RB20 won't start, I have spark/fuel/code 55

[tylerdunigan]

I've been searching for a couple of hours, and have tried lots of things, but still nothing. Figured I could ask and maybe get some feedback that I didn't find while searching.

Car wouldn't start this morning. It's ran perfect for years, with no issues. When I got home I yanked the starter off and had it checked...it's good. The car will turn over all day long, but never actually fire up. Fuel pump is coming on, and I can feel it kick it through the fuel lines after the filter. And I'm getting spark. I've looked over all of the grounds I can find, and they all look clean as well. I'm not thinking it is the battery, since it is turning over like it is, and all of the accessories are coming on fine. Also, I checked the ECU, and I am getting code 55, so everything should be good there. I doubt it's the CAS. (Figured I would get a error code from the ECU, and I wouldn't think I would be getting spark if it was that). Any other ideas? I'm about to go out and start checking relays....I've already looked through the fuses that I thought would have anything to do with it, but I may have overlooked something. Any help would be SUPER APPRECIATED!

[GSXRJJordan]

If this were an SR (or RB with Greddy intake mani), I'd tell you to pull the fuel rail out from the intake manifold and put some towels in front of the injectors, then turn it over to make sure you're actually getting fuel through the injectors. Could certainly be a problem with power to the injectors.

Make sure you've got +12V to one side of each injector.

[Sileighty_85]

check and clean MAF, My RB had a weird problem like this,

I unplugged my MAFS and it would start up

Turns out it was just really dirty

Unplug the MAFS and see if it starts.

[tylerdunigan]

I hooked the battery to a charger, and charged it to 100%, but didn't make a difference. I changed out the MAF sensor, and pulled out all of the spark plugs, but they all looked fine. Any other ideas? I've started yanking the dash apart, I am going to try to trace down any wiring issues that may be there...but I am 100% craptastic at wiring issues. Maybe this will be the learning experience for that aspect though.

[g35gabby]

did one of your intake couplers come unhooked?

try unplugging the maf and see if it fires up?

[tylerdunigan]

No. I tried unhooking it before switching it out, and still wouldn't fire.

[tylerdunigan]

Found some very loose grounds for my injectors, but that's not the problem. Checked the CAS and I'm getting good readings. I checked the resistance on the fuel injectors and the injector on cylinder #2 isn't getting a read at all. All the others are seeing right at 15ohms. Would this one injector cause the car to not start? On a brighter note, I have found a couple of vacuum leaks that will be taken care of tomorrow :D

[GSXRJJordan]

Found some very loose grounds for my injectors, but that's not the problem. Checked the CAS and I'm getting good readings. I checked the resistance on the fuel injectors and the injector on cylinder #2 isn't getting a read at all. All the others are seeing right at 15ohms. Would this one injector cause the car to not start? On a brighter note, I have found a couple of vacuum leaks that will be taken care of tomorrow :D

Injectors don't have 'loose grounds' home slice, they receive +batt power from the fusebox and get grounded (peak/hold) by the ECU. The grounds near the injectors are actually the ECU's grounds, and could definitely be why the car doesn't start if they're deteriorated/not connected/etc.

I don't know what you mean by 'isn't getting a read', you mean there's no continuity between the Cyl 2 injector wire (not the +12V wire) at the injector and at the ECU?

The motor will definitely fire with 5 injectors, and most likely with 4. Vacuum leak would have to be REALLY bad to not fire, but in that case it'd fire with the MAF disconnected.

[tylerdunigan]

Injectors don't have 'loose grounds' home slice, they receive +batt power from the fusebox and get grounded (peak/hold) by the ECU. The grounds near the injectors are actually the ECU's grounds, and could definitely be why the car doesn't start if they're deteriorated/not connected/etc.

I don't know what you mean by 'isn't getting a read', you mean there's no continuity between the Cyl 2 injector wire (not the +12V wire) at the injector and at the ECU?

The motor will definitely fire with 5 injectors, and most likely with 4. Vacuum leak would have to be REALLY bad to not fire, but in that case it'd fire with the MAF disconnected.

