KLDE stalling after adding oil?

[Gods Father]

So I have a 94 MX3 with a recent KLDE swap thats been running with minimal problems for about a month now. I checked the oil and saw it was at a little above the empty line so I added enough to bring it to just below the full line. After that the RPMs would jump all over and it started stalling, as far as I can tell its mostly on hills, coming to stops or taking turns. It makes me feel like the spark plugs may be getting covered with oil or something? Not 100% sure...any ideas or troubleshooting I could try?

[Daninski]

Sounds like you didn't put the oil cap back on.

[Gods Father]

[quote="Daninski"]Sounds like you didn't put the oil cap back on.[/quote]

I wish it were that simple :/ i just checked and have looked over all the lines and wiring like 5 times...I dont know what else it could be and why when I changed my oil

[Sleeper6]

is the oil dipstick tight? KLs are very finicky about vacuum leaks. If so Ild check along the back from the booster all the way along the motor to make sure its all 100%, adding oil shouldnt affect it that much unless you over filled it, or it could just be an infamous disty failure

[kulluminati777]

Did you run it, shut the car off, waited a few moments THEN checked the level? Its an odd problem maybe you put too much oil in also what rating did you use. 10w30?

[Gods Father]

The oild dipstick seems to be fine as far as I can tell. I put in 5w 30 which Im not 100% sure if that would be an issue.

So far this is the process Ive gone through for trying to get it to work.Initially I though maybe it was the fuel injectors or water in my tank so I put in fuel injector cleaner and water wetter, neither helped. Then I replaced all the spark plugs, which didnt seem like any were bad. It made it start a lot more rough. Then I tried to replace the distributor with an older KLZE one I had because I have the HEI mod...(which was weird because the rotors on both werent the same) but that didnt help either. Then I tried cleaning the cap and rotor and now it wont even start. I also replaced the fuel filter just in hopes it was clogged but that didnt help either, obviously. :/

So now Im thinking of getting a new cap and rotor and doing the mod to it for the external coil if its not that difficult. Any other suggestions? Thanks for the help so far!

[Sleeper6]

1)remove your back seat and disconnect your fuelpump.
2)pull a spark plug and insert said spark plug into its respective wire lead
3)recruit a friend to turn the car over while you hold the lead and plug near a part of the frame to verify you have spark*
*If your creative you can do this solo like Ive done by using one of the leads that you can leave sitting on a wiper arm
4a)report back to us if you have solid strong spark
4b)you have no spark, replace your disty

Only say it this way because you say the plugs kind of helped and that after swapping it then it wouldnt even start. Its very possible your hei module on your original setup is the culprit.

[davmac]

^ I'm with him. Spark, fuel and air (at the right moment) is what you want to troubleshoot. The oil change was just coincidence. Start with a matching ECU, VAF and distributor for the KLDE.

Confirm you have spark. Then confirm you have fuel. Then check vacuum lines and air intake tubing and VAF. If all that checks out then look at timing.

Is the no start condition mean that the engine is turning over, but it does not start? If you turn the key and get nothing then check grounds and connections at battery and starter.

[Gods Father]

So I disconnected the fuel pump and connected a spark plug to the wires and tried it but I got no spark. Not really sure where I was supposed to put the spark plug while its in? but I was touching it to the frame and metal parts of the engine and there was no spark...

Im about 90% sure its the distributor or cap but the weird part is I have 2 with external coil posts and neither are working making me a little skeptical that its the distributor or cap? Could it be the HEI module itself?

From this point forward I'm kind of unsure how to proceed. So far I put all new spark plugs in and tested all the ohms of the wires, all were between 5 and 8.

I have the external coil setup meaning I cant use a regular DE cap unless I do the custom post job, but no parts store around here carries the post or the cap...and I'm not sure thats even the problem. Im going to buy an HEI module tomorrow and see if thats the culprit, if you think that could be it? Otherwise I'm almost sure its the cap/rotor/disty or my grounds correct? Or possible wiring thats gone bad...or the MSD blaster coil?

I just dont know the liklihood of each scenario :/ and I just want a cheap easy fix, haha but it never is

thanks again!

[davmac]

It sounds like you are not getting spark and you have a distributor that has been modified to use an HEI ignition module and an external coil. If you have a modified KLDE distributor with an HEI module and an external coil then you'll need to troubleshoot that setup.
I trust the distributor plugs (which I assume were unmodified MX-3 wiring before the KLDE was installed) are modified correctly. 2 important things: 1 - HEI module itself is grounded; 2 - Orange wire from 6 wire distributor plug is using relatively thick wire (16 gage or thicker) to connect to the G terminal of the HEI module.

Testing for spark:
When the spark plug is installed it is grounded through the engine by the threads. The high voltage signal is carried down the center of the spark plug to the electrode. The electrical signal arcs from the electrode to the ground strap creating a spark.
With the spark plug out of the engine you will still need to provide a path to ground in order to see a spark. You can clip the spark plug to a good ground on the engine. Some people will just stick a screwdriver into the spark plug wire and hold the metal shaft of the screwdriver close to the intake manifold or some other unpainted metal on the car that provides a path to ground. It is safer to use a spark tester that uses a test light you connect between the spark plug wire and spark plug. You then leave the spark plug installed and just watch for the light to flash.

[Gods Father]

Thanks for your help so far! As of right now I'm 90% sure its the distributor. I have on the 7 pronged KLZE distributor with the HEI setup. So not the modified probe disty. I have an older KLZE distributor which I also tried and got the same problems...So I'm thinking its either both distibutors are messed up and I have to get a probe one and modify it, or its the HEI mod not being grounded like you said, or the external coil if its possible for that to go on me too?

Would the symptoms be the car not starting or the rpms dropping while its running if it were the msd external coil?

So my list of possible solutions is as follows:

Distributor cap and/or rotor
HEI mod (I bought a new one today and tried it, no luck)
HEI mod grounding/wiring
Spark plugs (already replaced them)
Spark plug wires (tested all the resistances and they all seem fine)

Anything else I should be checking?

[Sleeper6]

anychance you can post a pic of your underhood/ignition setup? Did you check the resistance on your coil, that may be your culprit if the module is ok. Also most advance autos have an ignition module tester in the store that can run your module through just to be 100%. However if your coil tests ok it might be the pickup in the distributor and you may have to start with a fresh unit, thats what frustrated me with my HEI trial & errors and led me to just buying a lifetime disty

[Daninski]

Replace the ignition module and see if that fixes it. Bolt it to the frame well so heat can be better dissipated. The ZE disty really has nothing in it to go wrong with the exception of a worn out/busted azz cap.