Engine not firing

[farleyd]

Hi guys, know it sounds like a newbie question but maybe thats what i am...! I have 2k invested the engine last fall and when tried to move the car in to the garage for winter, it didnt fire.

I didnt bother at that time so i pushed it into the garage and thought that i would check that in spring.

Now spring is here and engine still not firing.

Car is:
1978 911SC Targa CIS 3.0

What i did:
- fresh fuel
- charged battery

Symptoms:
- engine turns but do not fire

I've searched for possible culprits and main ones were:
- no spark at ignition
- no fuel to CIS

My questions are:
1) How to check those two things?
2) Any possible cause?

Please bear with me and remember we all been there...

Best wishes!

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by farleyd

Hi guys, know it sounds like a newbie question but maybe thats what i am...! I have 2k invested the engine last fall and when tried to move the car in to the garage for winter, it didnt fire.

I didnt bother at that time so i pushed it into the garage and thought that i would check that in spring.

Now spring is here and engine still not firing.

Car is:
1978 911SC Targa CIS 3.0

What i did:
- fresh fuel
- charged battery

Symptoms:
- engine turns but do not fire

I've searched for possible culprits and main ones were:
- no spark at ignition
- no fuel to CIS

My questions are:
1) How to check those two things?
2) Any possible cause?

Please bear with me and remember we all been there...

Best wishes!

farleyd,

First check that your FP (fuel pump) is working. Knowing the control and system pressures will be helpful in your diagnosis. Speaking of FP test, there are numerous threads and discussions on how to test the FP without running the engine.

Second, ignition problem could be caused by several factors like bad CDI, ignition coil, faulty wiring connection, and others. This could be classified under electrical trouble shooting. An inductive timing light is good tool to use or the spark plug test. Check your ignition distributor for the rotor position @ TDC (Z1) for cylinder #1.

PM me and I could provide you a detailed step-by-step procedures including some pictures to easily guide you. Keep us posted.

Tony

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by farleyd

Hi guys, know it sounds like a newbie question but maybe thats what i am...! I have 2k invested the engine last fall and when tried to move the car in to the garage for winter, it didnt fire.

I didnt bother at that time so i pushed it into the garage and thought that i would check that in spring.

Now spring is here and engine still not firing.

Car is:
1978 911SC Targa CIS 3.0

What i did:
- fresh fuel
- charged battery

Symptoms:
- engine turns but do not fire

I've searched for possible culprits and main ones were:
- no spark at ignition
- no fuel to CIS

My questions are:
1) How to check those two things?
2) Any possible cause?

Please bear with me and remember we all been there...

Best wishes!

To check spark, pull a wire and insert an extra sparkplug (or unscrew one) and hold it against the block when someone 'bumps' the engine. The spark should be blue and biggish rather than absent or weak and yellow.
For the fuel pump, turn on the ignition and you should hear it whine under the front left fender.

If you can isolate the no start to spark or fuel you'll be at least part ways there. Do a bunch of searching for "no spark" or "no fuel".

And is there an alarm system on the car, by any chance? That could flummox you for weeks...

[farleyd]

UPDATE: fuel pump didnt whine. So i pulled the relay (that is very loose into its socket) and reinserted it. Engine fired up instantly, with some smoke though.....!

Thanks to all.

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by holtjv

To check spark, pull a wire and insert an extra sparkplug (or unscrew one) and hold it against the block when someone 'bumps' the engine. The spark should be blue and biggish rather than absent or weak and yellow.
For the fuel pump, turn on the ignition and you should hear it whine under the front left fender.

If you can isolate the no start to spark or fuel you'll be at least part ways there. Do a bunch of searching for "no spark" or "no fuel".

And is there an alarm system on the car, by any chance? That could flummox you for weeks...

Dave,

CIS troubleshooting is not difficult. All these CIS components could easily be checked and bench tested. The FP should not be running when you turned the ignition switch to ON postion for SC's. That's the reason we use a jumper wire (87a-30) to test the FP. For the early CIS cars it will but not for your car. And if it did, you have an anomaly in your wiring set-up.

Tony

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by boyt911sc

Dave,

CIS troubleshooting is not difficult. All these CIS components could easily be checked and bench tested. The FP should not be running when you turned the ignition switch to ON postion for SC's. That's the reason we use a jumper wire (87a-30) to test the FP. For the early CIS cars it will but not for your car. And if it did, you have an anomaly in your wiring set-up.

Tony

Tony, you're right and thanks for the correction. I was referring to jumping it to test the FP but obv got it wrong (and just went out to the garage to double-check!).

But regardless, sounds like farley figured it out...J