Some of you may remember a post from awhile back dealing with my cars "old phone/anti-theft system" which somehow shut down my car. Long story short, after a lot of work, that has been resolved. However, I now am dealing with this thing just not starting. Got fuel, got spark, everything is a go .... just wont fire up. At first it would start and then die within 3 seconds. Now, just wont start. It smells very heavily of fuel (rich) leading me to believe I killed a sensor somewhere, possibly the Oxygen sensor as this was bad before-hand (according to the check-system anyway). Is it possible for the car to run rich enough because of a bad O2 though, that it wont start? My biggest issue really is a budget. I cant even afford a haynes manual to identify where all my sensors are and what they are.
So I am hoping this to be a common diagnosis. Maybe someone has made a similar repair and knows one or two things that could be doing this. If it was a 280Z, I would have already fixed it. I know there are similar components to fuel injection no matter what car, but they all have different names etc.. used. If anyone can help, please let me know. Thanks!
~M.

 

Welcome to Continuous Injection System (CIS)hell. It sounds like tyou have a vaccum leak. CIS is a great system when it works, but it can be a nightmare to diagnose when it won't start. Start by disconneting and pluging (or pinching off) every vaccum line that comes off of the intake manifold,leave the idle valve connected, and then try to start it. It will probably run poorly, reconnect (unpinch) the vaccum lines one at a time and wait for it to die. When it dies, trace the last vaccum line until you find the leak.

This site will also help you greatly http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/troubl...g/trouble.html He covers most of the info that is in the factory manuals and adds his insight.

 

Speaking of CIS woes, you can do a quick check on the air meter plate.
Pop off the output hose from your air box on the air/fuel metering head.
The plate should be centered the edge should be level, and flush with the taper of the housing.

I'll try to find a picture of this.

 

The top photo is the metering plate, in the photo it's not flush with the side casing, it's actually above the taper, (pay no attention to the "shim")allowing too much initial air to pass by.that's bad. Your's shouldn't look like this if it does, theres a broken circlip on the bottom side of the plate.
The part costs 2 bucks.

 

And finally a link tailored to the turbo cars, but most of these apply to the non-turbo cars as well.


http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/troubl...ing/boost.html