No start & misfiring on SPI mini

[dutchy1978]

Hi All,

finally got to the point where I could crank the engine over for the first time after taking it out of a half cut & putting it in my newly restored body.
Details: 1988 Rover mini with a 1994 1.3 SPI manual. full wiring harness and running gear were installed. the vehicle was running before i removed it from the half cut so i know it should run ok.

Things that i have done to the engine are: had the head ported and bigger inlet valves installed. All gaskets changed from the block up. i removed the timing chain and gears after marking both the chain and gears to ensure it all went back to the same position.

The engine cranked and nearly kicked over but just wouldn't go that extra bit to start. Fuel is fine, there is spark. All wiring plugs are connected except the instument cluster plug which i didn't think would make a difference. After checking the rotor i found that it was pointing to cylinder 4 instead of 1 when it is TDC. i changed the leads around and now it back fires through the throttle body and still won't start. It sounded like it would have more chance of starting with the leads the wrong way round but obviously that won't happen.

Any ideas or testing that i could do? i have tried everything i know and am stuck. there are heaps of pics on my website incase you want to have a look at what i have done to assist. dutchysmini.com

[94touring]

Well my experience with carbed minis and backfiring through the carb was timing related, typically too retarded.

[dutchy1978]

yeh mine too but the injection seems to be different. Turning the Distributor didn't make a difference.

[dutchy1978]

STOP!!! just worked out that when both 1st & 4th cylinder are at the top that the timing mark will still be at '0' so i will change the leads back to their original position which didn't back fire.

So back to square one. cranks and almosts kisk over but doesn't. i'll go home disconnect the ECU and plug it back in and check the vacumm lines to see if this helps.

[danotje]

This is probably a long shot, but make sure your fuel lines are hooked up correctly. When I changed to a stage 1 kit a few years ago, I couldn't get the car to start and I had only put on an intake and exhaust! When I pulled the plugs, they were coated with gas. After a week of trial and error (and a lot of frustration  50.gif <--perfect), I found that I'd reconnected the fuel lines at the fuel pump backwards. They looked like they should go the way I connected them, but after swapping them, the car sputtered then roared to life. Simple and very difficult to find. Pull the plugs if you haven't and see if they're telling you anything.

[dutchy1978]

I am pretty sure that I have put them on correctly as I had plenty of photos of the half cut mini before I took it apart. One of the pipes on the fuel pump in the tank had orange collar on it which matched the hose up near the throttle boddy. The throttle body also has arrows on it for feed and return. 

Tonight it started with the throttle open all the way but was barely chugging with full throttle on. It then died about 5-10 seconds later. three of the four plugs had fuel on them and one didn't. The car was on a lean in the drive way so maybe that was the reason why. Now stuck as to why it is barely running this way.

[danotje]

Can't help thinking it is fuel delivery since you said 3 plugs had gas on them, but then how much and why #4 didn't have it might say otherwise. The only other culprit would be spark which wouldn't allow the gas to ignite/burn off. If you had actual fuel on the plugs, then they aren't getting hot/producing spark or they are getting drenched in gas. Timing could be a problem, but you said it ran before, right? If you haven't tampered with any settings (i.e. moved the dizzy, etc), then I'd look at what you did affect. Think you said something about the timing chain. Only thing there is that the plugs would still fire and ignite the fuel, just not at the right moment. That could have devastating effects, so be careful. Really, the two things I'm thinking is either no spark (timing, dead coil, plug gaps, points?) or way too much fuel (about the only way would be incorrect fuel delivery). Do you have a different fuel pump rated at a different psi (i.e. not the one from the half cut)? Hope this gives you some ideas. Keep posting, I'm someone on here has the key.

[dutchy1978]

I spoke to the guy who did my head and he said I needed to adjust the valve clearance which should fix the problem as he is 100 percent confident that the inlet valves wonââ,¬â,,¢t be closing as he ground the valves and seats when he ported the head.
Cos I have only worked on alloy heads with hydraulic lifters I didnââ,¬â,,¢t know that this needed to be done.

After looking back in the Haynes manual it has 41 steps to remove and refit the head. The 29th step is the tightening of the head bolts then steps 30 ââ,¬â€œ 38 is to fit all the hoses, plugs, brake vacuums etc so I didnââ,¬â,,¢t read on as the engine was out of the car. Funnily enough step 39 says to adjust the valve clearances.  11.gif
learning as I go along. Hopefully tonight is the night. You might hear the sigh of relief and scream of excitement from me over there. 129.gif

[94touring]

Yepper gotta set your clearances after refitting the head.  After you put a hundred miles or so on it, check the torque on the head bolts and check clearances again. 

[dutchy1978]

Wooooooo Hooooooo. After adjusting the tappets and setting up the stepper motor and accelerator cable it started first go. unbelievable.
the engine sounds strong and smooth. should have it back on the road by the end of the month now to really test it out.

And yes i will test the torque settings and tappets again after a few kms at the end of the month. thanks.

thanks all for your input.

cheers

http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff234/dutchy1978/?action=view&current=201103081756191.mp4

[danotje]

Very happy for you! Also, good note to keep in the back of my head for the next time I have an engine starting problem. Awesome.