This are the color of my 3 cables:
green
green/black stripe
orange

 

the green and brown little cylinders with the vac lines and the plugs going into them are the solenoids and the casings are cracked... which i assume means they aren't airtight anymore. I have to replace one on my 89VG motor.



oh and BTW...
4 pins
4 wires

black/lightgreen
white/black
white/blue
white/green

 

Wow!! so that's the reason this front row of injectors ain't working!

now, is it possible that any other plug around fits on this plug and they connect it wrong, because I see the colors doesn't match

 

........... wait.... hold on..... by orange is there ANY chance you mean brown?



this sounds like the sutpidest thing ever but to remove your intake pipe and find the other 2x2 plug that's connected to your tranny inhibitor and tell me how many pins and what wire colors are on that. i bet that dumbass mechanic of yours got the two mixed up.

haha. he switched up F16 and F21.... dude..

the mis-wiring is also probably what nuked the #4 injector from having current come in the wrong way

 

Your distributor ground wire is crap. Crap connection there warps campos -signal ... and causes crap ignition. Make new wire. Also the grounding bit has most probably los connection - even new wire wont help if nothin done there ... see explanation, check http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/10


No news, Not my text. Not the issue here - as all are dead.

Its no use taking injectors out if ECU signal is missing. Signal can be ensured by sound... Easy verifications have to be made first.

 

look at the left harness. ignore the yellow and black wire (which the FSM has a misprint and Reverse is actually red/black, which i swapped for the yellow/black the next day)...... THAT is the one that he plugged into your injectors, and the injector signal has been on the park/neutral part of your inhibitor switch.... WHICH IS WHY YOUR INHIBITOR DIDN'T TEST OUT RIGHT!!! what a moron this guy is!

 

hahahahahaha!!! you are my Hero caped!!! YES!!!! it's brown!! and your plug that you show me on the pics!!! is connected to the inhib sw!!!

damn! I'm so excited!!! so is that it!! could it be that all my freaking problems was just a swapped plug?

 

only one way to find out

 

Hell yeah!!! I'm taking the car out for a test drive... but I have to put all th spark plugs back... so I'll be out for a little bit, I'll get back with news....hopefully good news! THANKS!!!!!!

 

He has muscles where brains should be: "...if u dont know, use a hammer."

At last good news... ... painful birth.

 

Conclusions:

• TCU diagnosics would not work because the inhibitor was miswired
• Engine sounded like a jackhammer at idle because missing on 3 cylinders, therefore was needing 2x the air (more than the IACV could even let through, most likely) to keep the idle high enough. ESPECIALLY when in gear, where you clearly saw it could not sustain idle.
• No power because you had a maximum of 80HP on your 1.5L I3
• Ran even worse because of 1.5L worth of air being dumped into the exhaust stream, meaning the 02 sensor had NO IDEA what was going on.
• Engine sounded fine under load because it went hit-miss-hit-miss-hit-miss so everything was nice and even.. it was basically just like a GM V8/4 or V6/3 Displacement-On-Demand engine. Except not.
• Shift points were really high because the TCU read your throttle position as being very high (using 2x the throttle position you would normally need)

from your way-back post called "engine/tranny swap done"
biggest. load. of. $hit. EVER.


And this, my friends, is why
Maxima.Org>*

 

I have to retrack my comment on your shaky hands - 3 cylinder engines do shake my hands also. This also shows how strong VGE is.

Why are u hiding the plug types in your pics? ...I bet bosch... ? ...well, mabe u like the random 1-to-6 -cylinder engine

 

Ok guys! I'm back! and good and bad news...

Good news: inhib sw works perfect! Shifting is better but not perfect.

Bad news: acceleration problem persist, CEL come on again, throw 33 & 34

I'm gonna run the TCU diagnostic now and let you know...

Wiking.... you're behaving mean with me man!! nothing hiding dude! I hate bosch too, they are NGK's and nah, no likey tha random 1-6 cylinder engine

 

now may be a good time to reset the ECU by removing battery ground cable for a half hour. How is idle now? Still chattering or is that fixed? can you get us another in-car vid.. not as long as the first, but just so we can see how it's behaving (if the reset doesn't help any). But it is possible that the miles put on with the mis-wiring could have messed a few things up, both electrically and mechanically. I'm sure that flooring the pedal with one bank pushing air isn't good for anything... you may have already lost your rings in the front from having no gas coming in up there. Anything is possible right now... and frankly, your mechanic should reimburse you in full. But i guess you still have the same old problem with that don't you.

and just so you know i'm going to bed now, i'll check the org again in the morning.

