Diagnosing and repairing motor problem

Do you have one of these? (or whatever year yours is)



If not, get off the computer............
The Great Internet is not a substitute for reading the manual

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www.rallyrace.net

Yeah I have a Haynes repair manual.

I covers a small percentage of my car, the rest is either by other manufacturers or has been fabbed.

Not exactly a just Colt with boingers, a warmed over motor, and funky brakes.

But I'll read more of it, in case I can get any hints.

Hudson,

If I come across a rude or being a prick, then it's accidental and just my sarcasm shining through.

I went and bought a multimeter, and you're right I don't know how to use it.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442202179&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396670087&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474396670271&bmUID=1140018924238

Ok carpenter, here is multimeter 101.

Switch the rotary thigy to OHM, the Omega sign.
Connect the Black Lead to the black circled hole.
Connect the Red Lead to the red circled hole.
Put the tips if the probes together, you must read 0, zip zilch nada ohms.
If you bought a digital multimeter, wait till it zeroes
If you bought an analog one, using the adjustment knob, bring the needle to 0.

Now, put one lead to a clean metal part of the block, the other lead to a fender where there is no paint. Read what it says on the display write it down, and get back to us.

Even if it's gonna take all our patience and energy, we will make a mechanic out of this carpenter.

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Cheers
M.Samli
Phoenix AZ
Gaylant VR4
EVO III GSR (Stolen)


Rallies are no place for traitors

Turn it on, switch it to ohms, put one lead on the block of your motor and another on say the fender. Try a few places. It should read 0 or basically 0, if not your ground from your motor to the frame of the car is NFG.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

The basic trouble shooting in any Haynes is applicable in most cases.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

Also here is a very important bit of technical info.

Don't be so sensitive. We may be short, we may sound like pricks, we may yell.
There is nothing wrong with all that. We are not poets.

We don't care that much about you, it's your car we care more about. We are trying to help your car get on stages and we will be using you for the good of your car.

Now, put down your router, scrollsaw and wood screws and get to work on the Colt.

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Cheers
M.Samli
Phoenix AZ
Gaylant VR4
EVO III GSR (Stolen)


Rallies are no place for traitors

Thank yuou for Multimeter 101 !

The ohm selector has the following selectors :

200
2000
20K
200K
2000K

Which do I choose and why ?

I ask why... so I won't have to ask again.

Those are sensitivity settings. If you have a grounding problem it should show up on any of them. Have you checked yet?

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

Morten Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I removed the plugs, and tried to put a socket on
> the crank buy the elec. fan on the rad is limiting
> clearance. I could get a 10" cresent wrench on it
> with the with the absence of a bar and I can't
> budge it. Should I be able to turn the crank with
> the plugs out using a cresench wrench ?
>
> I pulled the valve cover off and the timing chain
> is still there.
>
> I tried cranking it over with the starter after
> the plugs were out but still wouldn't turn.
>
> What should my next step be ?



HOLY SHIT! THIS IS RICH!

I'm not even half way through this thread, but I'm laughing so hard my dog is looking at me weird.

Jens Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> HOLY SHIT! THIS IS RICH!
>
> I'm not even half way through this thread, but I'm
> laughing so hard my dog is looking at me weird.
>


What's your dog wearing?

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

I would like to make a point.

We don't care about *resistance* in the ground circuit, at least the kind of resistance you can measure on the ohms setting of a multimeter.

We care about the "voltage drop".

For instance. Let's say you have a 22 gauge wire or something equally grody and nasty as the only thing between the negative on the battery and the engine block. It will show zero ohms on a multimeter. When cranking the starter won't see any useful voltage because nothing can get through that tiny-ass wire.

Now let's say you have a nice proper 2 gauge cable for a ground cable... but most of the strands are broken somewhere between the battery and the nice beefy lug that should be bolted directly to the starter (hint hint) or at least a spot on the block where the paint's been sanded off. The DVOM will still read 0 ohms... but again, not much current is going to actually pass through that grotty mess.

What is needed to check cables that pass significant current is a voltage drop test. You set the multimeter to volts and connect one lead to one end of the cable and the other lead to the other end of the cable. (For a starter problem, after you first check to make sure the battery has at least say 12.2 volts, it's nice to just go right from the neg. terminal right to the engine block so you can check the whole ground path: cable, connections, and all) With it so connected try starting, ideally you'd see 0 volts but lower than half volt can be considered "perfect". More than one volt and you've got trouble, bub. On the other hand, if you read voltage before you even turn the key then your ground isn't merely bad, but actually disconnected...

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Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.

Oh, Fuck!!

Morton, I think it may just be easier to find a local mechanic that you trust.
I am maybe a tiny bit more car-maintenance savvy than you are (judging by your posts - I am pretty much a bolt-on monkey), but some stuff I just pay the $$ to make the problem go away! Electrics being one of those things!


(By the way, thats an "Oh, Fuck, now I'm confused too"

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Nick Taylor.
Knobhead.
Los Angeles, CA.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2006 01:17AM by nick the brit.

nick the brit Wrote:
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> Oh, Fuck!!
>
> Morton, I think it may just be easier to find a
> local mechanic that you trust.


Don't tell him anything sensible like that. I'm having too much fun reading his posts.

hudson Wrote:
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> What's your dog wearing?

Today he's wearing yo Mama's underware.


Previously...

http://www.jenisys.com/pics/kurt9.jpg

and..

http://www.jenisys.com/pics/kurt12.jpg

and...

http://www.jenisys.com/pics/kurt_xmas04_1.jpg

and...

http://www.jenisys.com/pics/kurt_wedding.JPG

Anymore questions?

Kurt said you should say, "thank you" to yo Mama for him.