engine dies when clutch is released
 

I have a 1992 turbo td04h miata 1.6.

I swapped in a 1990 miata motor cause the other one was bad.

everything seems to be bolted on correctly and no leaks.

i just started it today and the engine ran a bit weird. Kind of like a lawn mower. The distributer is still lose for adjustments. The problem is...

I start the miata, slowly let go of the clutch, then the engine dies... I am stumped.. What could be the problem?

Miatas have distributors? I don't think you have a miata engine, bro.

distributors
 

sorry, I meant the miata crank position senser. The cylinder shaped deal attached to the back side of the intake cam rod..

http://www.carpartswholesale.com/ima.../A13135438.jpg

is the car in gear?

:facepalm:

Is the timing good?

neutral
 

The car is not in gear.

We pushed the car unto the driveway. I noticed that the clutch and brake was really lose and grabbed some dot3 and tried bleeding them in for about 10 minutes.

Then i started the car up in neutral. With my foot down on the clutch pedal, it runs ok. (sound a bit like a lawn mower) As soon as the clutch becomes completely released while in neutral, the car dies.. (!?)

i set it to (10) top dead center, intake cam and exhaust cam straight up.

As far as timing.. could that cause the engine to just stall when the clutch is fully released in neutral?

I figured the car was in gear and you were trying to go forward...

So it doesn't try and move forward when you let out the clutch?

What if you give it a bit of gas as you let out the clutch.. still die?

Could the transmission be fux0red... binding of some sort?


Honestly not really sure, just figured I'd throw some random stuff out there.

Eh? That's not set properly. We'll get to the clutch issue after the lawn mower issue.

lawn mower issue: figure out what exhaust connection isn't tight/secure. If it's not obvious, I would start by making sure the coolant hard line from the heater core is bolted over the manifold at the #3 runner instead of under it.

I don't think he's talking about a leak. From what I read it's not running smooth. :dontknow:

This sounds like a bad case of retarded timing or fucked ignition.

Or running on 3 cylinders.

Which would be teh confuckled ignition. Can we get pictures of your timing setup?

I retightened the bolts on the exhaust and adjusted the crank position sensor. It seems to sound great now.

Now I cant seem to figure out why the car dies when the clutch is released. (!?)

Wow, the engine runs so rich. When i pump a little gas, the engine dies all together... as if i flooded the engine. (400cc injecters)

Is there a way to manually tune this link engine management right from its viewing screen? I dont have any of the applications and linkages to it. (never tuned it before)

Even still, your car shouldn't be dumping that much fuel into your engine. What other fuel modification have you made (rail/pump, blah blah)?

random pix
 

here are some random pictures of what im doing.

running too rich

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...119c9e7e36.jpg

link engine management setup

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...dd50abed71.jpg

stick on the clutch while i work

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...baa2bce978.jpg

turbo setup while engine is running

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...0d42f0d7ac.jpg

I can't see any of those pictures, ha ha. It just comes up with an error message.

fuel rail setup
 

fuel rail setup is..

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...5d93ae9ba2.jpg

moving circles
 

everytime i read your responses.. i swear those circles are moving.. or is it just me.. XD

Ha ha, it's an illusion. And am I blind or can I not see a FPR anywhere?

odd setup
 

yes, its an odd setup.. the fuel pressure regulator is actually located center of the fuel rail, on the bottom end. You cant see it. Its hidden under the rail. My friend told me that the two side lines are the feeds and the center one was the return. Ofcourse, he could be wrong.

So, your timing is 100% correct (?), your engine is running rich as shit and you can't release the clutch without it dying...

No, he's right. The dual-feed rails are designed that way so each injector gets the same amount of fuel.

yes.. i dont know about 100 percent.. prolly near 80%.. but the point is, yes, engine is running rich as shit and you can't release the clutch without it dying.