 

True. In worst case ECU injector drivers are fried. Hope not...

Another crap issue is THE crap distributor grounding. Easy fast bypass test is put jumper clip on cap screw and chassis...

Me nosee pluggie type ...suspicious... yes problem is with me. but. NGK? GOOD! (although their customer service sucks).

 

Ok! more bad news....

disconnect battery for almost one hour, when I put the cable back I noticed the F16 was loose so I reconnect it very firm this time and when I start the car, is runs pretty bad...

it goes like,,, ruuuuunn...ruuuuun....ruuuuuuunn.....ruuuuunnn.... . and RPM neddle is dancing between 1500-2000 up & down up & down, so I go to unplug # 6 and engine stabilize for a second and then smoke start coming from everywhere, it's so dark and can't tell exactly from where, I turn off the car immediatly but smells like oil burn.

CEL is on again and it throws 33 & 34, I did TCU self diagnostic and it runs perfectly fine, one long P flash then 10 short flash all the same.

why is the car behaving like this now? and what the hell did I burn?

 

Oil leak ? on exhaust, possibly related to your epairman

If your front block is now hot first time after so called re_pairs, all related abuse will surface one after another. Heat causes oil to flow better, seals behave... Do check all valve cover screws. I bet half is missing or no threads...

After ECU reset, idle has never been good on my max. Takes time. (never like what u say).

U touched a nerve in the dark?
- Vacuum leak,
- MAF, IACV wires now out,
- temp sensor wires out?

Dont trust now the error codes. Wait for daylight -codes.

Why o why. Btw, hell is not a troubleshooting unit but a location... keep out. Your vehicle repair history is from dark ages, dont expect too much. Never heard such story -and- keep on hearing new such stories every day

 

as wiking hinted at earlier it is POSSIBLE that the ECU was fried during this ordeal. the ECU is set up expecting a certain resistance from the injectors. If that resistance isn't there (in the case if the inhibitor switch circuitry) then it can and will sometimes fry the driver for that injector, because it's expecting a less powerful charge to come back (after passing thru injector coil) but suddenly it's getting accosted with 14V straight from the fusebox. So it's possible that one or more of your injector drivers don't work anymore, which would cause it to run rougher on 4 or 5 than it did on those 3. as stated in post #54 you may have experienced dry-cylinder damage with your rings, due to the fuel not cooling or lubricating anything (if you've ever watched an NHRA event, you'll notice that sometimes when a dragster runs lean, the headers glow red, or if it's REALLY lean, white-hot... and occasionally stuff blows up because of it. But that won't happen on a passenger car becasue they don't make 300+HP-per-liter) If all of this is the case then your tard-chanic owes you for an entire JDM engine assembly, including injectors and all. and an ECU. on top of refunding all labor charges. Once the actual cause of your current problem is uncovered you may want to see what can be done in terms of suing him for damages, and whatever else you can get for lost-usage-time or whatever else you can throw at him.

but first let's look at the things wiking was talking about (plugs and grounds, stuff like that) before becoming convinced of mass-damage. I just was stating what could have happened.. not saying that actually is what happened

o and run a compression test if you have the tool for it.

 

One more thing, when I replaced that 2x2 it was taped with another 6-pin plug, same as for the inhib switch, so I swapped both, the 2x2 and 2x3, was that wrong?

 

I am lost.

The FSM has all info, wire colors, connectors etc. Familiarize with it. If Cape doesnt make video running through every possible cable & connector, then that is the only way. If you want to be sure, take picture of each nuance and ask specific help for each numbered issue.

 

maybe. ok fill out this chart for me


currently connected to injector/IACV:
2x2 wire colors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
2x3 wire colors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

currently connected to inhibitor:
2x2 wire colors:
1.
2.
3.
4
2x3 wire colors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

 

Ok, I will fill that as soon as I get home...

Honestly I don't even want to talk with the "mechanic" because first of all is my fault that because he's a friend of a coworker I never got a receipt of a signed paper by him, that way I have very little or zero chances to win this in court.

I value so much my time to waste it in court without at least 80% of certain that I will win, besides he'll say most of the money was spent on parts I know it's BS but here's where the money was at (supposely)

950 - tranny rebuild (this should be ok at the moment)
750 - JDM engine (if working fine then he could say how come refund money for a part that is already on my car, but no one knows if the engine is good or not at the moment, so, how can I complain?)
600 - Labor (this is what I can ask for a refund only maybe, because his labor was just crap)
450 - Parts (oil filter, oil , water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, mode switch, etc) he give me a list, This money I never give to him it was pending for next week when he deliver the car like this then I never give him this amount, so he could complain to get paid this from the labor refund and I'll be out with mostly $150 which is not worth it for me.

