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Starter issue or... seized engine?


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Background - i just finished a few mods, TGV delete, turbo banjobolt filter removal, individa catless up, indivia catted down (planning on Cryo etune but i wanted to make sure my car started before i buy it).

 

I went to start the car for the first time this afternoon (after sitting for about 4 months) and of course it had a dead battery - used my wife's car to charge the battery and gave it my first attempt - engine sputtered a bit like it almost started but no cigar. I tried again this time only cranking and not even a sputter. Next time only cranking. Fourth attempt, no cranking and i'm not sure if it's a electical issue of

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Sorry, elbow hit the enter key and posted before i was done typing. whoops

 

....Fourth attempt, no cranking and i'm not sure if its an electrical issue (ground/battery issue) or if the engine is seized up. I had the car hooked up to my wife's car for each attempt so i don't think there is a lack of current but from what i understand, it could still be a bad battery cell? Before the mods, car ran fine.

 

Tomorrow i'm going to buy a multimeter to test the battery to get tested and hopefully its just a bad battery.

 

With the car sitting so long, i wondered if i didn't properly prime the oil feed... which is why i'm so nervous. Any suggestions are appreciated

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I doubt it is seized. I would think the motor would start up on 4 month old gas. Annually I have cars that sit for 4-6 months and I never have starting up issues on old gas. I would guess your battery is the main culprit. I would double check your (mechanic) work to make sure you didn't forget to tighten anything...
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It was weird it kept cranking them abruptly stopping. I was freaking myself out like worried I dropped something in my cylinders or something lol. Manually turned the crank and it seemed okay. Took my battery in and got it tested at oriely and they said its good but I still have the hunch its an electrical issue. Going to replace a few sketchy looking corroded grounds tomorrow and hopefully it will start!

 

Also I called IAG (manufacturer of the TGV deletes that I bought and installed) and he seemed to think it was common for cars not to start up due to too much air at cold start (too lean i guess) without tuning it first. Can anyone confirm this?

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It was weird it kept cranking them abruptly stopping. I was freaking myself out like worried I dropped something in my cylinders or something lol. Manually turned the crank and it seemed okay. Took my battery in and got it tested at oriely and they said its good but I still have the hunch its an electrical issue. Going to replace a few sketchy looking corroded grounds tomorrow and hopefully it will start!

 

Also I called IAG (manufacturer of the TGV deletes that I bought and installed) and he seemed to think it was common for cars not to start up due to too much air at cold start (too lean i guess) without tuning it first. Can anyone confirm this?

 

My car was a major PITA to start when the MAF went bad and the tune couldn't account for whatever weird data it was being sent from the MAF. Possible it's your issue. Corroded grounds could definitely hinder starting though. We don't know how old your fuel actually is, how long it was stored at the station, etc, so I'd still recommend putting some good gas in there and siphoning some old stuff out.

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Update - I checked fuses everything looked fine. I had a second MAF (all three sensor wires looked shiny and brand new) put that in and still no start. Still haven't tried replacing gas (basically a full tank :/ ) but i picked up a code reader and am getting the following codes:

 

2016 - intake manifold runner position sensor/switch circuit low (bank 1)

2021 - Intake Manifold Runner Position sensor/switch circuit low (bank 2)

2008- Intake manifold runner control circuit/open (bank 1)

2011 - intake manifold runner control circuit/open (bank 2 )

 

These are obviously related to my TGV delete (2021 and 2016 TPS sensor and 2008 & 2011 related to the TGV motors i believe), however i think the folks at IAG may be right - that is that I may need a new tune before the car will start.

 

The odd thing is that prior to the TGV delete (and the primary reason i did the TGV delete) I was getting code P2007 (Intake Manifold Runner Control Stuck Closed Bank 2) which put my car into limp mode.

 

Has anyone ever done a TGV delete AFTER having TGV TPS sensor/TGV motor codes? i'm wondering if this is my issue.

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A tgv delete and those mods shouldn't cause a no start with the tune.

 

Maybe plug your old tgv into the harness if possible without an install and see if that changes anything. I don't think the connections will reach though....

 

I know it's a little more effort on a boxer engine. But can always start at the beginning. Do you have fuel and spark? Did it accidentally reverse the fuel hoses? Are you getting spark? Swapped the coil pack plugs? I'm assuming for the tgv you basically had to disconnect and remove everything.

 

I accidentally set my e30 plug wires in reverse and spent 8 hours go so far as to test pin out on my ecu. Start with the basics and check everything small first before you try to do something big like drain the gas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  • 3 weeks later...
Solved! Well fixed but the mystery is still there. I bought a tactrix (need it for my etune anyway) and disabled all TGV related codes that i got before i did the delete. Still no start. Called a towtruck and took it into a local subaru specialty shop (brought it in early for a custom catcabk build and they said they'd look at my no start issue). Before they started on anything, they did their normal pre work inspection, checked wiring harness, coils, grounds, crank position sensor etc. They everything looked okay and it started right up for them! Wtf. I'm starting to think it was the gas and that @dgoodhue was right. Maybe the flatbed ride from my house to the shop was able to mix up the gas and helped the thing start? I'm at a loss but idc... it finally starts
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