Car cranks but will not fire up

[Alex170984]

Right its all together.

My mate did the cam setting and everything for me at the weekend and the electrical / water pump issues i had previously have been dealt with.

After charging the battery for a long time, it cranks for longer but will just not fire up.

There is fuel in the rail, you can even see it on the end of the spark plugs as well, but no power. It sounds like its tries to but just won't do it.

There is also a strange sounding puff coming from the inlet manifold when it cranks over.

Any suggestions?

16v rebuild by the way with new pistons, rings, head gasket & cams.

[pack]

Distributor out of timing?

[Alex170984]

I'm going to pull it out tomorrow / Thursday and check it then re-insert and pray.

I haven't got loads of fuel but would anymore make a difference?

[jondee86]

Your mate should have checked/set the cam timing first, and then set
the ignition timing. How much fuel won't make any difference, so long
as there are a few litres in the tank. But how much fuel is in the cylinder
after prolonged cranking does matter !!

If the plugs are wet with a film of fuel, they most likely won't spark. You
need to have a spare (clean/dry) set to swap in. But before you do that,
while the plugs are out, pull the fuel injection fuses to stop the injectors
firing, and crank the engine for 20-30 seconds to clear some of the fuel
from the cylinders. Take the plug off the cold start injector while you are
doing this, but remember to put it back on when you replace the fuses
and fit the fresh plugs.

Wind the idle air adjustment screw (down the tube on the side of the
throttlebody) out a couple of turns to make sure there is enough air
getting into the engine... cross your fingers... and crank :E

Cheers... jondee86

[fax0815]

Check that you are in the right slots for the camgears to cams , very common mistake to mix them up

[totta Crolla]

Alex170984 Wrote:Right its all together.


There is also a strange sounding puff coming from the inlet manifold when it cranks over.

Sounds as if the cam timing is out.

[Alex170984]

video here of trying to fire up

[pack]

I'm watching the video just now....


First - Check the spark cables first. Order of them....

Second - Try to see if the timing on the cams, positions and everything else is in correct order...

That is timing for sure....

[totta Crolla]

and if the battery was good when you did the video then the ignition timing is too far advanced.

[jondee86]

We should run a poll on this (you can choose more than one)...
And the winner was.... Ignition timing

IGNITION TIMING
totta Crolla
pack

CAM TIMING
pack
fax0915
totta Crolla

FLOODED ENGINE
jondee86

SOME OTHER CAUSE
jondee86 (no spark)

Yes... I know it is a bit of a piss take But if it generates interest in
this (engine cranks but won't start) most common of all problems, then
some people are going to benefit when Alex finds the answer.

Cheers... jondee86