45 replies to this topic

[mintlawmaisie1994]

Update, 

 

Massive thanks to FS for the relay pack and advice at Glamis on Sunday. We are not worthy!!

 

Fitted the pack and instantly got a spark and a strong shower of fuel from the injector, so that was one problem out of the way. Set the (Bosch) plug gaps to 0.8 mm (they were about 0.6 mm) and reset the lost motion doohickie as it strayed a little with the new relay pack. Double checked (corrected  ) the plug lead order and set the static timing with number 1 at TDC and the lead on the dizzy at roughly 1 o'clock. Turning over, sparking on all four plugs, but still not catching. Now and again there's a little bit of a back-fire (pop) while cranking, but nothing worth writing home about. Battery on charge over night as it was starting to slow at the end. Cleaned and copper greased the earth terminal too, to be 100% sure. Also plugged the vacuum pipe to the air cleaner box with a screw in case that makes a difference. I'll do it better tomorrow night with something better, to be sure it seals properly.  

 

Might try new NGKR6ES plugs and see if that does anything The sparks are there, but are sometimes not very consistent. Now and again they seemed to jump past the pin and off to the side, rather than straight across. Also they look a bit yellow, when I seem to think they should be blue? (dunno why I think that, maybe it's just a grey moment). Anyhow, now looking for words of wisdom as to what to check next.

 

 

Question, what DOES the fuel trap do and why is it so improtant to change it regularly? 

 

 

Gav

[FlyingScot]

Hello Gav

Good to meet you at Glamis and help move the ball forward a bit.
Check which coil you have fitted - Kernow Cooper has a pinned thread in FAQs, if you have the wrong one this could be causing a weak spark.
Fuel trap; it's to stop fumes and fuel vapour reaching the MAP sensor, which on an SPi is soldered onto the main board inside your MEMS ECU. If it get contaminated or gets liquid in it, it's done and you can't easily replace hence my mantra of replacement.........

FS

[mintlawmaisie1994]

Update,

The coil is an Intermotor. No numbers but it's pretty new.

I checked the valve clearances tonight too and they are all now 0.012" (0.3mm).

Now when I turn over, the injector sprays fuel for a few seconds then stops, then starts again after a few seconds. Then it backfires up through the manifold. Scary stuff!

Checked the rotor arm position and had to turn the dizzy drive shaft a couple of positions to get the arm to point at plug 1. Should it be at 1 o'clock position, or pointing at the number one piston, with piston 1 at TDC? Cleaned the rotor and the internal pins in the dizzy cap. All four plugs sparking.

Now the backfiring is a worry.

[mintlawmaisie1994]

Will check the coil post tomorrow.

[FlyingScot]

Gav

Pull the fuel line off the injector and rule out the pump faulting giving intermittent flow. Need to re read your thread but you changed the crank sensor? Intermittent fuel flow is either a component issue or MEMS is cutting the signal (usually due to the crank sensor)

FS

[mintlawmaisie1994]

new crank sensor fitted.

[mintlawmaisie1994]

Some more checks:

 

I couldn't see how to take of the fuel line off the injector, without getting fuel all over the place, so I tested the voltage coming to it instead. In DC mode my tester showed 0 VDC. Watching the spray, it seems to pulse, making me think that my tester couldn't keep up and the voltage was switching on and off faster than I could read it? Switching to AC mode, I could see 1.1 VAC for around 5 seconds, then it would drop to zero for a couple of seconds then back up again. So it appears that the ECU is cutting the fuel about every 5 seconds. Could this be that because its not firing up, the ECU is cutting the fuel to stop it from drowning? 

 

Next I took off the starter and had a look for the timing marks on the flywheel, in case it was on wrong. I jacked up the front of the car and put it in 4th, so I could very slowly turn one of the road-wheels and turnover the engine. I attached a timing disk onto the pulley, with the timing mark on it, so I could keep track of the crank position. I found that the two blank spots in the timing marks were visible in the starter hole about 30 degrees past TDC and BDC, which seems correct. Is there a difference between the spaces at TDC and BDC? I thought I could see (maybe imagined) a bigger space at BDC, than at TDC. Anyhow, it looks like the flywheel is on correctly. 

