Dead cylinder number 1

[Nick Triesch]

Can’t find the problem. New cap, rotor, wires, fuel filter, DME relay, coil, valve adjustment, plugs, have spark , have 12 volts plus to the new injector ( second one), checked compression and is at 146-150. Not bad for a 33 year old car. Other 5 cylinders working. When you pull the plug wires the motor Boggs down. Cylinder number 1. Stays just the same. Could this be the brain? Wires and connections good and tight. Number one not working at all. I don’t know what else to do .

[jlex]

Can you actually see spark jumping from the #1 wire when you take it off and ground it against the engine? (Careful... don't shock yourself... use insulated pliers or rubber gloves to hold it)

[darrin]

Originally Posted by jlex

Can you actually see spark jumping from the #1 wire when you take it off and ground it against the engine? (Careful... don't shock yourself... use insulated pliers or rubber gloves to hold it)

AND, if you can clearly see a spark, does the injector for #1 squirt fuel if similarly taken out and the engine's cranked?

Since we need to presume air's getting to the cylinder and you've confirmed it's compressing the air properly, it's either not getting a spark or fuel?

How's the number 1 plug look?

[Arne2]

Swap the injectors on #1 & #2, see if the problem follows the injector. If #1 is still dead, swap the plugs, and see if it moves. You can even swap plug wires at both plugs and distributor cap in the same manner. Might be a bit of a stretch to get the #1 wire to #2 cylinder, but it might reach.

[john walker's workshop]

Carreras sometimes suck in a lower intake gasket, which allows extra air into the port and kills the cylinder at idle/low rpm. Hard to find using the usual spray stuff around the area because it's down low below the fan shroud, under the phenolic spacer. If you have everything and still have nothing, sometimes you just have to pull the intake and find out yes or no.

[Nick Triesch]

Yes, I see the spark. I have tried 3 new injectors . Cylinder number is completely dead. Compression on number 1 is good. Others about the same. Because is completely dead , it makes me think that something is wrong with the ecu . It is like the computer is not telling the injector to give fuel. The good news is they are only $800!!!!!

[Nick Triesch]

Also John. The cylinder number one is dead across the board . Low or high rpm. Dead as a door nail .

[Nick Triesch]

Cylinder number 2 is fine .

[Jeff Alton]

Not sure why you bought 3 injectors, you could have swapped one from another cylinder and see if the problem followed the injector. That would rule in our out the injector with no expense. Throwing parts at a problem means you are missing the diagnostic step, which is time not money.

Get a noid light and test to see if the injector is getting a signal to fire. They are really cheap to purcahse, a few bucks. Or take one of your spare injectors, connect the injector wires to it and see if it fires while the car cranks... Both are simple tests and you won't need to buy any parts you don't need... You can also check continuity from the injector plug to the ECU pins. Simple to do. The injector should have 12V constant, and switching ground to fire.

Try one of these tests and report back.

[john walker's workshop]

Ttried a noid light yet? It will flicker if the injector plug is operating correctly. Jeff beat me to it. Also check all the brown grounds on #1 intake runner. Tight and clean and no internally broken wires.

[Jeff Alton]

I got lucky John....

[Nick Triesch]

I’m
On it. But must wait a day . A shop friend will lend me the noid thing. Must see 97 year old mom tomorrow. More important than car.

[Nick Triesch]

Most of the stuff was tune up parts. But I did buy three injectors over the last year . I’ll try all the stuff you say. Weird how the number one power just stopped. To be fair , A year ago the same thing happened but I got it back with a new injector and a new plug and a valve adjustment. Then over time started missing and then finally no
power in number one.

[Nick Triesch]

Noid light on Friday .

[jpnovak]

3.2 Carrera injectors are batch fired. not sequential. sounds like broken wire or connector. Trace back from injector connector through harness and find the break.

[Nick Triesch]

The three sensors on the left side of the motor . Possibly the two black bottom plugs could have been mixed up . Would it hurt anything to switch them to check? I think they are correct but would like to double check

[Jeff Alton]

Car would not start if they were mixed up.

[Nick Triesch]

Thanks. They are not mixed up . Tomorrow I use the noid light to check the pulse to injector number one. If it is bad I really do not know what to do next I did look today for a bad or cut or break in the wire going to the injector plug. Makes it hard because the wire is in a heavy protective sheath . I’ll
Let you know tomorrow how the noid light works out

[Nick Triesch]

OK, Did droid light test. Connection is firing. Have new injector. Have spark . Cylinder number one still not firing. Other 5 are firing. So Harness is good and the ECU is good. Compression is good . All wires new and connected. Coil is new . Plugs , wires new .

[john walker's workshop]

Sucked intake gasket?