engine back in, but won't start

[fandm17]

Hello,
I have a question or two. Let me start with some background ... it's probably a familiar story. I bought my first 911 a few months ago. It is a 76 911S. Yes, a 2.7 L. I have read tons since then and at times regretted my purchase, but I have moved on to trying to make the best of it. Anyway, I had a serious oil leak where the engine and trans mate. I suspected either the flywheel seal or the trans input shaft seal, so I took the engine out for repairs. I replaced the seals, installed a new clutch and pressure plate, replaced some old CIS components, and did a few other updates, like oil fed tensioners. Lots of help from searching this forum and reading 101 Projects, the Bentley SC manual, etc. I finally got the engine back in and tried to start it up, but had no luck. So here are my questions.

First of all, I noticed I have a wire not connected! I thought I took good notes during the process, but I can find no place for this wire! I have no owner's manual, so I have no wiring diagram. Anybody recognize this wire (picture below) and where it belongs?

Second ... when I tried to start the engine, it would turn over somewhat hesitantly, and then stop. What's more is that a small amount of white smoke would come out between the fan blades. It reminded me of the smoke that Lionel toy trains would puff out. Regarding the hesitation in turning over, I charged the battery, so unless it is a bad battery, it should have enough juice to power the starter. Any ideas about the white smoke? Did I forget something, or worse yet, do something wrong?

Thanks,
--Chris

[jtfreels]

Chris,

I'm no expert but that doesn't look right. I'm guessing you still have the orginal Bosh CDI box on the car?

There should be a wire connected to the distributor, my bad yellow arrow is pointing to it. This is the dreaded "green wire" that goes back to the CDI box. Search on "green coax" or "green wire".

It looks like the previous owner has hacked this wire. The wire is known trouble spot.


Jay

[MikeBogue]

This could also be one of the wires that goes to the coil. What are the colors of the wires that go there now?
Ultimately there are only three things that can be the cause, assuming that the motor ran fine before it was taken apart (spark, timing, and fuel), and some should be simple to diagnose. You can check for spark by removing one of the spark plugs, grounding it and having someone turn the key while you watch for spark. The timing should only be an issue if it was moved or adjusted in your engine drop, but can be checked easily with a timing light.
The fuel system can be a more complicated issue, but you can check the basic operation of the fuel distributer by lifting the metering plate behind the air filter. If you hear the injectors then you should be getting at least some fuel.

[emac]

Two wires go to the coil, from the photo I cannot see if they are connected. Also, you will want to get a boot on the wire going into the coil