defrag010

iTrader: (2)

I traded a big 91mm turbo that I had laying around to this guy for his '92 SC400. It's a little rough, the back quarters are bondo sculptures, it needs paint and an interior restoration.. but it's not too bad. He said it had a busted drivers side axle but that other than the broken axle the rest of the car was solid and would start right up and drive.

We tow it here, and I threw a new optima red top battery in it to test everything out. All of the electrical stuff works great, so I get ready to start it. Crank, crank crank crank crank... I probably cranked it for a total combined time of about 5 minutes all together throughout the afternoon. Check engine light is on when the key's in the on position, the car cranks strong.. stepping on the gas doesn't help, it just won't start..

I have been reading on here about all of the possible things that can cause a no start... but I'm a little overwhelmed. It seems like there is a damn separate ecu for each little function of the whole car. I wouldn't be surprised if I read about a moonroof ECU, or a windshield wiper ECU

I found the fuel pump ECU and jumped it to make sure the pump worked, and with the pump going strong the car still wouldn't start. I don't know if the injectors are firing or not. Now, I've been chasing my tail trying to check to see if the car has spark. I started to take off all of the plastic panels on the front/top of the motor that cover everything up but ran out of daylight.

I haven't found much information about the ignition system other than there are 2 coils (I can only see 1 on the front of the motor???). Is there an ignition module/ignitor somewhere? I've had ignitors fail on other cars and cause a no start, could this be possible? I had a buddy tell me that the plugs might be fouled, but I've always gotten at least a little sputter or hit with fouled plugs.... it's like someone took the EFI fuse out whenever I crank the engine over.

Is there some way of troubleshooting all of the different parts of the ignition system? I have no problem with putting new plugs in (just haven't gotten to it yet). Do Ecu's in these cars go bad? I used to dabble in mitsubishi, and old ecus that go out are a very common thing in that genre.

I'm just unfamiliar with this car, and need to know where to look to diagnose the no start problem. Any help is appreciated.

SHOLEXMAN

Okay this will help you out a lot. The ignitors are on the drivers side near the strut tower. There are 2 on top of each other. They are covered by a plastic cover that you can pull off. 2 wide connectors going to them. If your EFI relay is bad change it out with your defroster relay. My brothers had that issue. Make sure your alternator fuse is good because that supplies most power to the car in Toyotas. The fuel ECU is behind the drivers seat near the middle window. You have to remove the rear seat to access it. It says it right on the module.Pull off the cover to access the spark plug wires. Pull one of the spark plug wire tubes out and let it sit near metal part of the motor. Crank the car and listen or look for a spark to check and see if you have spark. If you have that then pull off your intake tube not the MAF leave it plugged in. Get some actual starting fluid not carb cleaner cause it doesn't work as well. This a is a 2 person job to be on the safe side. Open the throttle plate all the way and spray inside the intake not near the outside cause it will catch on fire if it backfires threw the intake. Let it sit for a couple seconds and have your buddy start the car.(WARNING: WATCH OUT FOR INTAKE BACKFIRES YOU WILL GET BURNED!) If it wants to fire tell your friend to keep tapping it wide open throttle. Keep spraying until it seems like it wants to run and if it runs on it you have a fuel delivery issue. The gas is most likley bad and you need to suck it out. That or fuel ecu of the pump. The 92 ECU's have a tendency of going bad so I would do that as your last option. If you need one I have one for sale. That should help you out man good luck.....

defrag010

iTrader: (2)

Alright, I got it running but I'll be damned if I know what I did to fix it! I went and bought a new battery for it because I was using an old optima red top out of my '74 dart to try to get it running. Put the new battery in, and the thing just fired up and ran like a top!

now, I just have to fix the axle. I need to find some bolts that will bolt the axle shaft to the differential. Does anyone know offhand what size they are? They look like 12mmx1.5 through my uncalibrated eyes..