Timing problem

[ZR1 MK]

Typo on my part. It a camcorder to view the timing marks during the timing process. To ease your mind, all the info I have read over the years tells me agreesive cam timing isnt much of an advantage. Let me know the results.

[8upZR1]

Last time I did the cam timing I used the camera on my cell phone. IT actually worked very well. I have started to put the pieces back together. All that is left now is the tensioner, AC, alternator, PS pump and plenum. With some luck and a lot of red bull it should be done by tonight. I will post the results.

[8upZR1]

Apparently a higher power does not want the car to start. I finished the cams and was about to start the car. The last thing to do was attach the battery cable. I put the negative terminal up to the post and was greeted by an electrical arcing sound, lots of smoke, and massive amounts of battery acid. It came from behind the battery, from the electrical junction box. At this point I am assuming a + wire broke and hit the chassis. This is strange because after I put the power brake booster back I installed the driver seat and used the battery to move the seat back to gain access to the front bolts. After this I did no more work in the battery area. After this it was late and I said no more. So today hopefully will be the day.....

[ZR1 MK]

Let us the results on your problems.

[8upZR1]

Once again this has all been a giant waste of time. The cams are timed to factory specs now and the motor still wont fire. Still I get combustion through the intake ports. This time I made absolutely 100% sure that the crank was positioned in the correct orientation, and the locking pin sat totally flush against the side of the block. The cams were pinned and the manual tensioners were set. I triple checked everything before torquing down the bolts. So I guess I can rule out cam timing. Back to playing with ignition related components.

The short circuit problem was caused by the alternator. Where the power wire hooks up there is a plastic or rubber piece that isolates the mounting stud freom the rear of the alternaotr case. This somehow broke off of my alternator and therefore caused the power wire to ground. When I attached the battery cable the orange "safety" portion of this wire at the junction box fried itself. It was a quick problem to fix but I had to go and exchange my battery for a new one as it was leaking acid like no other. I strongly suggest that anyone playing with the alternator pay attention and make sure that this isolator bushing is in OK condition.

As for my initial problem, I am now totally out of ideas. It was stated some time ago on this thread that the crank sensor could possibly have the wrong polarity. I checked the new sensor against the old one and discovered that the business ends repell each other, so the magnets are properlly inserted. I was wondering if it is possible for the polarity to somehow swap. It was posted that the sensor could be rewired if the magnets were improperly positioned. I was thinking that maybe I should rewire the senors to see if this brings the timing into its normal range.

Regarding the cam sensor, is it also a magnetic sensor like the crank? Mine show no magnetic properties but I am not sure if they are supposed to. I cannot think of anything else that would throw off the timing by that much.

If I were to send somebody my ECU and ignitoin module would anybody be interested in installing them on there car just to see if they are good? I am positive that they are but now I am pissing in the wind.

[Tyler Townsley]

I know you are frustrated, it took me 2 1/2 years to finally get the prototype running. It is very difficult to troubleshoot a problem alone once you have beat your head against the wall that long.
If the cams are right then you are back to the dis/ecm/sensors/plug wiring. I would start with the wireing. Do not go by the numbers on the coils, get the manual and check against that. The next check is to use the dis checker with a scope to check the sensor input and isolate the problem to the dis or ecm. I suspect the dis.
I can lend the checker and scope, pm me an address and I will try to get them packed for shipment this weekend and shiped next week

Tyler

[8upZR1]

thankyou Tyler, that is very generous of you. I will PM you shortly. I am thinking about making a timing adjuster for the lt5. It would consist of a reluctor wheel mounted on the snout of the crank and an udjustable sensor mount. This way base timing could be changed by either moving the wheel or the sensor. If I made a few of these would anybody be interested?

[ZR1 MK]

Originally Posted by 8upZR1

If I were to send somebody my ECU and ignitoin module would anybody be interested in installing them on there car just to see if they are good? I am positive that they are but now I am pissing in the wind.

I would be willing, but Im not local.
How is your progress.
What do you think was the cause of the gasket failure?
Was the car running properly before you gasket issue?

[8upZR1]

Progress is bad. Tyler, thankyou so much for the scope and ISS, unfortunately everything looks to be good. I cannot simulate engine rpm's low enough though, even on the crank setting the ISS is simulating rpm's high enough to trigger the 5v bypass. Whenever I try to start the motor it never sees enough RPM to get out of bypass mode. MAybe I will try putting 5v on the line myself while cranking, hope this does not fry anything.

The car was running great before the head gasket failure. Absolutely no problems except for some minor issues. Those being poor performance, most likely caused by the secondary ports being completely clogged with carbon, and another problem that was temp related. The car was only fast when the temp was very high. With the water temp in the middle or low range the car would shake and not go anywhere, kinda like the secondaries were not opened, but worse. Once it heated up the problem was gone. With a Haibeck chip the temps stayed so cold the car never ran hard, so I switched back to the stock chip. I assume maybe problem 1 and 2 are related but no telling until it starts.

The cause of the head gasket failure was from using a coolant additive from Royal Purple called Purple ICE. The coolant used has always been the green stuff mixed with distilled water, and absolutely no deviations from this. I added Purple ICE to the mix cause the stuff did good on my Mustang, but a mere four days after adding it the gasket blew. There was bubbling and corrosion on the gasket, and the fire ring on one cylinder had given way. Coolant poured out of the exhaust pipe and I knew it was fatal. On the forum on the EES mods web site they have pics of a gasket that was used with dex cool that suffered the same fate. My gasket looks exactly like that one but with more corrosion. My car has low miles and the gasket looked worse than one from my old Mercedes diesel with 300K miles on it. Very scary. Royal Purple is ussually a decent brand and I like their oil but stay the hell away from the Purple ICE coolant additive. It will eat away a gasket in no time. Mine was gone in 4 days. I guess in the end it was good though cause I never would have gotten the ports cleaned out and ported unless a major catastrophe like this occured.

Since I have rebuilt the top end of the motor I have not changed anything in the combination so I do not understand why the problems are now occuring. It ran beautifully before this. I am wondering if this bypass mode thing has something to do with my problem. Is there any way to tell what rpm the ISS is simulating? My tach does not work, so it is no help. Maybe I can push start the car from 20 MPH or so to see if it will start then. If I apply 5v to the bypass line to get the DIS to switch to EST mode will it work even though the motor is cranking at less than 400 rpm? SHould it be cranking at less than 400 rpm? I am upset.

[Tyler Townsley]

I should have kept all replies in this thread, sorry. Do not try to push start the car! Let me see if I can get another mind to look at what is happening for some fresh thought.

Tyler