I would pull the return line at the fuel rail to verify that you do indeed have fuel in the rail.
BUILD THREAD 88 Monte SS to TPI
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Hey man I'm having the exact same problem right now with my tpi swap gauge holds at 43 prime and pump.. new battery as wel return line gets fuel coming out.. but only way mine starts up is with a battery booster after cranking 4 5 times.. and even swapped battery 3 times...
Try with battery booster even though it's a new battery.. just give it a shot
Try with battery booster even though it's a new battery.. just give it a shot
new battery & its on the charger all day & night,have spark to new plugs,new injectors & i even tried a different fuel rail & the old injectors,checked injector pulse with noide light on all 8 pigtails & they flash bright with good voltage,have fuel pressure gauge mounted on rail,reads 45-47 lbs on prime & crank,took fuel infeed 3/8 off and run pump,have fuel.put back on took off return line 1/4,have fuel. tach moves while cranking,pickup coil good.checked TPS voltage,.53 all the sensors are new,IAC,TPS,O2,Knock,MAT,MAF,oil pressure & coolant.ive checked all my fuses and relays.i have a custom chip with a ton of disables,but i even swapped in the old 88 IROC chip with no effect. one other problem i have just noticed is i have no dummy lights working(SES,BRAKE,SEAT BELTS) ive looked over the wiring to the lamp driver bypass and all looks well,im completely out of ideas.
That being said, it sounds like you're missing an ignition circuit. Power to the distributor and coil?
Yep! Or change the coil. When I was running TPI the 2 plug external coil took a poop on me and did the same thing! It would crank, had fuel, etc but would not fire! I swapped back to a blaster 2 coil I had handy and voila!!!
You have spark and fuel to the injectors (new injectors). Regarding the spark, where is the timing set? Are you checking it with a timing light. Most anything near 3-15 degrees BTDC should make it fire. I asked previously, but I'll ask again, are you getting any backfiring or starter kick back?
Are the plugs wet? - if no, then this confirms the lack of fuel issue.
If you prime it with some ether, will it run? I'm asking this because it sounds like you're not getting fuel. 84slow's comment got me to thinking about the '85-'89 TPI system with the 9th injector. From my understanding (memory, which is sometimes lacking lol), the priming pulse with these systems was handled by the 9th injector. 84 slow mentioning extensive cranking to get it to start identifies an issue with the priming and cranking pulse, or lack there of. This is the reason I asked if it will start with ether. Also, I believe, the MAF sensor has some input into 9th injector control and cold start/warm up cycles via the ECM. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on this and someone can correct me if I'm incorrect, but this is the reason why the SD systems are more in demand - simplicity.
I'm confident you've seen the ChevyThunder website. He has listed a quite complete diag for the 9th injector and no start conditions with stock ECM's. Have you checked the 9th injector with your noid light when cranking?
Has someone reprogrammed your PROM/ECM? Is it a safe assumption that you have no fault codes? Also assuming that you are trying to start this with the EST control wire unhooked - usually this a brown wire with black tracer going to pin R (VREF) on the 8 pin module so as to put the timing to base timing? Have you tried unplugging the MAF sensor and/or holding the throttle at varying positions while cranking?
I don't want to muddy up your build thread anymore, if you answer the questions (I know there are a lot), then I'll PM you. FWIW, this kind of thing keeps me awake at night until I figure it out.
BTW - where in PA are you located?
Are the plugs wet? - if no, then this confirms the lack of fuel issue.
If you prime it with some ether, will it run? I'm asking this because it sounds like you're not getting fuel. 84slow's comment got me to thinking about the '85-'89 TPI system with the 9th injector. From my understanding (memory, which is sometimes lacking lol), the priming pulse with these systems was handled by the 9th injector. 84 slow mentioning extensive cranking to get it to start identifies an issue with the priming and cranking pulse, or lack there of. This is the reason I asked if it will start with ether. Also, I believe, the MAF sensor has some input into 9th injector control and cold start/warm up cycles via the ECM. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on this and someone can correct me if I'm incorrect, but this is the reason why the SD systems are more in demand - simplicity.
I'm confident you've seen the ChevyThunder website. He has listed a quite complete diag for the 9th injector and no start conditions with stock ECM's. Have you checked the 9th injector with your noid light when cranking?
Has someone reprogrammed your PROM/ECM? Is it a safe assumption that you have no fault codes? Also assuming that you are trying to start this with the EST control wire unhooked - usually this a brown wire with black tracer going to pin R (VREF) on the 8 pin module so as to put the timing to base timing? Have you tried unplugging the MAF sensor and/or holding the throttle at varying positions while cranking?
I don't want to muddy up your build thread anymore, if you answer the questions (I know there are a lot), then I'll PM you. FWIW, this kind of thing keeps me awake at night until I figure it out.
BTW - where in PA are you located?
Did that cruise control bracket and servo come from the Monte SS? I put a 4.3 in a Bonneville, and need to remote mount the servo in a similar manner.
It came from the donor car I parted out and used for my TPI setup, a 87' Trans Am. I've seen a couple different cruise setups on TPI cars so not sure what other years might have the same but it seemed to fit and work pretty well for me. The servo itself looks similar to the same one on Monte's and maybe other GM's from that era but I haven't compared them side by side.
Awesome! I have the Bonneville servo, but that V6 gives me no room to mount the servo at the back of the manifold like the old engine had.
Thanks!
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