964 got ignition but will NOT start

[martensson]

Hi all.
I have kept myself from posting this question now a while. I tried to search & ask the more experienced around me, but yet here i am.

The engine is rebuilt from ground up. The engine was bought from a breaker in Canada & was in a very poor condition, not near as good as promised. Prior to being rebuilt never been running in my possession.

To my case.
-At TDC & Z1 mark i do have the rotors pointing towards corresponding marks & inlet valve on #1 just opening.
-Missing tooth on flywheel is approx. 84 degrees before TDC. PMS flywheel
-Fuel pump is running when cranking engine & when "knocking" on crank sensor the pump reacts.
- +5V to barn door
- +5V to idle switch
- +12V to idle motor

I had to swap the ignition lead harness due to spark failure. Now i have spark on both coils. Further investigation tomorrow...
Ignition occurs according to picture below & i get *poofs*, flames and so on....but it will not start.
I get the feeling that the engine turns over as if spark occurs to early & pushes against the movement of the engine, slowing it down
I got a good battery & good ground from engine & body to battery.

What might be wrong? Do i need all 12 plugs to spark just to make the engine start?
Any other signal that might be the cause?
Do i need the MAP alteration switch, variant id switch &/or the ox.sensor/bridge to start it up?

All your thoughts are more than welcome

[smokintr6]

You do not need all 12 plugs working for the engine to start, but it is much more ideal, and may make a difference depending on what the other issues are.

I'm not exactly sure what your problem is, but due to the fact that it has spark and seems to be shooting flames, I'm going to take a wild guess that something may be mistimed... cams, distributor, etc.

I bought an engine in similar used condition, that was no where near as nice as it should have been. One of the issues I discovered was that the crank pulley had been indexed wrong when a previous idiot took it apart. There's only one key way, but there are something like 9 bolts that hold the outer pulley to the hub, and that can be installed incorrectly. Take a quick double check to make sure that Z1 TDC on the pulley is actually #1 piston at exactly TDC. You can use something carefully through a spark plug hole to feel for the piston. The position you are showing is also not quite TDC... so make sure the distributor lines up to the correct marks when the crank is 100% on the money. Also, remember that if the TDC mark on the pulley is wrong, it could have effected the cam timing setup, as well as the initial valve adjustment.

A quick compression and or leak down test could cover some of your unknowns as well

[smokintr6]

Originally Posted by martensson

-At TDC & Z1 mark i do have the rotors pointing towards corresponding marks & inlet valve on #1 just opening.

This is definitely wrong.... at Z1 TDC you should have both valves fully closed, and the exhaust valve should be the next one cued up to upen in about 90' of camshaft rotation.

at a MINIMUM you have the distributor 180* out. At a max, all the various timing things could be screwed

[martensson]

Originally Posted by smokintr6

This is definitely wrong.... at Z1 TDC you should have both valves fully closed, and the exhaust valve should be the next one cued up to upen in about 90' of camshaft rotation.

at a MINIMUM you have the distributor 180* out. At a max, all the various timing things could be screwed

do you know what...letīs just pause here for a second. The fact that I have been to stressed out & had to many other thing to deal with this fuss made me forget the most basic principles of how a four-stroke engine works

Let me get back here 12 hours from now & i will let you know how it all went.

At some point during all the sorting & fault-finding i did not return the distributor to its original position.... You wont believe all the problems i have had hooking up this engine & harness to this car.

Hugely appreciated

[martensson]

And so im back...a tat later than i promised
My fiance would not let me start the car with her not present...it is her car so just for me to obey orders

After sorting out a few more gremlins in the harness....once more checking the distributor....she fired right up....& oooh damn what a nice song

We still have a few issues that have to be sorted out, BUT she fires up & runs

Thanks

[mikedsilva]

congrats !!

[Jim Richards]

Excellent work!