Sorry. I just kinda quickly traced down those 2 ground wires, and it appeared as though they were for the injectors. My bad. I pulled the plug off of the injectors, and checked the resistance between the 2 prongs on the actual injector. All of them read right at 14 ohms, except for cylinder #2. When checking for continuity, my multimeter doesn't make a sound, and I'm not 100% positive on what to look for, or really even how to hook it up. Do I find the wire at the ECU and probe it, while grounding the other one? and do the same under the hood? Or do I probe the same wire at the ecu and under the hood. When I've got it set to continuity on the meter, it will either show a "0", or the number will start fluctuating like crazy....and I'm not sure what that means. Like I said, I'm craptastic with wiring and really don't understand it....but I am trying real hard to learn it. Sorry for the tard Q's.

[GSXRJJordan]

Here's the RB20 ECU pinout:
http://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1ptrvzn1SkuyAJmlTbqI-vf9tGNOvy-UfUE882WMnsrCbB3UqbLKeQ94IPZ7xU2A2sQU5gZRyrlOE0APe _XmcP6Q/RB20DET%20ECU%20Pinout.jpg

You want to probe the pin on the ECU, and the pin on the injector (with the plug off the injector), and get 0 ohms (or 0.x ohms). This is not likely to be your problem.

[tylerdunigan]

Changed out the bad injector, fixed 2 vacuum leaks, and changed the fuel filter. Still no luck with starting. Is there a video or an in depth diy for Setting the timing? I've never done it before and it makes me a little nervous blindly tearing into it, but I'm running out of ideas.

As far as the continuity check goes, I was just going to check all options that would have to do with actually starting, to rule out a wiring problem. Thanks for the info

[GSXRJJordan]

Timing, even if it's all the way at the end of the adjustment, isn't something that changes one start to another, and won't stop the car from starting.

How are you checking for spark?

[tylerdunigan]

I only checked one coil pack, but I unhooked the #1 coilpacks and stuck a spark plug in the tip. Held it near the valve cover and could see it arcing over while a buddy was turning the key.

[tylerdunigan]

So last night, I installed a fuel pressure gauge right after the fuel filter, and found that I am getting 43-44 psi. So I know the pump is good. I talked to a buddy of mine that works at a local Toyota dealership, and he told me he has seen 3-4 vehicles this past week, that wouldn't run because water was in the gas. I drained some of it out into a clear container to see if it would separate, and of course it didn't. Gas is good too. After trying to start it quite a few times, I pulled a couple of plugs out, and they were bone dry. I know fuel is not getting to the cylinder for sure, so I'm renting a noid light from NAPA today, and will test the injectors to make sure the wiring is good. I tested the Injector Grounds on the ECU, and all 3 of them showed ok. The resistance was a little high on them (around 1.5 ohms), but I noticed the battery is only grounded to the engine, and not to the chassis as well. I'm gonna hook that up tonight as well, and hopefully bring the resistance down a little. I'll keep everyone updated as I progress. I hate it when people make these threads, and never reply back what their problem was. Makes it GREAT for other people searching for solutions.

[GSXRJJordan]

Good steps, you're moving in the right direction!

[bernal125]

Check the signal wire to the coils?

sent from HTC Evo

[tylerdunigan]

CAR IS FIXED!

I had a buddy come over last night, that had some quality electrical testing tools, and we found the ground for the ECU was getting voltage. Once we started digging around, we found the culprit. The ground wire that comes out underneath the fuse box by the battery, had corroded all the way through. Took care of that, and now the car runs like a champ. Makes me mad that it took me ~27 hours to realize I overlooked a ground though. lol

The culprit
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/tylerdunigan/70614816.jpg

It wasn't all bad though, I was able to fix a couple of vacuum lines/bad injector/battery terminal (that I broke)/ and found that the battery was only grounded to the engine, and not to the chassis too. Also, I installed a new Boost gauge and AFR gauge while I had the dash out...so I'll take it. It's only been like 4 days, but man it feels like it's been down forever!!

I really appreciate all the feedback you guys have given me. I hope my troubles can help someone else out in the future....