Conversion done but car wont start:(

[colm_mcm]

Savage! hope it all works out. One of the best Irish FTOs is about to get better

[CJ]

Well - what was wrong pray tell ?

+1 - I'm very curious as to the source of the problem.

Aido, full report on your first impressions please!

CJ

[Bernard]

I take it you'll be booking a test drive at some point CJ?

Aido, fair play for just taking on the challenge yourself let alone completing it in such a short time

[Sebastian]

how did you manage to change the gearbox in your driveway ? ! ?

[TopCat]

Fair play Aido, very impressed with the speed you got this conversion done, and its great that you managed to do it yourself. Hope you enjoy it!

[Johnk]

fair play man

[Aido C]

The car is still not working properly:( Theres still some electrical problems. I'm going to do a diagnostics check on it and bring it bsck to the garage on monday. I don't know why the mechanic didn't do one. I doesn't make sense

how did you manage to change the gearbox in your driveway ? ! ?

It wasn't that difficult.I dropped the engine a bit on one side and took the box off and put the new one on using a trolley jack a bit of timber and rope:) It was the most time consuming bit of the operation.

[steelroe]

Has he confirmed that the IFS is still working as per our telephone conversation.

I am sure another Dublin member would let you fit their sensor to confirm.

[Aido C]

I did a manual diagnostic there and the code that came up was 41, which is injector system.

What this the IFS? What does it stand for?

Symptoms at the moment are, the car keeps stalling until the engine gets hot and when it gets hot the warning light comes on for the cat. In other words it keeps stalling until the warning light for the cat comes on. It's won't rev over 5000 revs. It miss fires if you go higher.

So what I'm thinking is the air fuel mix is wrong and the timing is wrong and the mivec is probably not working either? Does that sound right?

[Aido C]

I disconnected the battery with the car running and it stayed running so I think the alternator is running fine. It must be the ECU is fried.

[steelroe]

Sounds like either the alternator or by any chance has the main earth not been attached to the gearbox properly when the new box was fitted.
Reason i said IFS was you said the car was not starting!
Just to clatify you do not need an ECU from a manual car when doing the conversion!!

[Aido C]

Sounds like either the alternator or by any chance has the main earth not been attached to the gearbox properly when the new box was fitted.
Reason i said IFS was you said the car was not starting!
Just to clatify you do not need an ECU from a manual car when doing the conversion!!

Yea, the earth is attached properly. The mivec is not working and some of the sensors. Thats why I think its the ECU. I short circuited the starter motor by accident so I think the ECU might be fried. I disconnected the battery while the engine was running and it kept running so I assume that means the alternator is fine. No?

[Aido C]

I went to Naas today to Colm. We put the ECU out of my car into his and it worked fine so it's not the ECU. On the way back the car over heated. A huge amount of smoke was coming out of the exhaust. I pull over and let the engine cool down. It didn't overheat again the rest of the way home but it was only 3 km to home. Don't know what the story is now. Any ideas anyone?

[colm_mcm]

I reckon the MIVEC not engaging and the overheating are related.
Anyone in the know:
Isn't the MIVEC regulated so as not to come on when the engine is below a certain temp?
If so, would something like a faulty thermostat or an airlock cause the MIVEC not to engage?

[CJ]

Isn't the MIVEC regulated so as not to come on when the engine is below a certain temp

Correct, I'm not sure what the threshold is but I'm pretty sure its in the workshop manual somewhere.

Aido, it might be worth changing the stat and filler cap. What were the water levels like? Any incidence of leaks? (note I changed the upper hose at some point).

CJ

[Aido C]

No leaks. I was talking to Paul Nolan. The car is going up to him at the weekend or next week. I have a feeling its a sensor. Maybe one than one. I can't wait to get to the bottom of this. I'm making progress through process of elimination and from info from people like yourselves. Thanks guys:)

[Aido C]

I just checked the oil and the water there after it overheating today. There wasn't a drop of water in the radiator and when I filled it, it started pissing out. The leak seems to be a the back left hand side of the engine. I hope the head gasket is not after going
There was no sign of white slung in the oil but it wouldn't show up yet if it's just after going and if there was no water in the car.
The heart ache of at all

[CJ]

The leak seems to be a the back left hand side of the engine

Under the cam covers? Water pump perhaps?

CJ

[Aido C]

That sounds about right. I couldn't really see where it was coming from. I'm gonna have a look at it tomorrow. Is it accessible? Is there some sort of a of a valve on it? Like a suction valve that's after getting stuck?

[steelroe]

MIVEC will not engage until engine reaches a certain temp or a problem with the alternator.

[steelroe]

Some other reasons for mivec not working can be seen here http://www.mivec.co.nz/forums/viewtopic ... highlight=
(need to register first)

[steelroe]

some useful links here http://www.mivec.co.nz/forums/viewtopic ... highlight=

and here
http://www.mivec.co.nz/forums/viewtopic ... highlight=

[CJ]

Aido, whats the latest? Have you decied to invest in a head gasket / water pump / coolant temp sensor / filler cap?

CJ

[Aido C]

The water and oil is mixing so the head gaskets are gone:( I have an engine lined up for the car, just collection is the only thing holding me up.

The cost of getting that engine fixed is the same as getting a replacement engine and hopefully that will fix my mivec problems too. I found an engine at a good price with an alternator. I'll fix this engine in my own time so then I will have a spare one or make a coffee table out of it

It's just bad luck that the water pump going coincided with the timing of doing the conversion:( Especially money wise but I got a fat cheque off the social welfare last week back dated for a few weeks, so that money is gonna go to a good cause I got it at the right time. Otherwise I would have been screwed.

[CJ]

Pity you had to go down the road of a new engine. Its very likely that the current engine is in OK, I can vouch for the fact that its been well looked after over the years. Only way to tell for sure it to remove the head and check condition.

CJ