The good news: the whole transaxle assembly is in the car!
The good news: the whole transaxle assembly is in the car!
The bad news: this plug on the wiring harness is about 6" short!
Dropped the motor last night to get the wiring sorted out. It wasn't going to happen in situ.
Motor is back in and harness connects up. Unfortunately that is all the time I have with an autocross tomorrow so no attempt to start this weekend.
Good new and bad news: the good news is that I have everything back together except the shocks and knuckles and the fuel pump fires up. The bad news: it doesn’t crank. There is an alarm system that has some sort of hidden switch to enable/disable it that doesn’t change anything.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to debug either sensor input that might be disabling the start, or where to find the break if the ECU is trying to start the motor?
I don’t hear any starter solenoid click and I tested the starter months ago so I assume the starter is fine. I haven’t installed the spark plugs yet as I want to crank the motor without any load to get oil circulation first. Could that be an issue?
I have an ALDL cable but I don’t know if that will give me any useful diagnostic information.
i think the first thing should be for me to trace back how the alarm is integrated into the wiring and see if I can remove it.
any other thoughts or suggestions?
No idea what the alarm is doing but it isn’t interfering with the starter signal getting to the C500 connector in the engine bay. The jacked clutch switch yes, but not the alarm.
However jumping the clutch safety switch didn’t get a start so we (My son David and I) dropped the motor. Again. Calling it an hour and 45 minutes.
Aside: I’m really starting to come around to the idea of air cooled Motors with carbs.
Testing continuity from C500/E2 to the starter found this
To quote Myth Busters “well there’s your problem”
Somehow I don’t see this connecting to anything very easily. And it has continuity with pin E2 so that is supposed to trigger the starter. Somehow
Week last Friday spent on the wiring harness. Fixing stuff and getting to the bottom of unused plugs.
And fabricated a bracket to attach the remote oil filters to the cradle instead of the car.
Last Saturday was supposed to start with lifting the engine but I got distracted by the battery bracket or lack thereof.
cardboard-aided-design and a left over strap.
And here is the bracket
And one battery that isn't going to move without tearing out the metal around it.
I got around later that weekend I got a first start!
https://i.imgur.com/4fbB21v.mp4
(Let me know if this link doesn't work)
Goal for this weekend: get the suspension all bolted up, brakes, coolant topped up so I can get the engine running and up to temperature.
Getting the suspension on was a major PITA, an axle popped out and dumped transmission fluid. Finally got it all together yesterday. Bled the brakes and burped the coolant. Replaced the left and right side parking brake cables as the old ones were seized solid. Still don't have them connected as those springs are a beast to get in place.
started it up and gave it a good run and got it up to temperature. Throttle cable is sticky, stickier than the return spring anyway. But the clutch was weird, so I pulled the slave cylinder and I see this:
I thought it was a plastic bit on the end not this shiny sheared off end ....
My theory is that it didn't seat in the cup and was ground away by the pressure plate. Trying to reinstall it correctly and I can't compress it enough to even start threading nuts on the mounting studs.
Had my son pump the clutch and nothing at the slave cylinder. Wondering about ordering a new clutch master cylinder but if I sell this car to someone who parts it out what is the point?
it might be worth just for honour's sake: to get it running so I can say I got it running even if i push it off a cliff when I'm done with it ....
any thoughts on how to confirm that the clutch and pressure plate are okay and it is just the hydraulic system that has crapped out on me? Trying to push on the clutch actuator arm (that the slave cylinder is supposed to push on) with a finger doesn't move it.
I also have an exhaust leak that I need to patch up with repair tape. I ignored the soot from a janky weld when I was painting the exhaust.
Note: I believe I have a Muncie transmission from the Beretta that the Quad4 engine came from. The clutch slave cylinder is exactly like the Beretta Haynes manual - no bleed screw and all. I have a replacement that can be blead but I don't see how it can fit either: arm apeard to long even when full retracted.
So these parking brake springs mock me.
So here is my plan
The notches in the washers are to allow the zip ties to be tightened up. Put the matching washer on top and tighten it down to full compressed (more or less).
Pop it into place, cut the zip ties and done!
Now to figure out the whole clutch slave cylinder situation...
Time for a beer of victory! It moved under it's own power this afternoon! Just up and down the driveway but it moved!
Bleeding the clutch was a bear, ended up replacing the slave cylinder (so that I have a bleed screw, don't get me started on the stock Beretta system...) and then the master cylinder. And then a full bottle of brake fluid AFTER bench bleeding both.
After putting in the longer slave cylinder plunger thing that came with the kit (I measured first and I swore the shorter stock arm would be fine) all was good. So probably didn't need a new master cylinder. Live and learn.
Still seriously thinking of selling it. The Miata has been suffering from a lack of attention, and there is a FSAE frame for sale in Waterloo that would be a lot easier to store and tow to events .....
Is there a name for my condition?
Listed it for sale on Kijiji asking c$1,500
Love the spring compressor. I will remember that.
Fiero has been sold! Cash has changed hands and will be picked up tomorrow.
Off to her new home this afternoon!
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