RB20 issues Galore!!

[StiffJS13]

Soooo, I just bought this 1990 S13 off a guy who paid someone to do a very half ass RB20 swap and I have been finding nothing but issues with it and am almost at the point of being brain dead running around in circles searching one issue after another. To start with, and to give you a hint on how much of a dummy the previous owner was, the intercooler piping was on backwards... (believe me I'll be posting pictures soon) so that was basically the first thing that got swapped. I wouldn't have bought the car if it wasn't a steal and I didn't wanna see a perfectly good S-Chassis go to waste. Now for the issues I can't seem to figure out.... I checked my plugs last night and cylinder one seems to be flooding? pulled the plug and it was the only one that was wet so I have no idea whats going on there, and then earlier today I started it up and it would hardly hold an idle, then when trying to drive it was like I had a Bee-R installed and it was hitting the rev limiter at about 3000 RPM (which I can't really tell if it's 3000rpm because the RPM guage doesn't work) :( I Love these cars and love it even more with an RB because I have always been a fan I know they are a ton of work and very very picky but if anyone has any ideas or needs more info from me to help me figure this out please PLEASE HELP! Im beyond frustrated with this thing... any ideas would help.

[EvilRB]

First off congrats on the buy and welcome to the wonderful world of RB's!
next search around cause even in the first pages of this section there are a few threads that could have helped you.
Sounds like your car is in safe mode and a coolant sensor might need to be replaced.
With any new purchase there always is a checklist of things to do.
Read up on your engine and the DIY's on the swap and see if he followed the install.
Do your mantance and see if it fixes your problems.
Godo luck and congrats again!

[OrangeVirus1]

Here is what you need to do :
Replace your coil packs, 95% sure they are all cracked and fuxored.
Replace your Ignitor, swap it to a J30 ( lots of guides online ) you won't be dissapointed.
Don't even bother with a RB20 ignitor, they are junk and expensive.

Check your WIRING, if it is jacked up, Don't even repair it dude, not worth it, get a WSP harness, you will LOVE IT.. best 400$ ever spent. ( I know not cheap )

Flooding, Sounds like the injectors are junk. Pull them off, inspect them and clean them. They are probably shit, so I recommend getting new ones anyway. ( Not stock size ) you can get many different injectors that will fit for pretty cheap, and are same size or bigger.
if you are hitting a wall at 3k, it could be a maf issue, check to see if the maf is properly wired, or if the maf is just dead..
Also I wouldn't be revving it up too high if it's all fuxxed up. just replace everything first.

[S12 Drifter]

Here is what you need to do :
Replace your coil packs, 95% sure they are all cracked and fuxored.
Replace your Ignitor, swap it to a J30 ( lots of guides online ) you won't be dissapointed.
Don't even bother with a RB20 ignitor, they are junk and expensive.

Check your WIRING, if it is jacked up, Don't even repair it dude, not worth it, get a WSP harness, you will LOVE IT.. best 400$ ever spent. ( I know not cheap )

Flooding, Sounds like the injectors are junk. Pull them off, inspect them and clean them. They are probably shit, so I recommend getting new ones anyway. ( Not stock size ) you can get many different injectors that will fit for pretty cheap, and are same size or bigger.
if you are hitting a wall at 3k, it could be a maf issue, check to see if the maf is properly wired, or if the maf is just dead..
Also I wouldn't be revving it up too high if it's all fuxxed up. just replace everything first.

dont!!! if your going to swap coil packs and ignitors just swap to LS2 truck 6.0L coil packs it's an upgrade not only that you eliminate the ignitor too!!!

you can buy a complete set on ebay for 130 shipped/

[hobbs]

Check your WIRING, if it is jacked up, Don't even repair it dude, not worth it, get a WSP harness, you will LOVE IT.. best 400$ ever spent. ( I know not cheap )


Well aint this a surprise, I thought you could wire things yourself?

[StiffJS13]

Is there a guide on how to properly eliminate the RB ignitor and swap to the LS2 6.0L coilpacks? I love the idea. Just curious how to go about doing it. Also I took my MAF off and cleaned it and it looks good I had to rewire it when I got the car (was melted to my O2 sensor) and I know I did it properly so I don't think MAF is an issue but I might be wrong.