I just want to let you know how this was so, I better forget about it and learn the lesson

Main thing now is fix the Max, and I'm determined to do it myself, of course with your help

 

if it's determinable that his sloppy work caused the lack of fuel injection to ruin the front 3 cylinders, then the engine is toast and that's his fault and he should pay for it. Also if his miswiring caused the inhibitor switch to fry the ECU that's his fault and he should pay for it. Also if his inability to diagnose anything correctly had you running around buying parts you didn't need to replace (P/C switch, and other items), that's his fault and he should pay for it. Also his labor was faulty, so he should refund that. Any money charged that you did NOT pay is not money that he should have gotten, as he was not performing the service requested, rather, making things worse, and that is not your responsibility to pay someone to destroy your new-to-you engine, your ECU, etc. In fact you may even be able to sue him for the dealer list price of all items damaged by him (the ECU costs a PRETTY penny), at which point you can buy a JY ecu and use the rest of the money for mods.

Do you have ANYTHING at all tying him to your car, even just testimony from someone? Will he admit to having worked on your car if called to testify in his defense? Lest he be reminded by the judge that perjury is a felony and punishable by imprisonment. He violated your rights as a consumer, and indirectly vandalized your property. If you know someone in the law business, you just may be able to get a pretty good payout here.

 

I don't have any friend in the law business, and I never been in a lawsuit case, so I have no idea how to proceed, but let's say I sue him for all the parts damaged and the parts he make me buy, won't I need proof of purchase? I have a friend at work who can testify that I handle the car to him, the coworker that recommend him he's witness that I give him the money but it's his friend I don't know if he'll support me on this or not.

I think I should ask for a full refund in a friendly way first and then see how he reacts, of course Im sure he don't want to give money back, but I might be wrong, I was checking online and for lawsuit with small amounts of money (under $5000) it says only cost $199, because I don't have the money to pay a lawyer also

 

if you can explain to him that his gross negligence caused damage to multiple systems of your car after you took replacement parts too him which he ruined, and that it took a 20 year old with NO college under his belt that lives 3000 miles away to figure out what he did wrong...... see if you can get a little bit of a guilt response.

it's a tough call due to the lack of hard evidence, but ANYTHING you have will help... just see what you can find (recepits of parts bought? anything?) even see if he'll write you a recepit expostfacto, or if he has the recepits for stuff you bought through him (if you did that)

 

Ok, I fill that out and I took some pictures... will upload soon

 

Licking wounds is cheaper than going after ants with lawyers. U cant change the world we live in with lawsuits. If it was your ranch swindled, maybe...

I cant believe an engine would suffer having working oil pump. Shorting ECU may fry it - not necessarily.

The oil issue/smoke - did u tighten valve cover screws?

 

what do you mean with valve cover screws? sample, picts? I had problem uploading picts will try again tomorrow

 

VG30E has to blocks in V-formation. Both blocks have valves on top, red big valve covers on top of all, (under intake). Via rear cover pipe you add oil. These covers have rubber seals, tightened with screws all around. Use any VGE picture as reference - see red.

If smtg is wrong here, oil seals leak, when warmed, the more. Some screws are hidden, evenly separated all around. If a screw is not visibly available on plate, that is not a pass to leave it alone --->it WILL leak if not tight. And always cause smell, possibly smoke.

Leaking oil on exhaust causes nasty smoke. Tanks use that feature in real battlefield as a smoke screen: oil is pumped into exhaust...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

When I have a electrical problem, I get the schema. You like me can print it out for yourself. Then I take colored pencils, trace all issues I can connect with my problem. Then I sometimes do draw my own simplified diagram...

This "want picture on a plate" -system consumes your energy, not to say everyone else's. Please try learning now this skill - you are the one benefiting from that experience. Take the FSM, scroll on the schema -page of interest, print it out. If tracing a diagram is a problem, lets help on that issue, gettin u on feet...

 

Btw. See the front red valve cover peeking in the next pic...

Do this after all smoke has been cleared:

All the groundings can be verified against possible problems simply attaching a test wire. Below a pic how to test the distributor groundings: if this does not help in any way, grounding work at this moment will NOT help.

The distributor cap screw is in contact with distributor. The other end of test wire is grounded on any engine ground point, here intake screw..

see http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/10

 

You're right about that "want picture on a plate" system, because it's easier for me that way, sometimes I'm even embarrased to ask for a pictures of quite a simple thing, but you know unfortunately I don't have as much time as I would like to seat and read a whole section of the FSM, I can surely do that but at the end, due my lack of understanding about all the terms on the FSM, I will probably absorb 10% of what I've read.

