So, I finally got the car running! Turns out all it needed was an ECU. Went for a drive today, and boy was it terrible.

I couldn't get the car over 30, even floored. The trans isn't slipping (I don't think, the tach doesn't work). It seemed like the car would just fall flat on it's face, and make no power. I'm thinking this is either plugs (apparently they were fouled from sitting in gas) or the almost year-old gas in the tank. Would these cause this problem?

Also, the car overheated! Yay! Wasn't paying attention to the temp gauge in my brief excursion, and the coolant boiled over. The car seemed to start and run fine later on, but the CEL came on. Hoping I didn't cause any permanent damage. However, the problem is that I don't think the radiator fans are coming on. I've seen posts on here about how to rig up a manual switch, but is there any other way to get the fans to kick on when they're supposed to?

Thank you all for your continued help!

Edit: Also, is there any quick/easy way to get a working tach? I'm willing to go buy a stick-on one temporarily if I can put it on the car in less than 30 minutes.

 

Did your car come with air conditioning (even if it not functioning)? If you switch your hvac selector to AC, the ECU should enable the radiator fan. If you have dual fans, I'm not sure if one just comes on. My car has the single fan setup, so I have my experience with that.
You could get a cheap auto parts store or eBay tach and wire it up pretty easily if you needed a temporary tach.

 

Stick basic go thru gas spark and air and whats related should do rune up and then change all fluids

Coolant sounded like it had a air pocket also fans need to be check other than that seems like easy fix

 

How easy is it to set up the tach?

It is an AC car, and I don't believe the fan triggered when it was turned on.

 

What car is it?
What engine is it?
What other work have you done?
What was the condition when you got it?

 

It's super easy to install a tach. $40 and you get a tach, wires, instructions and probably a grommet. Run a wire to a switched 12v in your fuse box, or a fuse tap. Run a ground to easiest spot, and then run a wire to the distributor through the firewall using a grommet, and splice it into whichever one sends the pulses. My dash tach was all messed up, and being 16 with a buddy of mine and an oreilly kit and zero experience wiring it took me an hour or two, mostly because of trying to find switched 12v. If your tach is an illuminated tach the 12v source will light up the backlight. It's honestly super simple and you can just mount it on the steering column with some zip ties. Best of luck my friend.

 

1991 Z28
305 TPI
Replaced fuel filter, battery and the ECU
Really bad lol

 

Start by pulling the plugs and checking the wires for damage. The cap and rotor probably need replacing too.

Look to see if any of the plugs have unburnt fuel on them.
After you are sure you have good spark and fuel if it still does the same thing you could have a clogged cat.

 

I think you posted in another no start thread. Sounds like your injectors are plugged and your running lean. You can use a inferred temp gun aimed at each exhaust manifold to see if you have some higher reading than others. Or like midias stated pull your plugs and read them. Could also be a plugged cat. Any check engine light on ? The cts tells the ecm when to turn the primary fan on. You may have wiring issues my 91 was messed up at the connecter bye the battery . You can command the secondary fan with a/c request if you have ac. Koeo you can jump a to b at the aldl and the ecm controls the fan relay (next to your brake booster).
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/atta...ling-image.jpg

 

Interestingly, the fan on the driver's side came on, and didn't come off, regardless of AC position. I bought a bottle of injector cleaner, which I'll do when I can completely fill the tank. I'll check with my temp gun to see if any of the cylinders are running particularly hot. If that doesn't help, I'll go ahead and replace all the plugs/wires, which I'm hoping will get it up to par.

 

Injector cleaner may not clean varnish out of the injector filter baskets.