Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Have been wiring up a sound system for the past few days, been starting the car each day, went to drive today, car didn't want to start, had to jump start it to get it going, once it was running I had to hold my foot on the gas to keep it running and when I took it off the car died. The revs took ages to pick up when I put my foot down, didn't want to drive it at all though. Thinking its on 3cylinders s it shake and sounds like a subaru and my 3rd cylinder injection plug is loose and stuffed so that may be the problem?? Can anyone else give me a hand diagnosing it?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 My 3rd cylinder injection plug is loose and is probably the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Seems a little weird that it would suddenly do it after you were wiring in stuff....... you check all your fuses? But to me it does sound like its running on three. Best way to check whick one, pull out a spark plug lead and see if it runs the same or worse. then put it back and do it to the next cylinder till you have tried all four. The one that you pulled and didnt make it run worse is the cylinder that is the problem. Generally I have found most injector plugs on these seem to be fucked over time, but the still seem to work all good, not saying that isnt nesseraly the problem tho. How extensive is the sound system? Have you wired in an amp? If so, unwire and see if it runs better. Did you mess around with the earth cable to the motor at all? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllTorque Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I once heard a story of a fulla that wired his amp to the fuel pump power feed. Doof doof goes up and car goes slow. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 So its cylinder 3 that isn't running, have had it on 3 a while ago and was the plug at fault there. Just stuck it down and was fine. Tried amplifier idea and that didn't change it but yes I have fiddled with engine ground wire, how would that affect it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 if the ground wire to your engine is fucked, broken or highly corroded, your engine electrics wont work correctly As most sensors use a power feed and a ground, they usually use the motor as a ground instead of running two sets of wires to every little sensor back to the ECU. therefore, if the earth lead is fucked, all the sensors wont be getting earth properlly and running high resistance, and maybe even try and back feed up other wires to work. So to start with, your starter motor is the biggest user of the earth cable to the motor, hence why it could be not turning over good. try taking one of your jump leads, attach to the negative side of your battery, and the other end somewhere on the engine. make sure its on everything good and see if it starts and runs better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 My battery is in my boot unfortunately I might just sand down the earth cable point and see if that makes a difference. Or relocate it to a better place. It needs to go on an unpainted part of the chassis eh?? Shit I didn't realise so much was dependent om the ground wire?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 yeah generally to an un painted place is best, however with a cleaned up bolt, including thread, and a a good clean location for it to screw into should be enough. You can also try using the jump cable from the engine to a good earth in your engine bay. Essentually what your doing there is using the jumper cable as the engine earth strap instead. has your battery always been in the boot or did you just do that? there is still the possbitily I am leading you up the wrong track, but its where I would be starting. And dont use super cheap Jumper leads, they are shit. Also when you have it running, stick a multi meter across your battery with the lights on etc and make sure its getting enough charge, should be 14.4v, but with extended battery cables that you are running to get the battery in the boot, you will loose some voltage, so maybe expect 13.5ish volt instead. As always, its hard to diagnose these sorts of things without seeing the car, but, well, atleast your learning something for the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Haha learning a shitload for the future mate?! Yeah battery's been there when the engine transplant was done. Will have to borrow a mates multimeter eh. You've been a great help dude, will let you know how it all works out tomorrow Cheers again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Tried the grounding this morning and it didn't make any difference, had to jump start it again. Could hear the starter motor clicking away before jumping it. Still sounds lumpy as hell, like a bloody subaru EW, and refuses to idle, have to hold my foot on the gas to keep it running. Going to try seek out a fuel injection plug this morning, but any other ideas?? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 About the best suggestion I could come up with vs what you have described is to get the battery charged up with a trickle charger (at your local battery seller/workshop) and also put a new set of spark plugs in it. I think one or two plugs could be wet from the constant start/stop on cold start every day and not getting up to temp. However if it is an urgent fix then I would be seeking professional help rather than over the internet - it could take you days if not weeks asking for advice via this method because to be honest it could be DOZENS of things that are causing your symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelies Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 ^^yes needle in a haystack my 4age had all types of stupid problems and behaved like yours for a while. have you looked at the timing? though i never solved the actual problem (sorry no magic solutions here) i found it would splutter and shudder like the leads were on the wrong plugs, till i moved the dizzy and it would pop into this odd sweet spot where the car became driveable. never figured out why though dammit. now i prowl the badlands/4age threads. a failure hunting answers. a bountyhunter, an injection fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toucan Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 All those 4age injector plugs are old and brittle, all the ones on my motor were broken and didn't 'clip' in. So I sat them all in place and cable tied them down to prevent them from moving. New plugs from Toyota are expensive but a better option. If the problem started when you installed your sounds, I would double check everything you did there. Also charge the battery before doing any further diagnosing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 The biggest pain in the ass is the fact that it was running sweet as before hand, and now that i've messed with it, somehow by doing a stereo, its running like shit. I'm charging it up as we speak but only replaced the sparkplugs about 4weeks ago, I seriously didn't think I could fuck up this big by just putting sounds in to be honest. Mine definitely splutters and shudders, the whole car vibrates like a jackhammer. God this is frustrating -.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Still going with replacing the spark plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage Grumble Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I'd get someone to do a compression test on the engine, its most likely electrical, but seems odd that you have to hold your foot to the floor to get it to run, even with one cylinder not firing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 thats what I was thinking, I've had it on 3cylinders before but it never sounded as lumpy/helicoptery and was driveable, this I wouldnt dare to drive because it feels like i'm ramming a knife up and under my fingernails, am going to try the sparkys now, give em a clean up etc and try the when the battery is charged. What could I have done whilst installing a sound system to completely mess with the whole engine man?! 0.o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelies Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 left ign on and fucked the coil? not sure how credible that is but you never know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Actually, Tom's velobike runs like that with a fucked condenser, so check that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasi Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 sorry what's IGN?? And where would I find my condenser, engine transplants makes everything harder to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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