MS2 installed, wouldn't start, then it stopped cranking?

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12-13-2018, 09:02 PM

tylerkun

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MS2 installed, wouldn't start, then it stopped cranking?

I tried to install my new to me DIYPNP. Got everything connected, removed the ST fuse, then hooked up my laptop. Everything connected just fine and I loaded the 90-93 Miata basemap straight from diyautotune's website. I set the timing to 10* fixed in Megasquirt. The CAS timing was set to about 16* but when it started, I was going to bring it down to 10*. The car would crank, but wouldn't start. I tried a few times and nothing happened. I looked at a couple other settings, but didn't do anything but switch from "Use Table" to "Fixed Timing" in the ignition options. After about 10-15 minutes of looking at stuff and cranking here and there, the starter stopped. When turning the key, it would click once as if the battery was dead. I put a charger on it for a bit but nothing changed. I took a look at the starter itself and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. I fiddled around a little longer and decided to just plug the stock ecu and fuse back in. It still did not crank. Just simply clicked once.

My car is a stock 91 1.6 Miata (It has a header, exhaust, and cone filter, but that shouldn't effect much. Does anyone know where to "start"

with this? I just changed the battery and starter about 1-2 months ago so I have a feeling there shouldn't be any issues with either.

Sorry if there is another thread with this issue. I did some searches and I might not have the right keywords.

12-13-2018, 09:07 PM

tylerkun

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If it helps, I still have all the stock sensors and such. When loading the tune in, I did select narrowband for the o2 sensor. If needed I can upload a log / tune, but I figured it wouldn't be necessary as it's a straight basemap file from their website. I'm not worried for the car not starting as I can figure that out eventually. I just can't do anything if it doesn't even crank..!

12-13-2018, 09:22 PM

Ted75zcar

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Jump start the car with the stock ecu and charge your battery with the alternator.

12-13-2018, 09:23 PM

gooflophaze

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It's going to be the battery or the cables, there's nothing MS does that's special in that regard.

12-13-2018, 10:23 PM

tylerkun

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Ted75zcar

Jump start the car with the stock ecu and charge your battery with the alternator.

I thought of jump starting it, but I didn't want to try something without another opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gooflophaze

It's going to be the battery or the cables, there's nothing MS does that's special in that regard.

I can try charging it longer, but I'm a little reluctant that that is the issue. The 40A charger I was using was on the battery for a good 10 minutes and I even used the 200A "Engine Start" mode and still nothing. I'll try to jump start it in the morning and hopefully that works! Maybe I'll keep it on a trickle charger tonight as well.

12-14-2018, 04:33 AM

tylerkun

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News Update:

I left my car on a 40A charger for a good 40 minutes. I tried to start it and still just a single click. I then decided to pop start it by rolling it down my driveway. The only thing that I accomplished was getting my car further away from my garage. I’m not sure if it was going fast enough, but I’ve pop started it with my driveway multiple times in the past.

So unless my 2 month old starter went bad, is there any other advice I could get from anyone?

12-14-2018, 08:12 AM

Ted75zcar

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Jump start the car with the stock ecu

12-14-2018, 12:26 PM

tylerkun

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Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerkun

I fiddled around a little longer and decided to just plug the stock ecu and fuse back in. It still did not crank. Just simply clicked once.

It is on the stock ecu and had the fuse back in as per my first post. It doesn’t start even with Megasquirt removed.

12-14-2018, 07:43 PM

ravinaziankid

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Dumb question but did you put the AFM back on and plug it in? But even with it off i think it should have cranked if you had enough juice in the battery.

12-14-2018, 08:06 PM

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tylerkun

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ravinaziankid

Dumb question but did you put the AFM back on and plug it in? But even with it off i think it should have cranked if you had enough juice in the battery.

Not a dumb question. I never removed it. I was trying to get the car started on Megasquirt with all the stock sensors, including the flappy door AFM. So yes it’s still connected and installed.

12-14-2018, 08:25 PM

#11

Marioshi

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Loose cables? I would pull the battery and have it tested so you can rule it out, the battery in my golf went flat dead to the point where it wouldn't even hold enough charge to be able to restart even after being run a while. It showed no signs of going out, just one day, totally fried.

12-14-2018, 09:55 PM

#12

skylinecalvin

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Did it work prior to removing the stock ecu?

12-16-2018, 05:02 AM

#13

tylerkun

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Marioshi

I’m going to pull the battery out tomorrow and have it tested at Autozone. I really don’t think that’s the issue, being this battery is less than a couple months old but doesn’t hurt to try!

Quote:

Originally Posted by skylinecalvin

Did it work prior to removing the stock ecu?

I drove it every day for a week then also pulled it into the driveway to swap the ECU. Everything was working perfectly fine.

If the battery test comes back good, I have another starter I’ll throw in. If the battery is shot, I’ll just swap out the battery.

if not, I guess I’ll go hunting for some messed up wires somewhere. Hopefully its simple!

12-16-2018, 06:48 PM

#14

tylerkun

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Issue has been resolved! Update for anyone in the future that needs another resource for this problem.

I removed the battery terminals and connected it straight to my other car’s battery with jumper cables (completely disconnecting the battery in question) and it still clicked.

I decided to stop wasting time with the battery and move to the starter. I had another shipped to me overnight and swapped it out in less than an hour. Connected the battery back up and it fired up instantly.

Just because a starter in new doesnt mean you should rule it out an an issue.

Now to figure out why it wouldn’t start on Megasquirt!

12-17-2018, 06:57 AM

#15

DNMakinson

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Mechanic friend agrees with you. He says, “Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s good.”

Glad you’ve solved this and can move on to tuning with your MS.