fluid? If it starts then the likelihood could be clogged injectors presuming the injectors are being cycled by the ECU. Even weak spark will fire starting fluid.
 
kmead said:
Have you tried starting fluid? If it starts then the likelihood could be clogged injectors presuming the injectors are being cycled by the ECU. Even weak spark will fire starting fluid.
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Yes. And I had the injectors rebuilt and cleaned as part of the overhaul. I checked fuel flow as well.
 
Have you checked for continuity from the center contact to the tip of the distributor rotor?
It contains a resistor element that can fail.
 
Also check that the center carbon contact and spring in the distributor cap has not fallen out. They have a habit of doing that sometimes.
 
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