Beams is in - but won't start Options

[S8S8]

I've just finished converting my Aussie ST204 to Beams power using an ST202 SS-II clip, but I can't get the engine to start.

The engine turns over, but won't fire. We're pretty sure the problem is the fuel pump, as there is no fuel pressure. The relay on the ECU is operating, so the issue seems to be somewhere between there and the fuel pump. It was working fine with my old 5SFE just last week, so I'm sure it must be a wiring issue rather than an issue with the pump itself.

There are issues with wiring to the new instrument cluster too. It's way off, with all to wrong lights coming on for the indicators and high beam etc. The dash lights don't work at all either.

I'm not so worried about the dash issue at this stage, but thought I'd mention it on the off chance it could be connected with the non-starting issue.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Bitter]

so jump power to the fuel pump direct and see if it starts.

[S8S8]

Tried that, still no luck.


This post has been edited by S8S8: Apr 26, 2011 - 7:37 PM

[soulshadow]

Your wiring must be a mess. Check your wiring diagram and make sure everything is supposed to go where its supposed to go. U using the 5s harness or the 3s as a base?

[S8S8]

Your wiring must be a mess. Check your wiring diagram and make sure everything is supposed to go where its supposed to go. U using the 5s harness or the 3s as a base?

The wiring is in pretty good shape, since I used the full engine and interior looms from the 3S donor clip. In theory, everything should just plug in and work like it did in the clip. The only wiring that is from my original 5S powered car is the door wiring (which plugged in and is working perfectly) and the wiring which runs to the back of the car, which is working fine for the lights and indicators but perhaps not for the fuel pump.

At the moment I have no spark and no fuel pressure unless I run power directly to the pump. I hope that I'm checking the spark properly, as the setup is certainly a little different to engines with distributors and leads that I'm used to.

[Rusty]

Check your wiring connections:
- make sure each wire/loom has somewhere to go
- make sure they're plugged in properly - not half plugged in

work you way back from the sparkplugs to the coilpack etc etc to see where your not getting power, with a multimeter

for the fuel it could be as something simple as the fuel line in and fuel line return mixed up (done that before on a RB25 )



Another idea is to take your car to an auto electrician?

[Batman722]

so you used the engine harness and the front chassis harness from the beams, but did you do anything else to the wiring ?

a wire on one of the interior plugs still needs to be moved to another spot for the clutch start switch (on the usdm celicas). Do you still have your old 5s engine harness ?
If so, start with the 3 interior plugs (right next to the ecu) compare the beams and 5s plugs, also check all your fuses in both fuse boxes.

[S8S8]

Thanks Rusty & Batman.

Everything is plugged in and there are no spare plugs or sockets. All fuses are fine and grounds are in place.

Just last night I was thinking about the front chassis loom. It hadn't occurred to me that I should change it since the fuse boxes are the same and everything plugged in fine, but I guess that's the last piece of the puzzle. So I'll change that today and see how we go.

One of the guys from Toymods mentioned the clutch switch as well. I can clearly see the switch on my car, but there is no such switch on the donor car, nor is there anything running from the loom. In that case, given that the switch is just sitting there with nothing running to it, it should be okay to just leave it there right?

Thanks.

[njccmd2002]

there is a wire you need to repin for that. was your car originally auto?

[soulshadow]

Hows the COR relay Did you wire that up properly? It controls the fuel pump from ecu. In theory everything should plug in and work IF you had a Honda.

[S8S8]

Things are going backwards now... the engine won't even turnover. The relay on the ECU is not being triggered (it was previously) so I can only imagine I've bumped something, but I've checked every connection and fuse and I can't find any issues. I don't know if this is related, but also my headlights are no longer working (they were previously).

If it helps at all, here's a run down of what is working and what's not working:

Working
Dash lights
Tail lights
Brake lights
Indicators
Climate control (installed from the donor car)
Central locking
Power windows
Power mirrors

Not Working
No spark
Engine won't turnover (was fine yesterday)
ECU relay (was fine yesterday)
Headlights (were fine yesterday)

When I turn on the ignition I get the oil light and the ABS light (which turns off after a few seconds) but I am not getting the check engine light or the battery/charge light.

I even tried plugging the factory stereo back in (from the donor car) in case there was some sort of factory immobiliser, but that didn't help. The stereo wouldn't turn on either, although I'm not sure if it worked originally.

there is a wire you need to repin for that. was your car originally auto?

