18 rg efi running rich... guru help/suggestions needed

[Suavemechanic]

hi , finally got my dizzy in and to my surprise she started first pop !
runs rich and doggy ,but if you can get off idle to over 2 grand it revs cleanly but very smokey
fuel pressure is 31 psi and goes up when regulator vac line is disconnected.
holds for 5 minutes at least when i shut down
oxygen sensor appears to be working ... i hit it with the gas torch on the bench and the numbers changed on the volt meter consistantly ( $25 multi meter im not expecting too much accuracy between .2 and 1.1 v )
cold start injector made no difference when i pulled the plug
motor is recond, factory ecu
t p s makes a click when i open the throttle

comments questions or suggestions ?

[RA35GT]

Is it all wired as per factory??

Do the AFM checks on this page also, Toyota 22RE Air Flow Meter (AFM) (The numbers are roughly the same for the 18rgeu)

Don't recall my tps making any clicking noise.
There is two contacts in it, one set is connected at idle and disconnects right off idle.
The other set is disconnected until like ~65% i think then connects.

Also, make sure the water temp is connected to the ecu properly.

[Suavemechanic]

Hi ,thanks for the input
not a factory harness,im going to have to open her up and chase the one mystery wire i have leftover.....
and when i get a minute check at the computer for tps, temp sensor etc all the other parts were checked as i found/ fitted them
but the harness is where my suspicions are...it looked like a nice neat job so i left it alone

[thechuckster]

O2 sensor is only a factor at cruise and warm idle.

Where are you connecting the FPR vacuum line, 31psi sounds a little high for idle, , should be 35-38psi when disconnected or motor not running.

[Suavemechanic]

found the temp sender had a wire terminal pushed back into the plastic housing so it fitted up nicely but no contact !
runs nice now up to half throttle ...breaks down a bit under load
i think im running out of fuel ,or electricity
will test further tomorrow
vac line is to the factory spigot
i have moved the air flow meter to the passenger side ,using 63 mm exhaust tube apart from that its all standard

cheers

[RA35GT]

What coil and module are you using?

[Suavemechanic]

@ ra35 im thinking about that too
points and ballast resistor ,gt40r .
i have a pickup but have killed a couple of modules trying to find the right one ( spark for a few seconds only )
so its on the side project pile
the motor came as a cut out so everything attatched to the fire wall stayed
ill re charge the battery and do all the basic check and throw another capacitor in tomorrow
might not be fuel at all
@ chuckster ill have a look at that , i was only thinking " fuel pump works /regulator works "
cheers !

[Suavemechanic]

ok air by pass vac line was in the wrong spot !
changed to manifold vac not venturi and its solved the richness ,its a different car !
now it just breaks down at 3000 rpm !!!!!
new leads ,changed the plugs, re gapped the points and swapped a condensor for anpther one of the " was working fine " variety
fuel pressure gage on the windscreen says " not me "
tried a different air flow meter in case the track was worn out, not him either
the coil was running fine before the motor swap but its on my list......
been busy so i havent had much time do do anything but think " so what happens at 300 rpm ? "

and " why is there always at least 3 things wrong ? "

[RA35GT]

does it break down in neutral free revving? or when under load?

[Suavemechanic]

hi ,both may be worse under load . there is quite a bit of " talking " under the bonnet at this time but im not sure if its the fuel pressure reg reacting to the low vacuum or the cause of the low vac
the pressure guage is pretty solid ,tho i know from bitter experience pressure and FLOW are not related
put a screwdriver to my ear and each injector is ticking away smoothly
put a timing light on each plug and the spark is consistant even during the break down ,
swapped my efi/electronic 1.5 mm gap plugs for the old ones that were running fine in the last motor.....( watched a guy spend three days tearing a motor apart to find his new plugs were for an ls2 not a 70's chev )
leads are new out of a box but i should check them
i would love 10 minutes on a tune up machine !

[RA35GT]

when i did mine, i had an issue where it would hit something like a rev cut around those rpm when i used the factory tacho wire (which has a series resistor) once i moved the ecu tacho wire to the coil- directly, it changed the rev cut to a higher rev.

I had to swap to the 18rgeu electronic ignition module and coil to get the problem to go away (revs out to 7k no issue now).

I assumed the computer didnt like the tacho signal from the non factory coil/ignitor setup. (Didn't scope it or anything to confirm though)

Not saying you have the same issue, but it may pay to check if you can.

[Suavemechanic]

latest developments , finally got some time off and had a good hard look
fitted a new priming fuel pump 100 gph and noisy as lucky its a ute !
swapped a power wire to the coil supply ( ignition ) rather than random 12v i found and it revs to 4000 now !
pulled the injectors one at a time , noting the rev drop and no1 makes no difference,
so i guess we have a winner ! running on 3
off to the injector cleaning place tomorrow
hope fully thats it and i can experince rivers " time and space being warped " or at least do a good burnout

[Suavemechanic]

latest update !
the efi specialist and the dyno guy chased me away!
....... but agreed it was an interesting problem and i was on the right track
injector no1 is magically cured ( could be all the fuel cleaner i dropped in the tank )
pulled the dizzy out and had a good hard look,
put the electronic bits in and hooked up a holden motor module
yay big fat spark !
now revs to over 7000 rpm
and i will be needing new brakes !
i think the bits i was using were causing the breakdown .12r/18r points and breaker plate and the vac can was leaking

hope fully thats it for problems !
hope this helps some one
cheers

[litldv8]

the injectors stick if they havent been used for a while but a bit of a smack around usually fixes them pulsing them at the same time helps
did they chase you away cause its boxing day?
big fat sparks are nice arent they
neil

[Suavemechanic]

nah they chased me away cos there was no where to plug in for diagnostics.....
jeez if i could get some fault codes out i wouldnt need to come here
latest drama is hot starts/weak battery.....
one day this will be amazing