 

Next, I turned over the engine in 45 degree steps (Clockwise) and noted the positions of the pistons, rotor arm and valves, to be sure that the timing was good.

 

The clearances are a little too big in most cases at 0.012 - 0.015 Inches (should be 0.0106 to 0.0118 inches, or 0.27 to 0.3 mm I believe), so I’ll reset those and try again.

 

Now the biggest issue is the car is backfiring back through the inlet manifold and causing a small fire, which I just blow out, but it’s scary and I don’t want to keep repeating the same. Double and triple checked the plug leads. Firing order is 1, 3, 4, 2 with the rotor arm turning anti-clockwise.

 

Video of the crank marks and valve position table are uploaded to dropbox.

 

https://www.dropbox....7sj3T4gH2a?dl=0

 

 

Now I'm stuck again.      

Edited by mintlawmaisie1994, 23 July 2016 - 03:19 PM.

[mintlawmaisie1994]

New Update!!

 

I managed to get MEMS Gauge software loaded onto a windows laptop today and fired it up with a home made plug. Finally, some progress!!! It showed that the air inlet cooling temp sensor was faulty. Is this the one on the bottom of the inlet manifold, or the air cleaner?

 

I also found that the 36 pin plug connecting to the ECU had a loose connection, so I'm going to dismantle it and change all the female sockets, since that could explain the eratic fuel injector spray. Fingers crossed this leads me out of the woods.

 

Screen shot of the MEMS gauge software is up on dropbox. 100 KPa is about right for a stopped engine. I pulled off the vacuum pipe and managed to suck it down to 80 KPA, but strangely it didnt pull down at all, while turning over the engine. Is this right? Tried again with the air cleaner on and screwed down tight, to see if I could feel a pull of air into the inlet.  Nothing.....I would have expected my hand to get sucked onto the inlet. Connecting the air cleaner and the air temperature sensor, didn't make the fault go away, so suggesting its the inlet manifold temperature sensor?

 

I tested the relays on the bottom right of the screen and all clicked as they should do. Managed to move the throttle pot too. 

 

Off to order a new inlet temp sensor and a fuel trap, in case its blocked

Edited by mintlawmaisie1994, 23 July 2016 - 05:19 PM.

[FlyingScot]

Fuel pipe can be removed but your right you need to catch it in a glass jar etc.
It is pulsed but quickly, sounds like yours could have a loose connection.

IAT is the green sensor underneath the airbox.
The vacuum at the tube is very small, but pipes and fuel trap are service items and must be replaced.
Make sure you don't push on the elbows too far (blocking them).
100kpa non running is correct should drop to about 40 when at idle

FS

Edited by FlyingScot, 23 July 2016 - 09:41 PM.

[mintlawmaisie1994]

Update, been away all week, so only had a chance to do a bit more today.

 

Replaced all the female sockets on the ECU plug one at a time, so I didn't get them mixed up. All tight now whereas they were very loose, when I checked the cut off sockets, on the UCU pins. Than measn the ECU has been checked and the pins all have good connections.

 

Fuel still sprays for a few seconds, then stops, so not a loose connection at the 36 pin socket, will test the injector circuit next. The car backfires through the inlet manifold on turnover. It actually has burst into flames inside the inlet manifold and more worryingly down the back of the engine, more than once, so I have to quickly blow out the flames before they damage anything and this means I can’t turn it over for more than a few seconds at a time. Would unburnt fuel in the inlet manifold leak out past the exhaust gasket? I've had it off and on a few times getting the exhaust to fit. If I had damaged it, could that be partly to blame for not starting, maybe losing suction?

 

Checked the timing marks, with an electronic gun and the spark is when the first small mark and the notch on the wheel are aligned (4 Deg?) BTDC, while turning over. Reading my Haynes manual, there seems to be not much I can do to change that.  

 

Checked the coil resistance. Between + and -ve, it's 6.5 Ohms. Between + and centre is 7.5K, so that looks like it needs replaced according to the test described in the Haynes manual.

 

Sucked on the Absolute pressure sensor hose and good clear communication through to the inlet manifold. Sucked on the air cleaner vacuum pipe and its also clear through to the inlet manifold, so no blockages there.

