Can't get car to start with HPtuners and megasquirt...sometimes WTF?
11-20-2005, 02:37 AM
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Can't get car to start with HPtuners and megasquirt...sometimes WTF? Hey everyone here's a rundown of my setup:
99z28 with Hptuners
(HPE assembled longblock) iron block 398 stroker with fully ported 6.0 heads
cam is 116 238/238 .600/.600
LS6 intake
95 lb injectors
LC-1 wideband
Megasquirt controlling fuel
Walbro intank at 40-45 psi
TR-6's gapped at .36
Twin turbos
Here's why i am posting. My car is not consistent at all. I fired the car up for the first time the friday before last and it started after a few turns. I shut the car off after about 30 seconds and called it a day. I came back the next day and fired the car up again and let the car warm up (it ran pretty bad but i was more concerned with making sure it didn't overheat). I came back two days later and started the car again and let it run for about 20 minutes. I came back to the car this past friday and i could not get the car to fire at all but the plugs were soaked in gas. I cleaned the plugs and it kind of fired but then it just wouldn't do anything until i cleaned the plugs about 5 more times. After cleaning the plugs (with brake cleaner, electronic cleaner, a wire brush, and a cloth basically, anything that i thought would help) it finally started up and ran for about 30 minutes. I went back today and i got it to fire for about 10 seconds and that was it. I thought my plug wires had become too hot and maybe were bad so i went out and bought a set of MSD's but i don't really get anything besides a random PFFT from a cylinder firing every once in a while. The gas that i had in the car was sitting for a year so i added 6 gallons of 91 which hasn't helped. I get spark on every coil but i don't know if my timing is right.
What i tried to do for testing purposes is to hook 1 injector up at a time. This kind of works. Here's the scenario: I am working on cylinders 2,4, and 6 since the plugs are relatively easy to get to. I pull the plug on cylinder 2 and check the gap which is at .36. Next I place the plug on my windshield next to my wiper(ground source) and hook it up to the #2 coil to watch for spark. I get good spark on all coils BTW. Now i put the plug back in the head and hook up the #2 injector with a cranking pulse width of 5ms i get a steady firing. Next i do the same for #4 but i leave #2 hooked up now i don't get anything from #2 or #4 wtf? This is where i am lost. Then i disconnect #4 and now #2 only fires randomly and not like it did before.
Is the ignition not working? When i had the car running it ran like had a huge cam in it (like a 110 or 112 lsa) but this thing should be idling close to stock. Did i ruin my plugs by running rich with old gas? If i am getting good spark outside of the cylinder head does that mean that my plugs are 100% good? I just don't know where to start because i am running in circles. If anyone could talk me through getting my engine to run i would really appreciate it(preferably over the phone so i can try new ideas on the spot). I am willing to try just about anything short of tearing my motor down (it has less than an hour of use and 0 street time). I guess i am going to pick up some new plugs tomorrow to see if they help.
When i scan my car during cranking i get 13 deg of timing. Is that maybe too much? Too little? How do i adjust the timing for cranking? I put all of my timing tables to 0 and i still get 13 degrees when i crank the motor. I am guessing 13 is a permanent setting?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Greg
267-257-9574 (please feel to call anytime sunday or monday)
99z28 with Hptuners
(HPE assembled longblock) iron block 398 stroker with fully ported 6.0 heads
cam is 116 238/238 .600/.600
LS6 intake
95 lb injectors
LC-1 wideband
Megasquirt controlling fuel
Walbro intank at 40-45 psi
TR-6's gapped at .36
Twin turbos
Here's why i am posting. My car is not consistent at all. I fired the car up for the first time the friday before last and it started after a few turns. I shut the car off after about 30 seconds and called it a day. I came back the next day and fired the car up again and let the car warm up (it ran pretty bad but i was more concerned with making sure it didn't overheat). I came back two days later and started the car again and let it run for about 20 minutes. I came back to the car this past friday and i could not get the car to fire at all but the plugs were soaked in gas. I cleaned the plugs and it kind of fired but then it just wouldn't do anything until i cleaned the plugs about 5 more times. After cleaning the plugs (with brake cleaner, electronic cleaner, a wire brush, and a cloth basically, anything that i thought would help) it finally started up and ran for about 30 minutes. I went back today and i got it to fire for about 10 seconds and that was it. I thought my plug wires had become too hot and maybe were bad so i went out and bought a set of MSD's but i don't really get anything besides a random PFFT from a cylinder firing every once in a while. The gas that i had in the car was sitting for a year so i added 6 gallons of 91 which hasn't helped. I get spark on every coil but i don't know if my timing is right.