[S12 Drifter]

Is there a guide on how to properly eliminate the RB ignitor and swap to the LS2 6.0L coilpacks? I love the idea. Just curious how to go about doing it. Also I took my MAF off and cleaned it and it looks good I had to rewire it when I got the car (was melted to my O2 sensor) and I know I did it properly so I don't think MAF is an issue but I might be wrong.

yes.... google RB20/25/26 LS2 coil packs, it's been gone over many many times. once you have the parts it comes to together on it's own. and if you have the same problem i did about RB20 coil packs.

treat the RB20 like a RB26 or like a S2 RB25 wiring harness, by that i mean wire it the same way as those options, the GM coil packs have built in ignitors. 50,000 volts per coil is nothing to laugh at.

i believe benz runs 100,000 volts per coil though.

[OrangeVirus1]

Well aint this a surprise, I thought you could wire things yourself?

I tried hard and replaced everything I could on my harness, but my harness was just missing too much stuff. plus my coilpack harness was unrepairable.. it literally fell apart when I took it off, like.. in pieces

If I had a completely intact harness, that's a different story.


and OP, if you want an easy coil pack replacement for a good price, you can used Q45 cylinder 1/2 coilpacks. they drop right in and are like 25$ each brand new, drop right in, no extra wiring, no hassles.

if your MAF wires were melted, your maf might be toast.

[hobbs]

I tried hard and replaced everything I could on my harness, but my harness was just missing too much stuff. plus my coilpack harness was unrepairable.. it literally fell apart when I took it off, like.. in pieces


Same with every other 25 year old RB20 harness, just pointing out the fact that you're now giving the same suggestions people gave you which you ignored because you 'knew what you were doing'. :)

[S12 Drifter]

@ OV may i have you broken coil pack harness?

[OrangeVirus1]

Same with every other 25 year old RB20 harness, just pointing out the fact that you're now giving the same suggestions people gave you which you ignored because you 'knew what you were doing'. :)

I could of rebuilt it if I had a good wiring manual and correct wiring for all the connectors, but there was too much information online that didn't match up, so I gave up.
I could have fixed my damn harness, and I didn't want to give up on it, but the wiring for all the actual connectors, there is no information on it that I can trust 100% online.

I'm giving that advice now because I tried every possible solution first, I went above and beyond the normal wiring harness fix, and the shit still didn't work. So I can give that advice because I put the blood and sweat into the stock harness THAT NEVER WORKED!! :(

and I threw away my coil pack harness, it was really "unrepairable"... the wires FELL apart and the connectors broke into 100+ pieces when I took it off. I could actually break the wires like a twig lol

but just get the Q45 coil packs, they are cheap 150$ for all 6 BRAND NEW, zero problems, drop right in.

[S12 Drifter]

I could of rebuilt it if I had a good wiring manual and correct wiring for all the connectors, but there was too much information online that didn't match up, so I gave up.

I could have fixed my damn harness, and I didn't want to give up on it, but the wiring for all the actual connectors, there is no information on it that I can trust 100% online.


and I threw away my coil pack harness, it was really "unrepairable"... the wires FELL apart and the connectors broke into 100+ pieces when I took it off. I could actually break the wires like a twig lol

but just get the Q45 coil packs, they are cheap 150$ for all 6 BRAND NEW, zero problems, drop right in.

This is something to consider.

[OrangeVirus1]

This is something to consider.

save up about 600$, buy the WSP coilpack harness, WSP wiring harness for J30 ignitor, and WSP lower harness. Your car will start every time, and you will never have to worry about a wiring problem for the rest of your life.

[S12 Drifter]

save up about 600$, buy the WSP coilpack harness, WSP wiring harness for J30 ignitor, and WSP lower harness. Your car will start every time, and you will never have to worry about a wiring problem for the rest of your life.

the problem is... i have a Z31 nothing is plug and play LOL but i guess it's fun, learning experience.

[baube]

sounds like a maf related problem

[redline racer510]

MAF, Coilpacks, Ignitor, Injectors. Change those and your off to a good start.