Hope someone can give me some help.. Just picked up a 90 forumula with the 350 tpi engine and it will not start, just turns over. Previous owner thought it was the ignition module, so first thing I did was check for spark and I have spark. Next checked for fuel pump working, I can hear it prime up when I turn the key on so I assume it is working. Put some raw gas in through the throttle body and still no fire. Pulled the #1 plug and checked rotor position and it was off some, but not enough that I couldnt rotate the distributor to make it up, lined it up at #1 with the timing tab at 6 deg advance on compression stroke. So I should have spark at the right time, compression is good, but possibly there is a fuel issue?. When I pulled the #1 plug it was fuel soaked, and when bumping the starter over to find the compression stroke gas was literally spraying out of the hole. I pulled a few other plugs and they were not fuel soaked, had a slight fuel smell to them but not dripping like #1 was. I didnt put that much raw gas in the intake but possibly it was from that, either way no start or even a caugh from the engine. Could this be a fuel pressure issue? How do I check it? I found the schrader valve on the pass rear of the fuel rail and there is what looks like a valve stem connector on the rail also. How do I check fuel pressure and what should I be seeing for values? Right now I think the starter is shot also as the engine is turning over very slowly. Would engine cranking speed have an effect? Also FWIW I swapped out the ignition module even though I had spark just in case there was a bad signal to the ECM but no change. I verified I still have spark after the swap. Anyone have any ideas? I have done some computer car troubleshooting but very little with third gens and fuel injection. Thanks for any help or ideas!

 

I imagine if you cranked it for a long period of time: 1) your battery is about dead or 2) you didn't allow time for the starter to cool down between the cycles.

I would recharge the battery first. Normally starters have a tag right on them saying if you try to use them at 10.5 or below volts you can damage the starter.

While you're at it I would consider checking the oil to make sure it hasn't be soaked with fuel.

You can check the fuel pressure with a gauge you should beable to find at the local Auto Zone or similiar parts store. Stock should be around 43 give or take a few, but I do not know if that is the same for starts.

 

Thanks for the reply..starter was pretty much dead when I picked up the car, even with the battery on charge I could only get half a spin out of the engine, then a pause, then another half spin. Enough to verify spark and some quick troubleshooting but not a very fast crank. Tried another battery, no change, so I will replace the starter. Supposedly when this engine was running before the refusal to start it was smoking pretty bad, so I am wondering if high fuel pressure was dumping fuel into the engine. Still not sure why I dont get even a sputter out of it, I think the VATS is ok since the engine does crank but I dont have noid lights yet to check the injectors. I will pick up a noid light kit and a fuel pressure kit. From reading the archives I see I have to disconnect the vac line from the schrader valve when checking pressure, but where does the fuel pressure guage hook up to? I dont see any ports other than the valve that looks like an air valve on a tire stem.

 

Normally you disconnect the vac line from the fuel pressure regulator (near the back of the intake) not the valve. The gauge will go off the valve.