My car and the donor car are both manual. I figure if the donor car didn't have the clutch switch, then I can just remove it from my car. The gearbox and all wiring is from the donor car, so I believe the switch is now redundant.

Hows the COR relay Did you wire that up properly? It controls the fuel pump from ecu. In theory everything should plug in and work IF you had a Honda.

The relay was working fine up until yesterday, but has now stopped for some reason. I've used the full engine and interior looms from the donor car, so nothing has really been "wired up" as such, it's all just plugged back in just like it was in the donor car.

[Batman722]

ok.
you did no wiring changes except change the dash harness ? that's not gonna make your car start...

1 there is a wire you need to splice together in EA1, that will give you spark.


2 You need to pin the clutch start switch (maybe)
The Beams has a wire for it and so does your car, it's just not going to the correct spot. (but if you changed the dash harness with the backside of the three interior plugs then theres no telling were the wire is going...)

start with #1 then we'll go from there.
njcccmd2002 probably has pics of exactly you need to do, he's good like that, he taught me everything I know about the Beams wiring

[S8S8]

I know you guys are far more experienced than me, but here's what I don't understand: If I have replaced everything from the donor car into my car, and the engine started fine in the donor car, why would I have to repin or rewire anything? Obviously if I was using my original interior loom or whatever, but literally everything has been replaced.

Here's what's been changed so far:

Engine & gearbox
ECU
Engine wiring loom
Front chassis loom
Both interior looms
All dash parts including climate control & cluster etc.
All fuse boxes, relays and whatever else was attached to the car

Basically the donor car is completely striped bare and everything is now installed in my car. The only things that haven't been changed are the bodies.

So with that being the case, why would anything need to be rewired or repinned?

But anyway, I have more bad news to report! I finished swapping over the front chassis loom today (what a job!) and now I don't get any ignition lights. I've checked all plugs and fuses etc, but can't find any issues.

I'll take a pic of the pedal box from the donor car tomorrow, but I can assure you there is no switch on there like with my car. Is there anywhere else this clutch switch could be located on an ST202?

Thanks, I really appreciate your time.

[delusionz]

You talking about something that prevents the starter cranking unless you have your foot on the clutch?

We don;t have that on our Jap imports

[delusionz]

Come to think of it, I've never had a 1998 model, maybe they have it. Never had it in a 1994,1995 or 1996 JDM.

[S8S8]

If this was my daily driver I would have sent it to the mechanic ages ago, but it's not, so I'm determined to get it going myself no matter how long it takes.

I unplugged everything this morning and reinstalled with the crash pad now in place. Now the car still won't start, but it appears that I have a short somewhere. As soon as I connect the battery my 30amp door fuse blows. I replaced it and tried again, same thing happened.

It also seems that the ignition is coming straight on regardless of the key position. Here's a pic of the dash with the battery connected. The left indicator light is on solid, but not as bright as usual. The right indicator is not lit up at all. In this state, nothing works except for the dash back lights.

The good news however is that the ECU relay is now opening when I try to start the car, so I guess that's a step in the right direction.



I have taken a couple of pictures regarding the clutch switch. The first pic is of my car, which shows the clutch switch and plug.



But this pic of the donor car clearly shows that there is no such switch on the clutch, nor is there are spare plug on the loom that would go to such a switch.



And here's another shot showing the lack of clutch switch.



The mystery continues...

This post has been edited by S8S8: Apr 28, 2011 - 8:18 PM

[delusionz]

Guess you don't need that clutch-in start function then.

So those door wires that were all cut in the donor car, obviously when you connected your wiring to the donor fuse box (is that where they go?) There was a wiring mismatch as I suspected. So maybe disconnect that, and wire in each control one by one, do you have all the same functions as JDM? like the folding mirrors and the window lock on the drivers side and all that?

[S8S8]

I fixed the short, so no more blown fuses or dash warning lights staying on. The door wires seem to be fine, as power windows and central locking etc is working fine.

Still no start though, so I decided to bite the bullet and accepted defeat. I called a mobile auto electrician and he is coming to check out the car early next week. I really wanted to fix this myself, but I think it's time to let the professionals take over!

Thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions.

[delusionz]

Awesome, Let us know what went wrong!

[S8S8]

As I expected, the problem was incredibly minor - just a loose plug and a missing fuse! I'd checked everything a million times, but I guess it takes a fresh pair of eyes to pick these things up sometimes.

I knew it couldn't have required any repinning or rewiring since the entire wiring system from the front seats forward had been replaced.

Happy days.