Here's the deal on that:

You've got switched power from the ignition switch going to that resistor. Power travels thru that resistor to the coil, so that under normal circumstances, the coil gets about 6-8 volts while the engine's running. This keeps the coil cool and helps it last a long time.

During cranking, the voltage available drops considerably from the 13.5 or so while the engine's running, so a boost of current is needed. On the B21FT, this boost is provided by the starter solenoid, where a wire travels to the coil side of that resistor. Power is only sent thru that wire during cranking, so the coil only gets a full 12 volts (closer to 10, actually) while you're trying to start the car.

Now, depending on your coil's internal resistance, you might not need that resistor at all. If your car doesn't run with the resistor and DOES run without it, I'd leave it out for now until you can get the ignition timing and fuel mixture sorted out. Maybe once that's all taken care of, you can put it back in and it'll run right, maybe not.

Thanks Matt and Athal,

Hmmm....okay. So, I'll just leave it as is for now. What you said makes sense Matt, in terms of how that system works. I'm still confused as to how that relates to the engine running better now....more voltage at the coil means its running better?

Okay, so now I've gotta set timing, idle, and mixture. The car won't idle at all right now, so I can't check the timing. I'm not sure what order to do those in then. I've never done the mixture bit...hopefully the manual covers that in detail. Special tools needed?

I'm guessing there's wires for the resistor on both sides of the engine bay because the car was prewired for a variety of engines. On an '84, if it had a b23f, the resistor would have been near the coil, while on the b21ft, it sat on the passenger side. Makes for confusing wiring I'm thinking!

More tomorrow,
I'll be in the 12's by next week....

Greg

Well there ARE special tools for checking the fuel pressures, etc., but truly special tools aren't needed for setting up base fuel mixture. Kinda tough to explain, though, so maybe my oil cooler and I should take a drive down to Lethbridge so they can meet your drill and tap, and we can have a work session on your car. Problem being, the next two weekends are out.

My drill and tap are always available! Actually, if you wanted, I could ship those bad boys to you....mind you, I would also appreciate the help here, so maybe I shouldn't say that!
Yeah, I'm gone Friday/Saturday, but I'll be back Sunday this weekend. Next weekend I'm free, and I think the weekend after....maybe I need to start planning a barbeque!
Greg

street wheelers weekend Greg some of us will be coming down forsure!

ciao

Update!! (long overdue)

Car is on the road!!!
Yep, turns out there were some vacuum leaks that I failed to notice, which appeared to be the primary cause of my car not staying running. Once plugged, she fired right up!! I was quite happy.

I got my old 2 1/4" exhaust plumbed up, and the car breezed through inspection!!! Yes. So its all registered and insured good like! Its been driven a little bit,

So....the good news:
-car runs strong, makes a healthy 7lbs of boost at present
-Sunfires with big spoilers will very soon feel my wrath.
-its not leaking ANY oil....I can't believe it! With all my drilling and hack job oil plumbing, I'm indeed surprised. Maybe I shouldn't speak too soon.....
-on a brief foray onto the highway, the car pulled right up to 160km/h without breaking hard into the boost. This is exciting as my goal was 200km/h, and this won't be a problem. As well, my old n/a engine barely would do 170, so things are good!
-my CBV was leaking, but a new $5 Saab find at the PYP gave me a functioning new one.
-tranny shifts fine, and my overdrive switch I wired on the dash works
-nothing has caught on fire or blown up....

Now...the inevitable bad news
-the clutch is apparently toast. Its a 8 1/2" turbo clutch, but no dice. It will hold full boost in first, but once I roll into second, it breaks free at 3lbs of boost. Poop. Same in all remaining gears. Trying to keep my foot out of the boost is quite a lesson in restraint.
-the tranny is leaking a tiny tiny bit of fluid. No biggie. My last one poured out of every orfice.
-the idle control circuit still isn't working. After pulling a $5 idle valve out of a wreck, and trying two different computers, still no dice.
-the car gets really really hot. Now, I'm not too sure if I wired my temp gauge right, but I think I did...... I'm also not too familiar with these turbo cars, but my cold side intercooler pipe is killer hot even after a short jaunt. Is this to be expected?
-possibly related to the above, is that the car pings badly, even at lower boost levels and with good gas.
-only my boost gauge lights up (what more do I need?)

My #1 priority now is getting the clutch fixed. I'm still looking around at this point, so if anyone knows good sources let me know. So far, FCP appears to be the cheapest.

All that said, I'm stoked the car runs (to say the least). I was hoping to be rolling for Street Wheelers weekend, but that's out now anyways, so no biggie.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Greg

Good job!

I'm always amazed to see you guys putting so much time on your car. I just passed the last 2 weeks thinking about putting the rear sway bar on my car and everytime, I get the jack out and then... Oh crap, it's sunny, let's go for a ride!

Actually, I have a similar problem sometimes too...I'm not as disciplined as you might think! I've been riding a lot as well!
Greg

your's runs that's why!

good to hear Greg...and not leaking any oil? what kind of magical spell did you use to obatin that outcome??

ciao

You pass your time to tear your car apart to mod it. Of course it won't always run in this condition! I'd do the same, but nah... I have more fun driving it than tearing it apart.

I'm assuming you have the mixture in the right ballpark? Running hot, and pinging at low boost levels might mean you're running lean, unless your ignition timing is way off too.

I'm pretty sure mixture and timing are within spec. I may check timing again, and retard it to 10 degrees, as its at 12 right now. Hopefully I'm not running lean. Bad news I'm guessing...
Greg

check that your boost enrichment is working too. should go to ~66 degrees dwell when you ground the connector at the pressure switch.

Yeah, we told him to do that too. Checked out fine.

Have you checked your spray pattern, Greg? Pull your injectors out of your head, put jars underneath each of them, fire up the fuel pumps and lift the airflow plate. The cone should be nice and even, smooth, and as full as possible.

You can also test the evenness of the flow by taking a fifth jar and pouring the first jar into it. Then mark a thin line with a felt pen at the level of gasoline, and pour out the jar. Then pour the second jar into the fifth, and the amount of gas should be at the level line. Same goes for the third and fourth jars. The longer you test (more fuel for the sample), the more accurate the results, and you can do multiple tests - one at constant low flows, one at constant max flow, and one at various random midrange flows, sweeping the airflow plate from min to max.

Cool....thanks for your responses Matt and Athal.

Yep, the enrichment is working fine Athal. Pulling the injectors sounds like a good plan Matt. I hadn't checked that yet...they're a mixed bag at this point...some from my old engine and some from that Turbo engine. Checking how they're spraying is definitely a good idea.

I'm low on motivation these days. Sitting in an office all day at this new job appears to be draining my energy. I figured it would be the other way around. About all I've done is put a shiny new fuel filler door on, and mounted my Virgos!

Greg