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OK- Finally got the SPG fired up! Turns out it wasn't just the injectors...
The electrical issue with no power to the injectors-
1. Checked continuity from the relay block to each injector by probing terminal 87 at the BACK of the block (where the red/ blue wire terminates into the female connector) as I didn't want to deform/ stretch out the clamping part where the male spade from the relay plugs in from the front of the relay block. No issues with the continuity.
2. Tried 4 different relays. 2 original and 2 new replacements. Same issue- Fuel pump would run during cranking, Tach bounce when Starting to crank, good spark. Fuel injectors not receiving power.
3. Decided to double (triple, quadruple?) check the wiring... While holding the block in my hand (I had unbolted it from the inner panel to make life easier) I turned it slightly to reach the back of it again and the red/ blue wire terminal fell out of the block.
4. Turns out that terminal somehow became unclipped from its fully inserted position which is secured by a barb on the terminal to a small notch in the block. It was pushed back in the block and wasn't making contact with that specific relay spade!!
5. Pushed it all the way forward in the block, made sure it was fully seated with the barb engaged and that it was it. Boom! Noid lights confirmed we've got injector pulse!
6. Still not firing though...
Mechanical issues next-
1. So there's spark and fuel... but it's not firing up. it IS backfiring like a cannon though so I decided to start with the basics and go from there.
2. Marked TDC on the flywheel and checked the cam timing as I'd decided to do a much needed head gasket years ago awhen it was having intermittent starting issues...
3. Welp, somehow I had BOTH cams 180 degrees out. Whoa boy- My bad!! Not sure WTH happened there- but it sure wasn't going to run like that. This also explained the spectacular backfires when using starting fluid. Reset both cams and of course had to redo one cam gear orientation by a single tooth when the tensioner kicked in...
4. Confirmed correct plug wire installation on the distributor and plugs. It has a new (to me) eBay numbers matching Bosch distributor which I installed when I reassembled the top end after the head gasket replacement in 2008ish (!) The original one had a loose shaft and was leaking a bit of oil into the cap from the shaft, so I bought a replacement based on the Bosch number.
5. After confirming fuel, spark, cam timing, distributor timing and double checking all the various wiring tests it still wouldn't fire. But it was still backfiring like a sonofagun. Since I'd spent 3 or 4 days cranking the heck out of it, it was new battery time. I thought
-m a b y e- that'd do it? Nope.
6. Welp- apparently those Bosch 007 distributors were used on other cars with different cam orientation... And apparently the one I bought WASN'T out of a C900... You know the offset tooth drive on the end of the distributor shaft that mates with the offset notches in the exhaust cam? Yeah. After confirming everything else, and determining the only thing left was when each cylinder was firing, I decided to pull the distributor and look at it to see if the shaft was broken or twisted or somehow damaged or ?? Everything looked perfect- the replacement distributor is super clean, almost zero shaft play, no leaks, no damage, new Hall effect sensor and spinning smoothly. Then I flipped them over and held my original 007 and this replacement 007 side by side and looked at the drive teeth... The replacement was 180 degrees out! Holy smokes- who knew? - well I sure didn't. So I tapped the pin out, rotated the drive 180 and pressed the pin back in, reinstalled the distributor and Success! it fired right up!. Turns out THOSE can be 180 degrees out too!!
Thanks everyone for all the helpful suggestions and input- It definitely helped me work through few things but in the end it was a kinda crazy combination of a few things that just required a (long and tedious) process of elimination.
REALLY looking forward to getting the ol SPG back on the road!!
posted by 73.223.14...
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