ok so i installed my tangerine racing tunnel and engine compartment lines no problem there, installed a 34R Optima Red-Top, a little big but oh well, went to turn it over, wouldnt turn over. i looked and coming off of the coil is a green wire attached to nothing, i think its a ground. where does this thing go.

any ideas on getting it started and where that ground needs to go. i would figure the engine case but i tried holding it there and pulled out a spark plug and hooked back to the wire to see if it would start and got nothing, i then grounded it to a bolt connecting the tin cover (i think?) to the head and the continuity tester said the circuit was ok so im guessing something has to be wrong with the ignition system, either the coil or distributor, which i THINK is newer and uses the magnetic thing to adjust dwell, which i loosly understand the concept of. also, could it just be the spark plug? it didnt look fouled or anything but i couldnt see a visable spark when having someone try to start the car and it wouldnt gap to the engine case either, so idk whats up

im only 18 and a senior in high school so a lot of this is new to me, ive read about it in magazines but never this deep, nor got my hands dirty (i have now! )

i just wanna see the damn thing run, for only having 47,259 miles on the clock it shouldnt be too big of a deal to fix.

i included a picture of what it looked like with just a basic clean too, no detailing or anything, not bad for being 38 (i think?) years old!)

i trust the ppl on this site too, so if anybody want my phone number just shoot me a pm and id be more than happy to discuss it on the phone.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

note: the green wire in the one pic is the one i grounded. it was just sticking up like in the picture before i grounded it

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

edit: forgive my god awful grammar there, i swear i am literate

I am sure Rich will chime in here but..... Starter won't turn or won't start.... two different things.... need more info to help

good, i need all the help i can, and im not stubborn and welcome the help too, im curious to learn lol. and im pretty sure the starter works, it cranks but wont turn over and start is the best way to explain it

Trace that green wire. I'm thinking that it goes to the distributor. If so, it's the "signal" from the points to trigger the coil to make a spark. It should get plugged in to the (-) terminal on the coil.

The other green wire in the area has a red stripe, and is for the oil pressure warning light. That wire just goes into the engine harness.

--DD

You've got to be kidding me! another teener in my town! And I have a 72 1.7 but mine is a much faster color, Silver! I can take a look tonight when I get home.

NO FREAKIN WAY! dude thats crazy where do you live in east mo i have relatives over there!!! sounds good to me.



and that wire is already connected to the negetive lead on the coil, so what you are saying is it goes back to the distributor? i though it was a ground of somesort

Hi,

In the original ignition system the lead goes from the ignition points in the distributor to the negative side of the coil. Its a green wire.
Typically it also has a condensor as part of the circuit.

Now, if you are using a petronix or crane optical sensor in the distributor, you may need to wire this differently of the sensor may become damaged...if its not already from messing with it.

Open up the distributor cover and look either post a picture of the insides, or tell us what make of sensor you have.
From there you will need a wiring diagram (on the vendor wed site) of how to properly hook up the optical sensor.

You can verify that its working with a timing light just to see if you have a spark on any wire..

Rich

so dont hook up the green wire yet?

take the distributor cover off.
take a pic of the insides of the distributor and post it here.

OR
If you see a name on the optical sensor (if you have one) go look on their web site for wiring instructions.
If you wire an optical sensor wrong, it will immediately die.....for good.

If you have points, its simple to wire them up.

RIch

Hmmm... I can see what you see Rich? No ECU in the stock location?

So what ignition is he running....?

good question...I did not see that.
I wasnt looking either...nice spot.
Rich

will do

I just looked at mine and I have no green wire on the coil. I have petronix in mine though. no points or condenser. The green wire should not be a ground. did it start before? What have you done to it since then?

ok i took the distributor cap of and its the kind that has the four points i think...the points are on top of the distributor cap right? they arnt visable from the outside but if you look inside the on the top there are four points, if that helps, they are copper i believe? could be wrong...direct me from here.

