SHO motor that sat too long

[Aqua Roach]

Hey there SHO'ers. I've been working on a swap project for quite awhile now, and I just realized it's been over a year and 3 months since my 3.2L SHO has been started.

Well, after swapping the engine into the donor car, the damn thing won't start. I looked over all my wiring and vacuum and everything else.

The fuel pump primes, and I do get pressure at the rails. The PCM has power, so does the CCRM. The injectors show power, but I think they are the problem.

The thing turns over, and I am getting spark. If I use starting fluid, it runs for a brief second, then dies. It sounds like the fuel injectors could be gummed up from sitting that long.

It's trying to start though, I just wonder if anyone else has any ideas what it could be. I just don't want to remove the intake for the injectors lol.

Also, I'm only putting a gallon of gas in the tank [or less] Think maybe I should put more than just that just to help it start or does that even matter. [I'd rather not fill the tank right now either]

Thanks!

 

[SHOspazz92]

First thing is first, on that nice and shiney intake of yours, did you sand off the top and bottom of the two bolt holes of the crossover tube (In the pictures it is not sanded) ? Those are grounding paths for the DIS.

-Sam

 

[Shovert]

That is not too long my motor sat over 2 in car and probably 2 or more in my floor. Maurice

 

[Aqua Roach]

First thing is first, on that nice and shiney intake of yours, did you sand off the top and bottom of the two bolt holes of the crossover tube (In the pictures it is not sanded) ? Those are grounding paths for the DIS.

-Sam

Oh really? I will do that and get back to you!

 

[SHOspazz92]

Oh really? I will do that and get back to you!

First thing I noticed in your signature picture. BTDT!

-Sam

 

[Aqua Roach]

Good eye my man!

I did not know that this thing needed to be grounded, but I also have a thick coating of engine enamel where the DIS module mounts up. Instead of removing all of that paint, is it possible to attach a jumper to the back of the DIS and to another ground source?

Thanks!

 

[intimdatr]

Good eye my man!

I did not know that this thing needed to be grounded, but I also have a thick coating of engine enamel where the DIS module mounts up. Instead of removing all of that paint, is it possible to attach a jumper to the back of the DIS and to another ground source?

Thanks!

Yes you can but i believe the DIS needs to be in contact with bare metal with a layer of lithium grease to have some sort of contact with heat from the intake.

 

[SHOspazz92]

Good eye my man!

I did not know that this thing needed to be grounded, but I also have a thick coating of engine enamel where the DIS module mounts up. Instead of removing all of that paint, is it possible to attach a jumper to the back of the DIS and to another ground source?

Thanks!

You know those 4 tiny little bolts that keep the DIS in place? The one on the bottom right (towards the front of the car) is also a ground. Just clean the paint off that area as well. I would just keep the stock grounding path as is. The SHO ignition is pretty strong, but any kind of hiccups with the grounding of the DIS can really throw things off.

-Sam

 

[intimdatr]

So is the grease not a requirement?

 

[Off Road SHO]

The grease does two things; helps the heat transfer through the back plate of the DIS into the relatively cooler intake, and the grease also keeps water out from between those two surfaces. Water between any two metals will corrode the metals.

Tom

 

[Aqua Roach]

You know those 4 tiny little bolts that keep the DIS in place? The one on the bottom right (towards the front of the car) is also a ground. Just clean the paint off that area as well. I would just keep the stock grounding path as is. The SHO ignition is pretty strong, but any kind of hiccups with the grounding of the DIS can really throw things off.

-Sam

Okay, I'll just scrape off some paint then. I got worried that I needed to completely scratch off the area of the surge tank connector where the DIS sits.

I never understood why they used that heat transfer stuff there, I was falsely informed that it was to heat it up, then when I heard they used dielectric grease I thought that whole back plate was a ground.


Either way, I wanna get this baby back running, I hopefully will tomorrow.

 

[kevinspann]

Well, I'd remove all of it where the DIS sits personally. And where the heads of the end tank bolts sit, to provide a good ground path. Also, if the tank was completely empty, a gallon may not be enough to get a consistant amount picked up.

 

[rubydist]

while it is important to have the ground path to the DIS and to have the DIS heat sink paste applied to keep it from being fried, you already have spark if you can make it run with starting fluid.

I would pull a plug to see if it is wet - my guess is that the injectors are in fact gummed up and not pulsing properly, preventing fuel from actually getting into the cylinder. dry plugs will confirm the lack of fuel in the cylinder. it may be possible to do injector cleaning process with injectors in the car, but I'm of the opinion that you will need to remove them to have them cleaned properly.

 

[Aqua Roach]

Soo, The DIS is grounded properly now.

Still nothing.

Put in more gas,

Still nothing

Pulled a plug to smell it or see that it's wet.

Bone dry, no gas.

It's the injectors, or something that controls the damn things. I really don't see how all 6 are clogged either.

I'm going to run and get a gauge to check fuel pressure.

Any ideas?


Update: I've checked the fuel pressure at the rails and got nothing. It seems like the fuel pump is priming, but very weakly. If I manually press on the ****** in the schrader valve I get fuel coming up with pressure, but that's no test. And with a test light on the injectors, I'm getting nothing.

CCRM problem maybe? What prevents the injectors from opening electronically?

Another thing too, I do not have a gauge cluster wired in right now. I was going to build a custom set. Seeing all the swaps with the motor, I know it's possible, but does the PCM need any feedback from the cluster, say, like the tach?

I tested voltage at the pump, and I'm only getting 1-3v. Seeing how the CCRM supplies the voltage, I think it could be that.

 

[SHOtime2511]

So you are getting no voltage at the injectors while cranking?
No problem with not having a cluster installed.

 

[rubydist]

at startup/idle, the injector pulse is small enough you will likely not see it with a test light.

I still think you need injectors cleaned. that is not at all uncommon with any injector that has sat for an extended time nowadays.

 

[Aqua Roach]

I have 12v at the injectors, I just can't tell if they're trying to click or what.

I only have 1.5v coming off the CCRM going to the fuel pump. That's where I'm stumped.

Either way, I'm getting no pressure and no fuel injection.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Separate the fuel pressure problem from everything else. The relay for the fuel pumps should put +12 volts, relative to the negative terminal on your battery, to the fuel pump cut-off switch in the trunk. Make sure you are using your negative battery post for one side of your VOM or test light.

This will verify that all of the ground paths back to the battery are good. Work your way (with the positive lead of your VOM) from + battery post (record your voltage, should be 12.75 or higher) then to the output of the fuel pump relay at the CCRM at the radiator with the ignition switch turned to "ON" the fuel pump should run for about 1 second, record that voltage, will be quite a bit lower lower than the first reading because there is now another path to ground through the fuel pump). Then read it at the fuel pump cut-out switch in the trunk, shouldn't be too much lower than the second reading.

Tom

 

[AREA 91]

You need more than a gallon of gas in the tank.
When you painted the engine, did you remove the paint in the valley of the block where the ground wire attaches?

 

[Off Road SHO]

Soo, The DIS is grounded properly now.

Still nothing.

Put in more gas,

Still nothing




Update: I've checked the fuel pressure at the rails and got nothing. It seems like the fuel pump is priming, but very weakly. If I manually press on the ****** in the schrader valve I get fuel coming up with pressure, but that's no test. And with a test light on the injectors, I'm getting nothing.

We just went through this with 4DR4SHO's new fuel pump and strainer screen. Even with 15 gallons of gas, the new pump would not pump gas, just run. Turns out that the new screen was not allowing gas to get to the pump. So we pressurized the gas tank with an air hose to maybe 3-5 psi. This forced the fuel through the screen to the pump's rotor. The tone of the pump immediately changed and she fired right up.

Tom