Car will not start.
 

The car started last week and went to start it this week and won't fire. We've changed everything. Any clue of what it might be would really help. Thanks.

Re: Car will not start.
 

And no rpm on tac or big stuff if that helps.

Re: Car will not start.
 

When mine wouldn't start it was the pick up on the crank trigger also one time my car would not start the needle and seat was stuck and no gas was getting in the carb. Had fuel pressure but no gas in the bowl. Check that

Re: Car will not start.
 

Mike, we changed that. No luck

Re: Car will not start.
 

neutral safety wire ?

Re: Car will not start.
 

I'm with Mark. Thinkin something electrical. Did you check for spark?

Re: Car will not start.
 

Check for spark & re-check all your Ground wires & connections !!!! Loose wires ?

Re: Car will not start.
 

We've checked that to

Re: Car will not start.
 

No rpm pulses when cranking suggests trigger pickup issues. 60-2 tooth wheel with Hall effect? They are very sensitive to gap. May have been right on the edge all along and now just out of range.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Kevin. We have checked that 3 times. No luck

Re: Car will not start.
 

Might be helpful to know more about the engine type, ignition type, distributor, etc. Does it crank over but just not start? Have you removed a plug wire and have spark at the plug? Checked the rotor and cap? If you have spark at the plug, it must be fuel related. Years, many years, ago a guy taught me about engines. There are three things that every engine must have, air (he breathed real deep and confidently said that there was plenty), fuel (pumped the accelerator, and fuel came out), now just needed spark. If there is fuel, air, and spark, then maybe a timing issue. Does it crank over smoothly?
Dan

Re: Car will not start.
 

Dan, Yes to all your response.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Dan: 4 things, spark, air, fuel and compression.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Thoughts;

Do you have access to live data with an onboard display or controller?

If so, check that all sensors are showing a normal value.

*Ambient air temp correct?
*Coolant temp correct?
*TPS correct?
*MAP correct? [connect a vacuum source to the MAP, it should show a voltage range with different vacuum levels applied]
*Fuel pressure correct?
*Are the injectors pulsing? [check with noid light tester or "listen" for the injector ticking with a listening device]

Re: Car will not start.
 

Here's a update. It has no spark or fuel.

Re: Car will not start.
 

With that information, check for power and ground to the controller

Re: Car will not start.
 

We are checking the ignition panel now.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Your issue appears to be the big stuff is not receiving engine position information (no crank sensor input) not familiar with their stuff but I'd think they would have an LED somewhere on the box that blinks each time it sees a crank sensor pulse. No pulse equals no spark or injector activity.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Are you running any kind of start retard or "starter saver" box on this car? I had two different MSD retard modules - the cheaper ones - kill the ignition on my series 8 box.

Get a multimeter if you don't have one and trace power back from the contacts on your ignition box.

No rpm displayed on the tac indicates issues with the component that sends that signal. Did you change out your ignition box?

Good luck. I could have written this thread this Spring. Multiple ignition failures after big changes under the hood.

Re: Car will not start.
 

We are still plugging away and now we are running wires down.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Dale. Yes on MSD

Re: Car will not start.
 

Joe. We tried another big stuff box with no luck.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Check fuses in your EFI harness.

A friend had an issue with the car just shutting off no restart with Big Stuff, their issue was related to O2 sensor wiring shorting out to ground apparently also fed power to other functions don't remember if it was ignition or injectors.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Thanks Frank

Re: Car will not start.
 

One my cars wouldn't restart in the water box and we found the map sensor went bad. It was ACCEL EFI, but they all use map sensors regardless of make. Just a thought.





Bret Velde
2003 SS/LA

Re: Car will not start.
 

If you like call me 210-8873331. To many questions to ask.

Re: Car will not start.
 

If you have a wire from the points contact on the MSD ignition box to any retard module, disconnect it and watch for a spark indication on the main box. I still will have intermittent start failures. When I disconnect the grey wire - even if my MSD 8 is connected directly to the distributor with the starter saver technically out of the loop - the car will fire.
It's like the box gets confused if has wires connected to both it's points and magnetic outputs.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Now that I know it's an electronic fuel injection unit...........way too many things can be wrong. I would try to erase the programming and reprogram it from what was in it when it ran last. Don't assume the program is OK. I had an MSD ignition that developed a miss and the reprogramming fixed it. These things are just computers... Reboot and start over.
Dan

Re: Car will not start.
 

Thanks everyone for your help and information.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Unless I missed it you never said what you are using for a trigger input. flying magnet. distributor, multi tooth crank wheel. Does the bigstuff unit have an diagnostic LED on the box, and if so what happens when you crank it? Also are you using a cam sync for sequential EFI? After reading back through the posts I'm going to say you're running an MSD ignition box, hooked to the big stuff controller for the EFI side of things is this correct? And if so and you have no spark...look at the MSD part only for now, if the MSD has no spark then you probably aren't producing a tach signal for the big stuff system to work off of.

Re: Car will not start.
 

Just wondering if this combination ever ran . Is this a completely new built engine / wiring / controller ? My L99 with a Big Stuff controller ran flawlessly , I do remember that the wiring on the pickup needed to be changed to work . These modifications are spelled out on the Big Stuff website . Good luck !

Re: Car will not start.
 

Looked this information up on the Big Stuff website

The wire colors are different from MSD to Big Stuff for the Crank Trigger Pickup Sensor

The MSD purple wire should be hooked to the Big Stuff Black wire
The MSD Green wire should be hooked to the Big Stuff Red wire

Also there is a ground wire from the Big Stuff Harness with a loop terminal , it needs to be attached directly to the engine block . There should be a very good ground wire going from the battery to the block .

Special notice , Damage could occur to the controller if there is battery voltage to the harness, and the connectors are removed from the controller . TURN OFF the master disconnect switch before the connectors are removed or connected to the Big Stuff Controller .

If you can communicate with the controller with your laptop , you can set up a "dash board" that can let you add a tach signal . If you have no signal , then it will never start .

Good Luck !

Re: Car will not start.
 

Been awhile, I recall being able to trigger the MSD without the engine running to check for spark. Can you do that with yours?

Different subject, I also learned in my after high school job not to spin a magneto while carrying it with your hand on top...

Re: Car will not start.
 

If he is set up in the manner I suggested, yes he can trigger the MSD with either an MSD tester or even a paper clip. That's where I was heading but not sure yet exactly what he has.

Re: Car will not start.
 

I also learned this lesson the hard way!

Re: Car will not start.
 

Never handled a magneto, but the first time I tried to move the timing on a running racecar, I just grabbed the distributor cap with my palm across the top of all the wires.

Re: Car will not start.
 

What did you find, Ron/Jason?

Re: Car will not start.
 

Kevin. It was a burn wire behind the ignition box. Thanks