swapped ALH from mk4 - no start now - not the normal stuff

tongboy

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91 Jetta TDI Swap, 97 M3 LS1 Swap
Reposted in the correct forum (put it in A4/B4 last night, my apologies)

Alright, swapped rebuilt ALH from 99.5 mk4 into a rabbit

fresh motor after rebuild

checked timing a number of times

fuel is at the injectors

motor is cranking but will not catch

running no intake boot (straight to manifold) obvious cranking wooshing can be heard

injection pump has been adjusted all the way advanced and retarded.

tried with and without preheating the glow plugs (it's ~75 at night here)

only error code i've got is 17970 - Quantity Adjuster Upper Limit Attained - this number is reading 0 no matter what I do in vag-com, i'm unsure if this is because the motor is not running or because it has an issue. I'm going to check the wiring between the ECM & the injector pump but beyond that I can't find much on the quantity adjuster stopping cars from running but my VW tech friend's say it will.

Can I clean it? can I order a new one? is this really my problem? what else am I missing/need to check? is my pump dead? is my ecm dead? any code blocks I should be reading to diagnose this and what should I be seeing in them? i'm open to any and all suggestions!
 

runonbeer

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how have you verified the pump timing. sounds kind of like you're stabbing in the dark. you gotta pin that puppy.

Was the pump a runner before the swap?
 

tongboy

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May 24, 2006
Location
Portland, OR
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91 Jetta TDI Swap, 97 M3 LS1 Swap
runonbeer said:
how have you verified the pump timing. sounds kind of like you're stabbing in the dark. you gotta pin that puppy.

Was the pump a runner before the swap?
started by doing everything by the book, sorta switched to stabbing in the dark after none of that worked.

verified the pump timing by setting tdc on the motor and putting a 6mm allen wrench into the pump lock pin hole.

pump was unknown as I bought the parts car that had grenaded, I believe it was a good runnner though. the quantity adjuster error has me questioning that though as i've found a few forum cases (not on the 'club) where the quantity adjuster prevented start
 

tongboy

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91 Jetta TDI Swap, 97 M3 LS1 Swap
Doc_Oc said:
I am no expert so don't make fun of me, but I am just throwing ideas in.
Any IMMO issues?
Would that show with Vag com?
I don't believe so - G60ING on here has a 99.5 TDI swap and he said he had no issues. I have a non-tdi cluster that came with the parts car (was running in the parts car) which I have unplugged now becuase the cluster does complain about immo. both vw techs I talked to said not an issue
 

runonbeer

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any immo issues would set an "engine start blocked by immo" code. plus, the engine would actually start, but would immediately die.

sounds like timing to me. you might try swapping on a known runner pump.
 

Doc_Oc

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03 Golf TDI
As I said, I don't know much about Immo and clusters, just that when I swapped my ecu for a spare one I had to introduce it to the cluster.
The bad part about Immo is that it allows you to cranck the engine but not start. Or it starts and shuts off instantly.

I wonder if you can check somehow if the IP has enough pressure to pop the injectors. Just to make sure the IP is working. Like, connecting the injector to the IP while out of the head. And than cranck and see if it sprays diesel.
 

jettawreck

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I believe I got that code when I did my engine swap. However mine was self-inflicted, forgot to plug the harness into the IP securely. After a bit of cranking, injector bleeding, worrying, etc., I found the loose plug and snapped it together all the way and instant start. I'm sure that probably isn't your issue but easy check/fix. Sounds like your'e way out of time (allen wrench in IP lock hole not too precise). Good luck.
 

runonbeer

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tongboy said:
started by doing everything by the book, sorta switched to stabbing in the dark after none of that worked.

verified the pump timing by setting tdc on the motor and putting a 6mm allen wrench into the pump lock pin hole.
a 6 does not fit in the hole in the pump case. If you got it to go in, you missed the hole.
 

tongboy

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May 24, 2006
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Portland, OR
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91 Jetta TDI Swap, 97 M3 LS1 Swap
runonbeer said:
a 6 does not fit in the hole in the pump case. If you got it to go in, you missed the hole.
now that I think about it wasn't a 6, it was a 5 or a 4
 

tongboy

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May 24, 2006
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Portland, OR
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91 Jetta TDI Swap, 97 M3 LS1 Swap
wiring, always the wiring...

traced everything back from the injection pump to where it was supposed to go, found a 10 pin connector in the engine bay that was plugged in wrong

tapped the injector pump a bit to clear the quantity adjuster code (i'm guessing that means it's on it's way out?)

fired right up :D

best feeling in the world to see that thing spinning on it's own :D

http://tongboy.com/images/golf/Running%20Rabbit.avi video of the ghetto ness involved in it running
 

jettawreck

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Kinda thought so. The way you described it and the code brought back memories of despair and great relief. