nismo

my car was running...not wonderful, but was running.

i was trying to get ready for a stereo comp, and so i swapped the factory ground out. i got a 19" 2 gauge wire (i was told it was a 6" wire :-/ but i didnt trace it myself). anyway, i unhooked the factory ground (cut in 1/2 actually). i took out the battery, and set it on the floor...dont ask why. so i took the 2 gauge wire, and tried grounding it on the battery tray (where the coil is grounded), but decided it shouldnt go there, and i traced the wire to the back of the block. i got the wire to just reach, but for some reason the car wont start now. the clock on the dash works, but the cd player i put in doesnt...it makes funny noises like its ejecting a cd, but wont come on...the fuel distribution block (dont remember the technical term) doesnt click like it used to (before the engine starts). when i press on the brakes without the key in the igntion, the warning lights come on--didnt before this, and the car will crank, but wont turn over. WHATS WRONG WITH MY CAR?!

thanx,
eric

nismo

also, forgot to mention...the fuel pump is rigged. were told it would last 6 months...but that was YEARS ago. also, several friends have looked at it, and we cant figure out whether its missing fuel or spark, or both.

eric

StormChaser404

If the last thing you did before it died was play with the ground, I'd suspect a bad ground...

nismo

well, got a longer ground, and im totally sure that its solid now. once i charged the battery, the lights werent flickering anymore, but the car still wouldnt start. i smelled gas from the exhaust pipe, so im pretty sure im not getting spark, or the car would be running.

eric

'81 tic-tac

what year is it? (curious) nm

mladen

check the cables running from the distributor coil to the distributor. When I had my battery changed, all the wiring was very old, and to make the new one crank at all, they had to replace the positive terminal. after that, the car would crank but not turn over. then they replaced a couple of wires going from the distributor coil to the distributor, and everything worked.

nismo

its an 82...4000s 1.7 5 speed...says 152k, but closer to 250k miles

eric

nismo

well, the shop found the problem...so simple, it took several hours...

when i replaced the ground, i went from battery to tranny...and that caused an open circuit. they put in a wire from the battery to the battery tray where the coil is grounded, and its fine now! im gonna replace it with a bigger wire tho, cuz i think that it will need to be for the rather large stereo im planning

eric