I finally got some time today to do something though. One thing I did try very briefly back before I left for Germany was to see if I could get her to just start... I didn't want to go to all the effort of fixing her to find out that the engine was buggered. I had big issues with the wiring as it was a complete mess, and the mechanic's manual wasn't overly helpful. Blew the ignition fuse straight up, blew another one, tried bypassing it but ended up completely melting the wire I put in its place... So I've been scratching my head for quite a while just working out what was going on.
Anyways here we are today. Went and bought a circuit breaker this time (140A as opposed to 100A... bit overkill but it was either that or 60A!) so that I wouldn't keep wasting money on fuses. Unplugged everything and started again... an hour later I was exactly where I was previously (sigh), still having no idea what was causing the fault. Multimetered the hell out of the electrics to try and find shorts, verify continuity etc, that didn't provide me with any answers either. Tried googling s15 engine bays to see if I was missing something but that was just as futile. And so began the wire tracing, working out exactly where each wire was going as opposed to seeing what I could just match up based on plugs.
Another hour later, I'd found the culcript - the loom from the alternator was originally grounded, but it needed to be connected to the fuse box. I didnt pick up on it because the accident destroyed anything structurally in that area, so I just assumed that the ring terminal meant a chassis termination... I was wrong!! After checking that I had power in the car, it was time to try again...
Now the video doesn't really explain that much, so let me go into some further details.
Wipers sounded like crap because of the cracked windscreen, but also combined with the fact that there's a massive sticker still on it from the accident... not to worry though. But she starts first time!!! With absolutely no hesitation what soever... I was definitely amazed :) Now the engine does sound like crap, that's partly due to the microphone being overloaded... but also due to the fact that I've got that many components disconnected from the engine, I'm surprised it even turned over at all. Basically all the sensors that read air flow are missing, so she has real issues idling...
Honestly though? That will be fixed with time. I know that the engine is capable of turning over and running =D and that's all I wanted to verify! Now I know for certain what avenue will be pursued in fixing her, and that will be sourcing a front shell, pulling everything out and welding this new shell on. But while I'm at it, I'll also take the opportunity to do some critical things such as rebuilding the engine, replacing the water pump and the engine mounts, plus a few other bits and pieces that would be too hard to do normally...
The first step will be to pull out the engine and gearbox, and get the front end sorted structurally. From there, its just a case of acquiring parts and putting her back together. But I now know what completely where I stand. I now know what needs to happen to move forward based on the condition of everything.
Looking at this picture, its an absolute mess. But to quote the late Big Kev, "Iiiiiii'm exCITED!!!!!"
Oh and one last picture...
My very crudely modified engine loom :)
