Again. I have had the intercooler pipe blow off a couple of times now. I tried to restart the engine but it won't catch or even cough. I have left the ECU unplugged from the battery a couple of days now, to reset it, and tried again, to no avail. This kit car thing is really not working for me, but who wants to buy a pile of parts?

I know, fuel, air, spark.

I recently redid some wiring, and suspect maybe that did something. Can you wreck the ECU by blowing fuses or using a battery charger?

So as you say, do you have fuel air and spark?

I am pretty sure I am not getting anything but air at this point: doesn't smell like fuel anywhere. I have not done the required minor surgery yet. I was hoping the resetting of the ECU would solve things. Is it possible that my engine is toast?? It ran great before.

Oh dear, not again! (I'm pretty sure your previous CA18 problems were due to having the wrong ecu/maf combo for the engine)
I'm not familiar with the SR20 but it may have a fault reader built-in (like the CA does!) that works with a couple of lights and a screw which needs to be turned to put it in diagnostic mode.

Have you got the Nissan service manual for the engine? The trouble shooting sections are pretty good if you follow them through. I can send you a sky-drive link for the S14 and S14a manuals if you don't have them.... In the meantime, double check the recent bits you changed in the wiring, make sure it looks to be connected correctly and that all the connections are clean and secure...

My guess if its the main air feed intercooler pipe blowing off (rather than a recirc if you have a BOV on there) is that you would be sending a lower air charge than the engine is expecting, so could have over-fuelled if there isn't a secondary system in place to compensate - what do the plugs look like?

One from this side of the pond, can't help, I have a Toyota engine no help with Nissan.

You have hit the wall on several occasions and your still at it, so keep your head down and keep plugging along.

We have a new Nissan dealer in town (took over from my favourite Mazda dealership). The guy I would ask left shortly there after.

HI - I am too discouraged to check, but if I found out, I don't see how it changes anything. The hose that kept popping off was the cold side, just after the intercooler. I have seriously thought about ditching the intercooler and BOV (which vents to atmosphere), and going straight in, with a wastegate adjustment, of course to bring the boost down.

I did not touch the engine wiring, only lights and things. The BOV is before the intercooler (the only place it would fit). It did run well prior to the last time the hose came off, then it died and wouldn't start again, even after cutting ECU power for 3 days.

I am only still at it because I have a big investment in this, and want to go racing. It is not suitable for the road, as it is way to unreliable and too fast. Our roads are like the moon as well, and you know I have already ruined one engine hitting the ground. This is life in a third world province. I am not even allowed to talk about the car anymore at home...

[Edited on 5/6/13 by RK]

[Edited on 5/6/13 by RK]

Surely the compression ratio will mean its a bit of a dog without boost?

If you want to go that route it might be easier to stick in an SR20de, presuming you can get them there from a primera or something similar - should fit up nicely to the gearbox, alternator, rad etc and lose the boost but have a higher comp ratio - I would expect that to run better than a det without the turbo...

I would seriously consider getting the engine sorted one way or another as the rest of the car looks to be well put together, and you won't get anywhere near what its worth as a non-runner!

I meant going from the turbo to the intake directly, not through the intercooler. The thing is huge, and takes up all the space for the rad. The good news is that my expansion tank worked a treat, with no overflowing anymore.

I know someone who is also looking for an SR20DE, as he just blew his up, racing his Sentra. Why, you ask? Well, the ninnies at the garage managed to put the flywheel on backwards, during a gearbox change, causing much engine mayhem. Had I seen him earlier, I would have offered to help instead!

It isn't worth much anyways; nowhere near the $35,000 (lost count after that) I have "invested" (ha ha ha). I am asking $15,000.

[Edited on 5/6/13 by RK]

Have another ECU, this from a Bluebird SR20DET to try tomorrow night.

Sorry not caught up with or aware of history of the car

Is it a s14 or 14a loom and Ecu?

I am running the S14 so nice and easy and no nats to give me immob issue's

Make sure you have the right version of Ecu or it will never start if wrong.

You can wire in an led and switch to get Ecu error codes. Can send the document if required on how to do it

Its only 6 wires to get the s14 running and hopefully should not be to bad to confirm what's causing the issue.

Will try to find the details of your conversion when on a computer and not the phone

DG

Did I miss the post where you said you had a spark, or had tested you were getting fuel pressure? You said "pretty sure it's just air". You seem to be considering some serious changes and tests without doing the basics first?

Remove a spark plug, check for a spark Check for Spark (if you're unsure)
Check condition of spark plugs; if the boost hose came off you may have blown a plug out
Is the fuel pump priming/running?
Remove the fuel line feed and put into a bucket, try and start car. (or if your fuel line has a pressure relief valve, press it to see if you have any fuel pressure)

I once had a set of sparkplugs that were fouled, car just would not start (or cough). Replaced them and all was well. Don't start with the most complex solution - start with the easiest (and cheapest).

..and while you're tinkering get a blob of weld around the end of the hose that keeps popping off and replace the clips with mikolar clamps.

remove the CAS but leave plugged into the loom. Switch on ignition but don't crank. spin the CAS with your fingers, you should hear the injectors click as they fire. If they don't, you aren't getting fuel.

If they do click, then check the fuel pumps running when the CAS is spun. If it doesn't, no matter how hard the injectors fire, aint no use if the pumps not running!
If you have injectors and fuel pump running, pull hose off fuel rail and aim into fuel can and see if the fuel actually comes out of the hose! I spent ages trying to work out a non starting engine to find that the tank was near empty and the rear of the car jacked up so the fuel gauge reda 1/4 full but no fuel at the pickup--Doh!

if you have fuel flow, check for a spark in the normal way.

if you have air (ensure the MAF and associated trunking is connected without leaks and isn't blocked) and fuel, you are pretty damned close, could just be timing? or summat simples.

also check you have an uber healthy battery. Often a soft battery will crank the engine but drop the voltage too low at the ecu so that it wont run properly. ANY doubt, use a battery off your daily instead to rule it out

Thank you chaps! I need to get to work on this. I did all this stuff before, and led nowhere, so diving in again, takes a few deep breaths. I may have damaged things by the electrical work whilst it was charging. Otherwise, the battery just drains every time I test something.

The poor wiring for the lights etc, leads me to want to sell the car. I have tried to redo it completely at least 5 or 6 times, but it always turns out the same, where serious engine problems ensue. This is why I think it is the ECU or something electrical.

Did you have any luck with the different ecu that you used?

Hope you get it sorted soon!