i have the xr700 plugged in correctly according to the instructions. The led is pulsing as i crank the motor over. She wouldnt crank the other nite due to ground or lack of it. Everything under the hood is hooked up except the green wire w/ the black stripe out of the bottom of the computer harness under the battery, i think goes to the oil guage wire on the bottom of the motor.-dont have a gauge. Ill crank it, she gets a weak spark and im not sure its getting fuel to the cylinders. Tons of starting fluid does nothing. Check fuel pressure, pumps up very strong instantly. New plugs, new wires-

well, my new wires only three fit, one #2 is way too short so im using one of my old wires- which is the same problem i had w/ them, #2 is way too short. hm. Getting spark weak to the plugs though.

Im going to try a new battery since this one is out of the car when i bought it and i keep recharging it, would that keep it from starting, not enough voltage to work the fuel computer or something? i also found a small "ground" strap inside the distributor from a lower plate to the plate the points originally bolted to was not connected any longer. I soldiered that back on, not sure if it was needed. crank crank, check the plugs- new NGK's- and they are dry and clean still. My friend said they look alittle shorter electrode wise than the bosch plugs i pulled out,but he was running a 6AL so that would make a difference...BRRRRRRR-this thing is killing me!

All I can say is if you have compression, fuel, and ignition at the right time it should start.
Check the timing.
:PERMAGRIN:Joe

You noted the engine would not fire with starting fluid so I would be the distributor is not timed correctly. I would say to pull the valve cover, turn the engine over slowly until the intake has just about closed and see where the rotor is pointing to, should be close to the mark. I am assuming the rotor is in the distributor? I forgot one once, really embarasing to find you know. You should have fuel pressure, hook up a gauge to be sure and you can test the injector firing by manually moving the throttle and you should hear them go brrrrrp softly. Good luck.

I've built several 4cyls. the only time they didnt start right up was the time I had the distrib. drive gear off 1 notch. To check rotate engine manually (one way: jack up one side of car, put in 5th gear, remove rear wheel, put 2 wheel bolts back in. use jack handle against bolts to turn engine) until #1 plug fires. Note position of tdc notch on flywheel - should be close. Also note whether distrib. rotor is pointing at cyl #1. If your distrib drive gear is off a notch you probably wont be able to rotate the distrib. to line up cyl 1 cuz it'll run into something. If your drive gear needs to be adjusted you can file a piece of wood to fit in the slot on top. Theres also a special tool. Might also want to verify cyl 1 valves are closed with proper clearaces with flywheel notch lined up. Next time: put the drive gear in before you put the case together. good luck

engine was in a car and running before i bought it, but the distributor was from another motor. I didnt remove the drive gear. when i rotate the motor to the mark on the fan that says "0" , the rotor is pointing at #1 towards the ps of the car, and both intake and exhaust valves for #1 are closed. I wonder if my computer is bad? Im going to try a battery out of the 924 tonite and see what we have, could just be a bad battery keeping spark too low.

Can you go back to the old setup? or did you trash it? Just to get the motor running so you feel good about it, then you can monkey with the crane box another time.

I would start simple, eliminate that crane box and go from there. I also like to put a meter all all sorts of 12V points. I had a hard starting issue with my 2270 in my Bug. Come to find out I had a weak 12V going to the coil. I fixed the high resistance wire and life was great again.

A fresh battery never hurts, but even a weak spark and fuel will cause a popping here and there.

I've heard you can test injectors by pulling them out and placing them in a glass jar to see if they are firing. I've never done it, so maybe someone else can chime in.

Even with the drive gear one tooth off... If you've got gas and spark, it may not run, but it'll piss and pop and generally be pissed off.

Sounds like you're short on fuel...

Tom

the crane unit is working fine, sparks when it sees the gap in the rotor. My OLD unit was the old motor that i sold over the winter. This is an entirely different motor, computer, wiring, ignition, distributor, coil, wires and everything. I may check the resistance on the coil feed wire. Also going to check the battery ground again, maybe its still not making the best contact though its tight as hell and cleaned up. The computer did fall once and hit the ground lightly... hope it didnt mess anything up. Does anyone know more about that little copper ground going from the lower to upper plate inside of the distributor. I didnt see it till last nite. Looked like the soldier came off, i used some soldier and stuck it back on, didnt know if it was important. IM ready to cut the top off the plenum and put a holley on this thing..kidding.

QUOTE

the rotor is pointing at #1 towards the ps of the car,

not sure what "ps" is......passanger side???

when on #1 TDC, rotor should be facing towards the timing/inspection hole on top of the fan housing

No fan here for the XR700..

Anyway,

How have you adjusted the valves? If they do not have enough lash your puking the lifeblood of combustion right by them..

Do you have spark from the coil to the dizzy?

QUOTE (xsboost90 @ May 19 2005, 08:34 AM)

the crane unit is working fine, sparks when it sees the gap in the rotor. My OLD unit was the old motor that i sold over the winter. This is an entirely different motor, computer, wiring, ignition, distributor, coil, wires and everything. I may check the resistance on the coil feed wire. Also going to check the battery ground again, maybe its still not making the best contact though its tight as hell and cleaned up. The computer did fall once and hit the ground lightly... hope it didnt mess anything up. Does anyone know more about that little copper ground going from the lower to upper plate inside of the distributor. I didnt see it till last nite. Looked like the soldier came off, i used some soldier and stuck it back on, didnt know if it was important. IM ready to cut the top off the plenum and put a holley on this thing..kidding.

dizzy ground strap..the copper thing you refer to....i think thats only useful/needed if you have points, as the ground for the points comes from that strap thing.....i think once you step out of the point-ignition age....you dont need it.

sweet! i adjusted the valves last nite to double check the PO of the motor. Put it at TDC-as per the book- set intake at .006 and exhaust at .008, then turned motor backwards till rotor pointed to #2, adjusted, then #3, then #4 and went back cranked it and double checked everything was ok. They were just slightly tight before i adjusted a couple but nothing huge.

I put a spark plug in the coil wire and it sparked fine. Put the wire on and put a plug in the #2 wire laying on the ground and it sparked, just kind weak. Ill try the new battery out and see what she does, IIRC this was a problem for me w/ my old 924 2.0, just cranking too damn slow. It started and ran on two cylinders till i got some new plug wires.

how important is that air valve thing? Not the mps, that is hooked up w/ vac to the intake, but the adjustable one that looks like the regulator. I have the rubber splitter boot thing taped up w/ the large side going to the cener of it- the small line going to the small side of the regulator, and then there is another line coming off of it going to the air cleaner or where it would be.

decel valve....the engine will run without it. mine does, only bc the PO completly F***** the car up.....