What i tried to do for testing purposes is to hook 1 injector up at a time. This kind of works. Here's the scenario: I am working on cylinders 2,4, and 6 since the plugs are relatively easy to get to. I pull the plug on cylinder 2 and check the gap which is at .36. Next I place the plug on my windshield next to my wiper(ground source) and hook it up to the #2 coil to watch for spark. I get good spark on all coils BTW. Now i put the plug back in the head and hook up the #2 injector with a cranking pulse width of 5ms i get a steady firing. Next i do the same for #4 but i leave #2 hooked up now i don't get anything from #2 or #4 wtf? This is where i am lost. Then i disconnect #4 and now #2 only fires randomly and not like it did before.
Is the ignition not working? When i had the car running it ran like had a huge cam in it (like a 110 or 112 lsa) but this thing should be idling close to stock. Did i ruin my plugs by running rich with old gas? If i am getting good spark outside of the cylinder head does that mean that my plugs are 100% good? I just don't know where to start because i am running in circles. If anyone could talk me through getting my engine to run i would really appreciate it(preferably over the phone so i can try new ideas on the spot). I am willing to try just about anything short of tearing my motor down (it has less than an hour of use and 0 street time). I guess i am going to pick up some new plugs tomorrow to see if they help.
When i scan my car during cranking i get 13 deg of timing. Is that maybe too much? Too little? How do i adjust the timing for cranking? I put all of my timing tables to 0 and i still get 13 degrees when i crank the motor. I am guessing 13 is a permanent setting?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Greg
267-257-9574 (please feel to call anytime sunday or monday)
11-20-2005, 11:39 AM
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With the Megasquirt, two sets of four injectors will be wired directly together in parallel. So if you unplug one and another stops working, you've wired them incorrectly. Start there, by double-checking your wiring of the injectors.
11-20-2005, 03:02 PM
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The injectors are wired in parallel and they do work independently of each other (that's how i get 1 cylinder to fire by itself). I just came back from the car and i installed 1 tr-55 in the #2 cylinder, set the cranking pulse to 1.9ms, and it fired consistently. When i pulled the plug it was black and wet so i got a match and i didn't get a flame or a flash. The only way i could clean the residue is to wipe it off. What i will try tomorrow is emptying the tank and putting 100% fresh fuel in it (i have a mix of about 3 gallons of year old 91 with about 6 gallons of brand new 91) maybe there's something else in the tank (water maybe although i doubt it). When i started the car last week i noticed that it smelled like it had cats hooked up so maybe there's some water in the tank and is preventing the car from firing.
Is there anyway my timing could be off and that's why it won't fire? That wouldn't make a whole lot of sense since i started the car a few times but i guess anything is possible. This is my whole problem...the car fired fine the first few times i tried to start it but now it's a problem. I am pretty confident i don't have a wiring issue or an ignition issue. The ONLY thing that has not been removed or tested was the gas.
Greg
Is there anyway my timing could be off and that's why it won't fire? That wouldn't make a whole lot of sense since i started the car a few times but i guess anything is possible. This is my whole problem...the car fired fine the first few times i tried to start it but now it's a problem. I am pretty confident i don't have a wiring issue or an ignition issue. The ONLY thing that has not been removed or tested was the gas.
Greg
11-21-2005, 03:17 AM
#4
hmm since your using HPT can you set your timing back to a know working program, then concentrate on the fuel first.
seems like it would be the fuelling on MS you would have to work out. do you think maybe your putting to much fuel in it and it floods or fouls it to fast?
seems like it would be the fuelling on MS you would have to work out. do you think maybe your putting to much fuel in it and it floods or fouls it to fast?