My only thought as of now is the clutch switch. Do you have an over-ride plate installed?

overide plate
 

that im not sure. I bought a clutch and lightweight fly wheel and had a mechanic install it a year back. I never got the chance to rip open the the tranny.

there are two wire hanging from the bottom of the tranny.. i have no idea where they run. Could they have something to do with it?

I remember the stock engine had two wires coming out of the tranny for (from what i was told), the reverse lights? <-noob swapper

I connected those wires in. From the same bundle of wires was this other pair of wire. black (chuckle) and i left them hanging.. having no idea where they ran to.

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...a4df66f3f4.jpg

Yeah I ripped those off of mine, ha ha. No clue. I had a plastic connector on one of them. Meh.

I'm still trying to figure out whether it's a mechanical or an electrical issue. How much throttle can you give it before it dies, and does it backfire or pop at all when you give it gas? How soon did this start happening? I notice you do not have a MAFS (they suck anyway). Is your AIT sensor working properly/hooked up?

fuel
 

The engine runs rich on idle according to the fuel ratio meter. As soon as i push any sort of fuel in.. it dies.

if i let go of the clutch.. it dies

i just swapped the engine and started it yesterday

stuck in reverse? try to put the car in another gear or elevate the rear end to see if it is spinning the tires. Obviusly if you have the stuck in reverse problem and your ebrake, is on and the tires are on the ground it will kill the motor.

True, but it doesn't say much for the stalling issue when he gives it throttle. I'm thinking a sensor is left unattended.

Did you double, triple and quadruple check your connections (specifically vacuum lines and any sensors involving intake and exhaust)? Do you have a fuel pressure gauge? What PSI is it at when idling and does it increase/decrease when you manipulate the throttle?

make sure all the electronics are connected, to include ecu coolant temp sender (there are 2 temp senders) and the afm/maf. Can you start the car without pushing in the clutch? There are 2 sensors in the tranny. Your reverse sensor tells your reverse lights to come on when the car is in reverse. You also have a neutral sensor. How much vaccum you have at idle? What happens to the vaccum if you hit the accelerator?

Magna - good call on stuck in reverse possibility. Monger, if your car is stuck in reverse, the reverse lights (assuming the sensor is connected) will be on while the car is in neutral. The car will also not move forward. It will move reverse if the shifter is in the neutral position, and it will stall out if the shifter is in any other position. "Stuck in reverse" is an easy fix (5 minutes), fortunately

Let me chime in here. Car is not stuck in reverse, because we pushed it out from the garage in neutral without pushing in the clutch. Another thing, AFC guage only works when you are WOT so you can't read off of that as running rich Monger. Lawn mower sounding issue was due to down pipe not being bolted on(engine ran ok). Down to the nitty griddy, car needs a dyno tune, timing checked & work to be looked over for any loose wires vaccum hoses.

The main issue is the clutch, while pushed in the car remains on but when released it dies. Its not sruck in reverse or any gears. It does have an after market alarm which is disarmed before starting of course but not sure is thats malfunctioning or has a sensor to the clutch. The tranny should NOT neede to be torn apart due to the fact that it was working just fine before it was pulled. Motor & tranny was pulled as a whole & installed as a whole. Would the driveshaft affect the issue? It had to be modified to fit. Thanks in advance.

okok, i think i found the problem. This hose thingamabob is supposed to be connected to the link engine management inside the hood. looks like it may have came lose. It now stays on in neutral with the petal released. The car can go into gear and move. Sounds beautiful too now. Here is a picture of the hose.

I went over all my sensors and found it.

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...c186be85c2.jpg

Thanks so much you guys. You guys rock! miataturbo.net rocks on!.. XD

Nice, good find. Well I'm glad you found your problem.. and also that it cost nothing to fix. Rock on for electrical problems, ha ha.

Woop woop

Congrats on the fix. However, I'm curious, why was the driveshaft modified?

LOL at finding the absolute most important connection of the entire engine management system was disconnected, and then calling it a 'hose thingamabob'.

Glad you got it sorted!

I believe the previous owner said it had a newer rear end from the newer miatas.