mk1b turns over but wont start

[mosguido]

hey, long time since posting but finally have another mk1...

Its a mk1b, been running well since i've had it for the past few weeks, starts first time straight away, engine has no issues and nothing to be worried about.

Today, i go out to it to go to the shops, and the car turns over but won't start up.putting foot on accelerator to give it some gas makes no difference. Can smell fuel, and the starter is working fine and battery is charged fully and it turns over as if it was going to start with no issues whatsoever.

Any ideas on what this could be causing this? My first thought is that it might be an immobiliser/alarm issue as my old mk1 had one and had these symptoms if i forgot to flick the switch to get the fuel pump running.
How can I check? Wasn't sure if it was related or not, but theres a wire coming from the engine bay fuse box which looks a bit ghetto'd and I can't remember what the part its connected to is called, but then another wire from same location loops through the engine bay and i believe back into the drivers side of the car. Any info on what that might be would be great. On the few engine removals I've done on my previous mr2s I don't recall seeing anything like that..
Have attached a few pics which may help.

Any help much appreciated and any steps I can take to figure out whats wrong

G


IMG_4271 by K2spb, on Flickr


IMG_4270 by K2spb, on Flickr


IMG_4269 by K2spb, on Flickr

[jon_st205]

Ghetto is a manual choke/waxstat removal - so you should have a button somewhere on your dash for that, but it wouldn't stop it firing up.

Assuming you don't have an immobiliser I would suspect an ignition fault - have a look at the king lead/dizzy cap/rotor arm.

Cheers,
Jon

[jon_st205]

Also, on the kiss principle, check it's not popped the EFI fuse in the fuse box you have photo'd (make sure you turn the car off before checking the fuses ).

Jon

[mosguido]

just checked EFi fuse and is fine. The king lead doesn't appear to be damaged or anything, and the cap and rotor arm look good too

[mosguido]

when i tried to start again now, had foot on gas, when id stopped cranking the engine as it wasn't firing, it made hiss (not quite a splutter) as if it was thinking about starting but thats it. Could smell fuel again too

[mk1 dal]

check cam belt it might have snapped , also have you got a spark at the plugs

[mosguido]

ill check and se eif the plugs are getting a spark, thats remove spark plug, attach to HT lead and then hold or rest spark plug on engine block right? if so ill do that tonight and see. will check cam belt tmrw, but that was done within the last year and i suspect that will be ok

any checks i can do to see if it might be immobilised or anything like that?

cheers for advice so far.

[mosguido]

ok so decided to go outside and check stuff now in the dark, spark plugs have spark, with removed and grounded against/near engine block could see spark.
also looked under cam cover and cam belt is intact and does not move and is fine.

I also just to be sure, ran diagnostics which showed one flash (no problems), and also bridged the Fp and B connectors and the fuel pump is working too.

Whats my next step?

[SuperRedMR2]

This seems to be a problem affecting quite a few owners at the moment - mine constantly doesn't hold a charge which is my issue.

[mk1 dal]

check you have power going to the injectors , check all earths and wiring in boot to the ecu in case the boots leaked with all this rain we have had , but its most probably the immobilizer gone boobs up .

[mosguido]

mk1 dai,

just have a chance to post now, last night, did another few checks on spark plugs and found that two (nearest dizzy were a bit wet including the leads) and the two others were fine. Dizzy cap off again and was dry and looked ok.
Cleaned spark plugs up a bit, then fired car, and with some gas it chugged and then came to life and is now running again.
It has been two days since it rained so i think this must be a spark/ignition issue then and its dried a bit and now works.

So im guessing ill need to replace ht leads, dizzy cap/rotor (for peace of mind), spark plugs too. what area is most likely to be allowing it to get wet in there, seal around engine lid looked pretty tight? Any good places to get HT leads from that won't kill the bank?

when it did fire up and revved, there was a bit of a 'sparky' sound for a few mins and a bit of a clicking i guess, and also now when i turn the engine off it 'sighs'/makes a weird honking noise. Ill attach a video, any suggestions on what this might be? It def didn't happen before the non starting issue, and its quite a clear sound so someone here must know..

thanks for all the help again and any suggestions appreciated.

Guy

heres the link to the video as don't thin it will attach..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9629016@N07/10840332576/