Car died, No scanmaster reading, No start

[HouTX87]

No change in rpm on that cylinder when you pulled the plug wire means that cylinder is missing. You could be on the right track but you can easily check for a low compression problem and eliminate that before going to all of the trouble of changing the injector if you aren't sure. Another easy way to tell if you have low compression on one cylinder is to crank the engine without starting it, if there is a cylinder with low compression you will hear the engine cranking speed change when it rotates to that cylinder and then pick back up again.

 

[TulsaGN13]

Good point, I will go ahead and test the compression tomorrow. I can't get an injector until next week anyway.

 

[TulsaGN13]

Can you tell a basic idea of what is considered an acceptable range on the compression?

 

[HouTX87]

If you have a flat cam lobe or a broken valve spring you will probaby have zero. I don't know the exact spec. Also hold the throttle open while cranking when you hook up a gauge.

 

[HouTX87]

unplug the orange ecm wire so the engine doesn't start and crank the engine for about 5 seconds. If you have low compression then you'll hear it. The engine speed will have a dead spot.

 

[HouTX87]

Any luck?

 

[TulsaGN13]

I tried cranking it with the ecm wire unplugged and didn't hear a dead spot. I wanted to close up the gap a little on the spark plugs anyway, so I went ahead and tested compression on all 6 cylinders. They all tested between 120-130.

 

[HouTX87]

Cool, thats good news. If you've got good spark then my guess is you are right about the injector. Glad you didn't lose a cam.

 

[TulsaGN13]

Thanks! I am too! I should get the new injector on Tuesday. Once I throw it in there, I will post an update.

 

[TulsaGN13]

Thanks for all the help on this one! I finally found an amazing shop in Tulsa that had my more diagnostic tools at their disposal than I did. I am proud to say that I wasn't off by much. They brought me back into the shop and showed me the spray on the number 5 injector. It looked great and wasn't leaking. Then they started chasing wires and found a bad wire going to the number 5 injector. So, at least I was right about it being a problem with that injector.

The shop name is Creitz Automotive. It formerly belonged to Bob Creitz, the "Engine Wizard" and drag racing hall of famer. He passed away last year, but his shop is doing him proud. I could not have been more impressed with their service and price.

The only reason I found them is because my buddy Matt, a friend of 15 years and a 89 TTA owner, pulled into their shop parking lot to turn around and found himself nose to nose with an 87 GN they were working on. He knew of my car issues and called me from their parking lot after talking to the current manager. These guys have a great reputation and serious street cred when it comes to high performance engines of all types, including turbo Buicks. However, they could definitely use some PR help, because I didn't even know they existed.

Thanks for the help as always!
Bill

 

[HouTX87]

Nice. Hey my name's Bill too. It might be a good idea to replace the injector harness prevent any future problems with any other injectors. I got mine from turbo tweak when I replaced my injectors. $56.99

http://www.turbotweakstore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1043

 

[1984buickboy]

Good to see you have got it running and it was just a wire issue. Unlike carberated motors, fuel injection can be a headache to work on and should be left to the pro's. Have fun with the GN man.