problem: engine won't fire

[l1ttle_d3vil]

Fuel pressure regs VERY RARELY crap out. If you release the pressure in the fuel rail (by undoing feed line, then doing it back up), then switch on your pump, and listen to the reg.

There should be a 3-5 sec pause then you will hear the fuel start flowing through it. If you hear fuel flowing straight away, its probably stuffed, but use a guage to double check.

P.S. email me some pics of your wiring, eg: coil, ecu, dizzy etc and Ill see if I can spot anything that may be causing this.

ive been away all weekend and picked up another regulator on my way through tauranga yesterday. put that on and it started up without much trouble. it idled for about 5 seconds then died out, sort of doing this consistently now. seems like the regulator was the problem for it not starting - now theres something else wrong. my mate (a semi-mechanic ) thinks he saw some smoke come out from the side of the block and suggested it could be a leak in the inlet manifold somewhere. is there any way i can check for this or should i just get new gaskets anyway? if i start it up and let it idle then give it some gas it dies out aswell.
i'll try get some photos of my manifold later today as there are some holes and i dont know what they're for or where they're supposed to go to (think they're all blocked up though).

[ee904age]

Sounds like a fuel prob alright. To check for leaks, spray some CRC engine start ar basically anything flammable but non-corrosive around the area you think is leaking and listen for a rise in idle speed, if it rises, theres your leak.

Did you get your fuel pump new or 2nd hand? Try pulling the hose off the fuel rail and get the pump going, slowly block off the hose with your thumb (carefully!!!), you should struggle to stop the flow completely.

[l1ttle_d3vil]

well atleast ive got all my wiring right by the sounds of it!
fuel pump was off my brothers car, he thought it had crapped out but ended up winning one somewhere so put that in, but his old one was still fine.

why does it have to be flammable? is it sorta like putting extra fuel into the system? (by sucking it in through the leak).

and what hose are you referring to when you say pull it off the fuel rail? the feeder line? thats the line i tested the pressure on and it held 60psi consistently.

[ee904age]

why does it have to be flammable? is it sorta like putting extra fuel into the system? (by sucking it in through the leak).

Bingo!
Was your pump giving 60psi when connected directly to the guage or was the guage tapped into the fuel line? The pump has a one way valve in it, so it may build up 60psi on the guage but not flow any fuel once the pressure is up if you get what I mean.

Yeah I mean the feed line, try blocking it with a guage in the line, making sure there is still fuel flowing at 60psi.

[ChaosAD]

fuel pump was off my brothers car, he thought it had crapped out but ended up winning one somewhere so put that in, but his old one was still fine.

Maybe it had crapped out

[ee904age]

As above, it wont take much to kill it. With external pumps, alot of people forget you need to run a filter before the pump aswell, with a little bit of grit coming from your tank through the impellor of the pump its good night nurse.

[l1ttle_d3vil]

Was your pump giving 60psi when connected directly to the guage or was the guage tapped into the fuel line? The pump has a one way valve in it, so it may build up 60psi on the guage but not flow any fuel once the pressure is up if you get what I mean.

Yeah I mean the feed line, try blocking it with a guage in the line, making sure there is still fuel flowing at 60psi.

i bolted the pressure gauge directly onto the 'out' side of the fuel filter which is directly before the fuel rail...

and im pretty sure he was still running his car on the pump before i got it. i will check this out though...and i don't have any sort of filter between the tank/pump

[ee904age]

It will definately pay to put one there, all you need is one of those plastic inline type filters they use on carby cars, since there is no pressure on that side of the pump. Good for peace of mind.