Click to view attachment

what other things should i check btw if its not running? ill take a video of the car engine bay when i try the motor tries to turn over once i get eveything back together

im starting to get pissed off....all it was supposed to need to fix the fuel leak, which has been done

from the distrib. to the coil. In your first photo I see the crimped connector and look like it would drop right on the coil as seen in my picture.

This is before I did my resto, Stock 1.8 FI setup and I have electronic now and the green wire is no longer present.

sorry for the double post here but its a really big gauge wire that is attatched to where the coil mounts to the engine case, the other green wire is there, next to the green and red wire where it belongs.

i just wanna get the damn thing to start, i bought it like this and havent gotten a chance to even hear the thing run, let alone drive it

might be a stupid question but are you getting fuel? do you hear the fuel pump run when you turn the key on?

Did we pull a spark plug, leave it connected to the wire, ground the tip of it and see if we are getting a spark that far?


Eric

i need to check to see if im getting fuel, should i listen to for the pump when the ignition if turned on or when you try to turn it over? and what sort of a noise should i be looking for.

and no i will as soon as my little brother can come outside and turn it over while i check to see if the spark jumps. if it doesnt what should i do, i have a feeling it wont work lol.

im going to video the motor when i try to turn it over and post it up here so i can get the best diagnosis

It looks like you have points.
It also appears that you have a condensor on the left side of the distributor like its supposed to be.
I also see a green wire coming up to the negative side of the coil like its supposed to be.

So, take a few pics from farther out so we can see what fuel system you have and please try to take a picture of the computer (supposed to be between the battery and the firewall...)

Need those pics to help you with any fuel issues.

Do you have a timing light?

Rich

take photos of the lines and and pump? that can be done. and not at the moment but i have acess to one i think lol

bump

i should probably include that the car has not been driven in five years. ill take pics of the lines and pump today

We need pics of the whole engine bay...no more closeups.
Take it from both directions so we can see what fuel system you have.

Rich

Guys...I'm low (very low) on the expert pole here, but if he redid the fuel lines, why are we suspecting electrical? The green wire? Could be anything a PO changed , removed...

ill take some high resolution photos of my engine bay right after i post this.

any other things i should conside trying? like i said it has not been started in five years...

ill take a pic of the fuel pump too.

Never mind...missed that part.

We just need to do a few things.
One, you need to learn how to diagnose...that requires patience and some simple steps.

Lets make sure all the parts are there...If you have EFI...I dont see the computer..

Lets make sure you are not just spinning your wheels here.
Post the pics...we will get it going.

Rich

I'm going to see him tomorrow night. I'm no expert on these but I've had enough problems on my own I should be able to get him in the right direction. I'm going to check and make sure the fuel pump is working first and see if we have fuel at the injectors, then we'll see if we have spark. What do you guys think about it sitting for 5 years. I know I put some oil in the cylinders when I tried starting mine after 9 years of sitting. Hopefully it has been cranked over too much. Should be interesting tomorrow. I have only seen 1 other teener around here and only saw it once.

i disconnected the fuel lines after the pump and they were both bone dry, so something is wrong with the pump, it doesnt make any sound either, and i will leave one plug out to test for spark tomorrow. i took some good pics tonight of the engine bay and fuel pump and will post them when im done writing my english paper.

call me tomorrow or PM about what time you wanna come over

don't worry about spark right now. it does no good if there is no fuel. Don't turn it over anymore til we can see what you have. I'll probably be over around 7. Pm me your address. see you tomorrow.

sounds good man

ok here are picture of the engine bay and fuel pump

EDIT, they werent good, ill take some tomorrow morning

time for a , this damn car not running isnt helping me quit

ok so i woke up this morning and walked out to the garage to see a good amount of oil and gas had leaked onto the floor from the fuel pump area.

it was mostly gas.

anyideas?

did you reconnect the lines to the fuel pump?

Maybe I missed this part, but...did you clean out the tank and add fresh fuel? If not, that crap on the floor isn't even gas any more...more like varnish. Probably won't start the car, and might even keep it from starting until you rebuild the carbs. What did you do with the fuel filter(s)?

