My 83 tale...

[sjb15316]

I just got my 83 back from the shop and put together and cranked it for the first time in 4.5 years back in Oct '12. Didn't run great, but I was so excited to have it back that I really didn't care as long as it would run "fair".... Well, now that the "new" has worn off, I went out to crank it a couple of weeks ago and got NOTHING. Drained the battery trying to get it cranked. Put the charger on it and left in my truck. After a couple of day, I tried again...nada! After thinking about it... I decided to pull the coil off the '80 and give it a try... cranked right up! Just for giggles, I tried the original coil and it started too! Hmm??? Anyway, since that day, it's pretty much run ragged, such as running rich, missing, backfiring, etc... just running like crap!

So lately, I've started doing the normal things I figured that might be needed to be done after 4.5 years... Plugs, wires, cap & button, new O2 sensor, checked all the circuits at the harness... All are good or really close to FSM except I can't get the blinking light on the ECU to work. Does that only indicate the O2 function? Yesterday, I thought it might be the FPR, check it for vac & return and it's good. Blew the line out while I had it loose...Did the AFM "overhaul" that kamikazeracing.org described today... and it's still bad, but seems to be smoothing out as I gain speed. I'm wondering if my problem is in the injectors... going to pull the fuel feed line tomorrow after it sits all night and see if it's holding pressure... should tell me if I've got one bad if it's "leaking" off... right???

Oh... replaced all the vac lines with silicone ones before I ever rebuilt it or sent it to the shop. They still appear to be as good as when I put them on...

Is there anything I'm missing? Obviously there is, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. Suggestions???

[sjb15316]

Pulled the supply line between the filter and the rail... some gas (maybe a bit of pressure), but definitely not any psi to speak of... So I pulled it into the shop and started taking the rail off... Man!!! what an ordeal to just get to the injectors. Nobody local has them, so I ordered and they'll be here sometime mid-week. After all this, I was thinking of all I did.. and earlier in the week, I changed the IC unit from an old distributor I had... Didn't really seem to make any difference one way or the other, so I just left it installed. Are these a "it works or it doesn't" kind of circuit or can they start to weaken over time??? Wish I'd thought to reinstall the other one after I did the AFM rebuild yesterday, but it's too late now... I'm committed to a new set of injectors. BTW... I did find a couple of the "insulators" cracked... could that have been my trouble all this time???? Still wondering about the "blinking" light on my ECU. Anyone got an answer on that one? I'll keep posting.

[Zed Head]

Pulled the supply line between the filter and the rail... some gas (maybe a bit of pressure), but definitely not any psi to speak of...

I did the AFM rebuild yesterday, but it's too late now...

I did find a couple of the "insulators" cracked... could that have been my trouble all this time????

Nothing will work right if you don't have the right fuel pressure. I'm not familiar with any AFM rebuild procedures and the kamikaze link is "under construction". The insulators are there for vibration and heat insulation. The smaller o-rings at the bottom are vacuum seals for the intake manifold. The cracked insulators won't affect the way the engine runs.

I would check fuel pressure and flow before going too much further.

[sjb15316]

Hey Zed... here's the link to the rebuild site...

AFMrebuild

Any ideas on the blinking light on the ECU question???

[Zed Head]

Weird, you must have found it through Google or some other link. If you try just Web Page Under Construction it doesn't work. Pretty basic stuff though, hard to go wrong unless you adjust the spring when it doesn't need it.

On the blinking light: Are you not trusting what the FSM says? Page EF&EC 47 > if "N.G." (no blinking light), test the O2 sensor and the harness. Did you do the tests on page 48?

[sjb15316]

I think I located the "rebuild" site here or on ZDriver site... can't remember. Anyway, thought it was a good page for future reference. My initial question is/was concerning the "purpose" of the little blinking light. Mine is not blinking. The test I ran is on page 16. Continuity exists... so I replaced the O2 sensor... still no blinking light. SOOOOOOOOOOO.... I was wondering if that was the sole purpose of the little light blinking. I have yet to find anywhere in the FSM that states exactly its purpose.

