RA28 - 18RG. Issues....

[kolby]

Hi

I recently purchased a Ra28 with a 18rg engine.

I know very little about these motors/EFI/Turbo etc....

Here is what i do know.

- 18rg with Yamaha 11111-88270 head
- Fuel injected
- Electornic conversion to the distributer
- Mictrotech D5 ECU
- Turbo (M12 AIR.50) marking on housing

ISSUE:
- Car has almost no power. 2nd gear up a hill, car will maintain speed but not accelerate.
- Currently car is hard to start (needing 10-15 turns of the key before it will actually start) Is not the solinoid.
- Have noticed the vacuum advance doesnt work (not sure if i need this with electronic conversion in dizzy??)

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[BoostBoost]

Sorry can't help you Kolby but I too have just recently purchased an Ra28 but with an 18RGU.
Still waiting to take delivery of it...

btw can I ask where the head number is located and is this the number that is shown on the registration papers or is it the block number ?

[Omegaman]

The head number is stamped on the front of the head. its not shown on any rego papers. Just the engine & Vin numbers are shown on these documents.
The engine number is on the drivers side of the engine. If it has the EFI on it, it will be under that, towards the front of the block. (numbers face upwards)

As far as yr issues are with power, sorry cant help. Theres a lot of variables in the turbo set up. Could be ECU related, timing (dizzy). The vacuum Adv might be locked, as the ecu may control timing.
Start with what you can do yourself, check plugs and leads, timing...the mechanicals, then ecu tuning.

[kolby]

Thanks for the replies. Yep number really obvious on the front of the head
Thanks for the advice omega. Might start by relocating the battery from the boot back to under the bonnet!
Did timing today and it starts alot easier, however still has this really slow/delayed rev and no power. Will get a replacement vac adv (as I was told the microtech d5 is fuel management only).
Failing that it's time for ecu mess around.... I suppose. At least it can be done with a screw driver!

Cheers

[BoostBoost]

revert back to solex Kolby.

[7000rpm]

Hi kolby,

Have you checked there are no cracks in your turbo pipework? Are all hoses and clamps tight?

I am assuming you run an electric fuel pump and its humming as soon as you turn the key to crank?

If you are trying to diagnose and tune yourself, I would personally install and wideband air/fuel ratio guage and see what is going on with the air/fuel ratios before making any tuning adjustments

[masterofsinanju]

Kolby, some recent reading suggests that 18rg dizzy has vacuum and centrifugal advance so you may need to confirm that everything is locked off.

[Javal]

This sounds quite interesting.

If you are using a fuel only ECU, some significant issues can be caused by incorrect ignition timing, depending on how it's set up. Usually a setup like this, the vacuum advance is completely deleted (or a method of retarding ignition timing under boost is installed) and the distributor uses centrifugal advance only, so as not to raise cylinder pressure way too high and lift the head. A little crude but it works. If the timing is too far advanced or retarded it will cause starting issues and lack of power like you described.

As a first step, I would be setting the timing using a timing light to factory spec and seeing how it goes (for better or for worse), checking the centrifugal advance is working.

Also, Compression test it.