I'd disconnect the fuel pump and get it out where you can work on it safely. Put new hoses on it. Put the suction end in a can of fresh gas (not the crap in the 914's fuel tank), and the output(s) in back into the same tank. Run a couple of wires from the hot and ground of a 12v battery and test it. It's probably dried up.

Oh, and be careful not to blow yourself up!

I would follow this advice.....otherwise you might be chasing your tail. Ya gotta learn too!

Post the pics so that everyone knows what is there and what you have. Otherwise this thread may confuse you more..... and kind of pointless (pun intended). I would listen to Rich.

Rob

tank isnt clean but its not that rusty and there is new fuel in it.

more instructions testing the pump would be great

and of course i hooked the lines up!!! lol they have been fine for the last like five days idk whats wrong with the fuel pump but shes coming off tonight

if you take that pump off you better have a bucket to catch all the fuel. but better yet, just wait til I get there.

Ok,
What is your fuel delivery system?
Do you have carbs or fuel injection?

If you have fuel injection, which style do you have? Djet or Ljet.

All three fuel delivery systems have different methods for testing the fuel pump that are simple.

see why it will be alot easier if we know what you running?
If you dont know, post a pic (see why I asked) and we can tell you what you have.

Rich

ill wait for you to some over, but i only have two jackstands so if you have two more to bring over it would prob work better for jacking up the rear. accessing the fuel pump is a pita w/ the stock jack and a jack stand...

and its injected, im 99% sure i have DJet, its a 1.7L and im pretty sure it has DJet, i havent even heard of LJet, was that on the 1.8Ls? anyway hopefully some of this crap will get figured out tonight

and im a bit damned as to why its STILL dripping fuel from the fuel pump area

So I went over to Will's house tonight and he does have a nice looking car for the most part. It is a d-jet. The ecu is just sitting in the engine bay so it will need to be mounted. He is missing the bar that goes thru it. The ground for the battery is connected to the engine because the bolt on the sheetmetal is mostly broken off. I hadn't seen that before so I thought that was kind of interesting. The fuel pump is not working. I didn't have my multimeter to see if it was getting power so Will was going to pick one up and check it out. If there is power at the pump then I would think the pump is bad. It looks like the pump was also leaking. I have another pump to try if there is power there. Will also said he was going to take the tank out and have it cleaned and coated. There was some crap in there so I suggested he refresh the rest of the fuel lines. Any luck we'll have it going in no time

Sounds like he's in better hands now. Gotta have the multimeter if you have a teener.
Knew something was up when I saw no ECU behind the battery.

Good luck.

good luck

going to check out if the fuel pump is bad tonight, purchased my multimeter and am ready to get the thing running. hopefully soon. i also posted a WTB for a fuel pump since i have a sneaking suspicsion it had gone to crap.

also, i have a shout out to scott for all his help, id be wandering in circles without your help man

alright, im pulling the fuel pump out today and replacing all of the other fuel lines in the engine bay. im ordering a fuel pump today off another member, and ordering plugs, distributor cap, and a new fuel sock. i do know know where to purchase the sock from, any help would be greatly appreciated.

im going to check when i get home to see if there is any power at the fuel pump too, it doesnt even click as is.

im not entirely sure how to use my multimeter, it comes with a 12V thingy too.

i wanna get this baby running!

If you're replacing the sock (bought one from AA a few weeks ago) that means you're pulling the tank. I am going through all of this at the same time you are. If you have the tank out you might as well replace the lines in the tunnel, and off the tank, as well as the ones in the engine bay. Why not? It's like pulling up your carpet to replace it and not repairing that squeaky or rotten sub floor below it while you have the carpet out. The pump is better up front, but not required. If you move it up there you need some form of access (see my recent thread with pictures as to how I did that). Other than running a power wire up there for it, it's no more difficult than hooking it up where it is now.

I'm gonna feel much better rolling down the road knowing all of my fuel carryig plumbing is new as opposed to half new and half 40 freakin' years old!

P.S. BRG 914s are the best.

BTW...BRG = Bavarian racing Green