 

Battery volts 12.6 VDC, Coil +ve 12.5 VDC

 

Connected the laptop again, cleared the faults and they didn’t reappear, so that's always good. Where should the trhottle pot be at start-up with a cold engine? I have choice of closed, 25, 50, 75 and 100% open. Should I also see the butterfly moving when this happens, as it seems to be shut all the time, unless I manually move the throttle. I understood it was acting like a choke, and let me think the butterfly should move too, depending on the engine temperature. 

 

Now I see a few drips of water coming down from between the head and the block. I wipe it away and its back again next time I go out to the car. Both were skimmed and fitted with a new gasket and properly tightened, so I'm hoping this will stop after I get it going, but should I worry about this now or wait until I get it started, then worry about it?

 

Rigged up a 100 psi pressure gauge and managed to get it to full scale after a couple of seconds, so it looks like I’ve got plenty of compression on all four cylinders.

 

Head scratching again.

Edited by mintlawmaisie1994, 30 July 2016 - 05:04 PM.

[mintlawmaisie1994]

Oh bother, my favourite mini is still not playing nicely. Another £100 quid of parts and still the little bastard refuses to start.  

 

New GCL143 coil (for Electronic Ignition 89 on). Left on the old condenser, is this a mistake?

New Crank Sensor (fitted previously)

New NGK BR6ES plugs set at 0.8 mm

New Fuel Trap

New Vacuum hoses on ECU to fuel trap, fuel trap to manifold and air filter box

New Dizzy Cap

New Rotor Arm

Freshly charged battery

ECU Checked OK

"New" Relay Pack

New water temperature sensor under the inlet manifold. 

New flywheel keyway locating plate. I did this when re-attaching the flywheel to the crank, so it should be impossible for the flywheel to be 180 deg out (is this a bad assumption? I did check plug one spark with a gun and it was dead on the 4 deg timing mark on the pulley, also this is confirmed by the MEMS Analyser).

 

Valve clearances are a all 12 thou (inches) now. 

 

I ran MEMS Analyser and the screen shots are loaded into Dropbox. No fault codes when running MEMS Gauge either, so hopefully someone can look at the screen shots and say "there's the problem". The idle bypass position goes to 77% is this right? Will moving the bypass motor make any difference?  

 

Interestingly the backfire through the inlet manifold is still there, but ONLY when the throttle is held fully open. If I try to start it without touching the throttle, there is no back fire. I pulled off the inlet manifold and reattached it with sealer around the ports and gasket. I can gear it sucking on turnover now. Plenty of spark too, though it just seems to be on the outside of the engine instead of the inside. Maybe I've inadvertently converted it to an external combustion engine   

 

Screen shots are here. 

 

https://www.dropbox....7sj3T4gH2a?dl=0

 

Copy the link into your browser and it will take you to the folder in dropbox.

 

Reading my Haynes manual, it refers to a ignition amplifier module. I've never heard of that before is there one on an SPI?

Also should the purge valve be open or closed normally? When does it operate? 

 

any more words of wisdom out there? 

Edited by mintlawmaisie1994, 03 September 2016 - 04:08 PM.

[mintlawmaisie1994]

HELP!!

[FlyingScot]

Okay I'm back my hols, let me re read your thread and I'll come back to you

FS

[mintlawmaisie1994]

FS,

 

thanks for getting back, I was hoping someone else could respond as I figured you were working or on hols. Anyhow, it's too late my friend!! She runs!!

 

I figured it had to be something to do with the timing, so I started to look at the sparking order again. I found that the spark for 1 was at TDC as seen previously, BUT it was at TDC on the exhaust stroke, not the compression stroke. At TDC on number one's compression stroke, the rotor arm was at the 7pm position, trying to light up 4, which was on its exhaust stroke at the time. Simple  !! Took off the dizzy, extracted the drive using a rear sub-frame bolt (nice and long to reach in, so it doesn't drop into the sump), spun it round 180 Deg and put it all back together again. Bingo, first turn and she's away!!! Off to run MEMS Analyser on it now for 10 mins and make sure everything looks fine. 

 

Thanks SOOOOOOOOOO much for keeping me sane and your encouragement to keep on tinkering. 

[FlyingScot]

FS