I just finished my heads/cam/injectors/AFPR swap and I finally fixed what I thought was only a battery problem. Then I actually drove it, ran like ****. Found out my regulator came from the manufacturer set @ 70 PSI!!!! Fixed that, ran okay, still had trouble starting. Now I think one of my rockers came loose and this car still has trouble starting!!! It turns and turns and turns until the battery finally gives out. I'm pretty sure it's getting spark (I would assume spark doesn't come and go) and I'm baffled on the fuel system, as the computer is programmed for the 30# injectors and the AFPR is adjusted accordingly. I still have the stock fuel pump in and plan on changing that tomorrow, but could this be the problem? Also, I was gonna play with it and downshift from 5th to 3rd and the car did nothing - no fire, no spark, just silence, like it killed the motor (even though the tach stopped @ 3000 instead of 0). Also my speedo doesn't work while I'm driving. It is plugged in, and what's more unusual is it bounces while it's being cranked, slowly climbing to 60+mph before the car starts (IF it starts...)

 

you've got some serious electrical issues, bro.....

 

could it be my computer chip? I had Alvin @ PCMForLess do it...

 

Having done all that work to it,you should go over everything carefully.Check all connections and vacuum lines.I wouls recheck your rockers too.Also,how old is the opti?

 

opti is new. All the vacuum lines were checked and compared with a friend's camaro. I did remove my emissions equipment, but that's supposed to be accounted for in the programming. The only emissions part on there now is the EGR valve.

 

If your valves aren't adjusted right it will run like crap, be hard to start, etc. Like Joe said check all wires and everything, you may have got a wire grounded on accident, I guess, I'm not a electrical guy. You've done alot of work at once which means alot of thing could have gone wrong. Good luck.

Have fun with that fuel pump tomorrow

 

valves not adjusted right? are you meaning rockers?

 

Yes, rockers, valves whatever

 

Eh... try starting it w/ the stock programming if its a chip you can take off. if it at least runs (or runs better) i'd take it to get dyno tuned...

 

rockers now adjusted, still wont start. KeVMaN, if the programming was shoddy, would it not start in the first place? Wouldn't it be bad if I ran the stock pcm with my new cam & injectors??? I'm beginning to lean towards the idea that there's a wire (or wires) grounding out. Reasoning for this is because even when it's being jump started, it (a) gives me problems, (b) the problem is intermittent, and (c) when I initially turn on the ingnition, the battery is at full power. Then I hear a click & the volts drop. Then a couple seconds later another click, and the volts drop to half of what it was originally. What wires could possibly be grounded that would cause such a horrible drain on the battery? Should I start looking at ignition & fuel wires first? Or can other wires cause this same problem???

 

I don't know if this helps....but I had a battery that was so dead that when I pushed started (dropped the clutch from a roll) my car to try and charge the battery, the car fired but no gauges worked and it wouldn't stay running. I had to keep it at full throttle to keep it running at somethine that resembled an idle. I let it run for like 1 minute that way and then shut it off and swapped batteries and everything was fine. Maybe you just have a bad battery? ?

 

yeah, I'm gonna have mine tested tomorrow...

 

Not true.. I have seen post after post here with problems due to an aftermarket tune.

 

Definately try the stock programming to see if at least runs decent. Since you had the heads off, its no telling what wires you removed etc. I would check all the block grounds, there are block grounds on the drivers side front and on the passengers side above the front of the starter just below the head. Also check to be sure your battery cables are tight and in good shape.did you install your cam @ "0" degrees? (lined up timing chain marks). Verify your fuel pressure while its running, get a shrader mouned gauge with a long hose and take the gauge to your windsheild where you can see it while tooling around.the speedo thing definately sounds like an ECM ground to me.

 

What bolts are the block grounds connected to that I might have removed to get the heads off? I did install my cam @ 0*. When it's running, it idles fine & revs fine in netural. It even drives well in all the gears, but once I try & downshift and boogie, the car just doesn't do it. It just dies. It's also extremely hard to get this car started. It'll turn over fine, but the battery wears down quickly and then I have to charge it again before I attempt another start. I've already adjusted my fuel pressure to 41, though my friend told me to maybe try 45 psi. Now maybe I'm not understanding this correctly, but what exactly is "grounding out"? Is that when to exposed wires touch? Or is that when an exposed wire is touching the chassis? How can I accidently ground out the ECM? I'm pretty sure my problem is electrical though, because my voltage drops in half only seconds after I turn the ingition on. I'm not sure what systems engage just after the ignition is turned on, but I first thought it was just the programming (since the fans stay on all the time with the new chip). I dunno. I'm gonna go play with the wires until one of my roommates get home so I can get a ride to the auto parts store to get my battery tested...