I will try to be more a diagram guy so I can provide more details and be more specific when I come asking for help.

However you can't deny a picture as the good old saying goes "a picture is worth 1000 words" and I've learned so many things Thanks to the pictures all of you provide, really! before I had no idea what the PCV valve was, neither EGR, TPS or IACV, now this experiencie is giving me so much knowledge, not an expert but I'm not as ignorant as before, so, Thanks for the advice

Back to my problem, been afraid of turning the car on again, I want to check and make sure the plugs are correctly connected before any other move, one thing for sure is that plug (F16) makes the car bring up some smoke and make the neddle of RPM come & go between 1.5k-2k

I will se if I can find the valve cover screws, I think I know what are you talking about I think there's a red cover on top of the block with many screws around it right? but I should focus on the front part where cylinder 1-3-5 are, you think?

 

hmm those wire colors don't totally appear to match either plug as indicated by the FSM. but i suppose if your reverse lights work properly then you know the big plug on the inhibhtor is in the right place... we know both little plugs are in the right place, which by default means the IACV is in the right place. have you run multiple full heat cycles on the motor yet (cold to fully warm)?

(oh and odds are the rear bank, evens are the front bank)

 

When u have determination and Wisdom, that is smtg else than this knowledge where u lag = No need to be embarrassed. I guess theres lots of issues where I am lagging and u could help.

See FSM page EM-19: 8 screws on both sides of the 'rocker cover'. Yes, front is the issue - if its the oil leak. U make sure...

You dont need to go through all schemas, Cape, I or anybody can give page relevant numbers. Pics on bolts dont carry far on schematics... but its easire to pinpoin a pin from schema. let there be pics on top of t hat...

 

I was thinking, probably some wires look yellowish bc they're old? well I haven't check my reverse lights but I will tonight, I'll also check those valve cover screws...

One more thing, is it smart to replace the injector that measures 17.4-18ohms right now?
or should I wait until that behave of jumping RPM's stop? I have my old injectors along with the rail, so I'm pretty sure at least one of those are ok but I don't want to damage again an injector...

what about those cracked solenoids you (caped) mention before? green and brown, PCV & EGR? the green one have the black little thing kinda loose (I think this thing adjust something) while the brown one is tight, not so tight but more than the green one.

Like you said, everything is possible right now with the crappy job I had on my car, I need to check everything and before running it again I want to be sure I won't mass damage anything else, maybe not by me but from the negligence of the previous hand on my car.

 

The colors are often bleached. Try opening harness wrap until color can be perceived. Needs good light.

I would not swap nozzle at the moment. It is out of specs but may be also healthy enough. Whatever it causes -if anything- ...that is constant.

Pwr valve can't cause your ailments, be it whatever. EGR can be closed for the moment. Just crimp all the hoses.

 

can't it if he's got a vac leak from a cracked solenoid? that'll cause it to act funny. an unmetered intake leak in combination with a hyperactive injector could cause a high idle, though rather rare that it would. i assume RMDL has checked the IACV's resistance already..

and yea def pull back the wire wrap... my o2 harness looks yellow, black, black but peeling back reveals white, black, green.

 

Yes vacuum leaks do have to be plucked. Constant leak has constant effect - if any.

Also constant injector problem has constant effect. Is it so ?, cant know... The higher the resistance value, the less kick for the needle core.

I am not saying that the injector should not be replaced. However, from troubleshooting point of view, all wirings have to be corrected FIRST. The injector swap evaluation comes later. Maybe it drives nice enough w/o swap?

You can DIY test IACV by single stepping the stepper motor by giving each coil +12V with a jumper wire, and -ground according the list.

 

Nope haven't test the resistance on IACV, since it has a wrong connector there I should have test it before turn it even the car on?

Ok, so I will test today according to wiking chart... now if IACV is not working because it got damaged, what could happen in the worst case, it had plugged the inhib sw plug

 

i just referenced the wire colors for the IACV, which are exactly as you listed, so all 4 of those harnesses are now in the right place.

on the inhibitor harness you listed

2x3 wire colors:
1. RED/BLACK
2. YELLOW
3. WHITE
4. GREEN
5. BLUE
6. BLACK

but it should actually be

Red/black
green
yellow/brown
green
yellow/blue
yellow/black

which is kinda close to what you put.... kinda. close enough to make me think that it wasn't mixed up with some other harness.

 

Probably I mess up the order, and some color fading maybe confuse me a little bit.

now, my point is: since on the IACV had connected a wrong plug, could the IACV be damaged?