[sjb15316]

Oh, you mentioned fuel pressure. While technically I haven't checked the pressure, I did put a NEW OEM fuel pump on the car back in Sept of last year while I was putting it back together after the body shop was through, so I really didn't see any need in checking it. The tank was basically empty when I got it back, so I put 5 or 10 gals in it and drove it for a few days (sloshing it around, so to speak) and changed the filter. I was surprised the filter wasn't too bad. However, when I broke the fuel line loose at the filter... it spewed pretty forcefully, so I'm assuming my pressure is good. I know assumptions make for bad calls sometimes, but that's where I'm at... and you mentioned it earlier and I didn't "address" it at the time.

[Zed Head]

Thought you had the ECCS since you said "blinking". I don't think that the EFI system is "monitored" periodically like the ECCS appears to do.

I think that the EFI lamp only glows when the O2 sensor is hot and the O2 level is above or below the narrow band threshold. That's why the FSM has you ground the sensor connector while watching the lamp. That mimics hot and either lean or rich (can't remember which) condition. If you ground the O2 connector and the light glows, then disconnect it and it goes out, that means the harness and ECU circuit are O.K. The lamp probably doesn't go on during normal usage until the manifold is hot and the lean or rich condition is met.

Just a guess, I have a 76 with no O2 sensor. Hopefully I'm not confusing things.

[sjb15316]

I appreciate your input... All I know is, right after I first got the car (back in '05), I was driving one night and I could see the side of my tennis shoe lighting up periodically. "WHAT THE H#%%???" . Anyway, found out it was supposed to blink and if you'll look on page 15 of the FSM... it's supposed to blink every 2 seconds or less... So I have no clue where to go next. Got to run right now, but I do have another possible idea that I'll post when I get back. Thanks again... sometimes another person to bounce things off of helps out even if they don't have the exact same vehicle.

[Zed Head]

You know more than I do. I missed the monitoring function. I thought it was like the coolant temperature sensor, just off and on. Didn't know the EFI ECU was that sophisticated.

Maybe it just needs a good Italian tune-up.

[sjb15316]

Hey Gentlemen (and Ladies)... Well, the "running like crap" issue finally came down to the injectors. I had replaced them shortly before I sent it to the shop. Guess in my haste to get it back on the road cost me in the end. I should have pulled the tank and done a "rinse" on it. Anyway, 6 new injectors later, it's back to "purring". However, right before I installed the injectors, I drove it on an errand and it blew the seam on the muffler. ... what else can go wrong??? So I have pulled the muffler seam back together and "Zip-screwed" it back together. It's not perfect, but a great improvement over the noise it was making. Anyway, yesterday, I was going to take it on my first road trip to check the mileage, etc and was running late, so I grabbed my spare keys ("worn-out" would be more accurate) and when I went to crank it, the tumbler on the ignition only went halfway around and jammed! Wiggled, twisted, WD40'd it trying to get it go back to the "lock" position (I was already running late!).... nada. Leaving town/keys in car... NOT! I first pulled the neg cable to kill the "dinging" (you know that stupid bell that tells you your keys are still in the ignition) and proceeded to pull the key out (yeah, I know, bad idea), but I was in a hurry and couldn't get it cranked or turned back to "off" position, so I must have wrecked the tumblers inside. Got back today and pulled the assembly from the steering column to see if I might fix it, but it's toast, and the tumbler is jammed in the unit, and I can't get the tumbler out because you have to be able to "turn" the tumbler as you release it and so I'll have to order another complete assembly tomorrow. STBM! (oh, that's "sux2bme")

So now another question for you... anyone have a recommendation on a new muffler? I haven't been able to find one from Black Dragon or anywhere else. I'd really like to go back stock or close to stock. I did find this one:

Exhaust System - Auto Parts Warehouse

Anyone ever try one?

RE: CO2 sensor... I thought, what the hell, maybe I got a bad "new" one, so I bit the bullet and bought another... same thing. Light still won't blink. Runs ok... don't know about the fuel mileage yet... that's kind of what I had in mind about taking it to the ballgame yesterday... Anyway... just thought I'd update the thread if anyone might be interested.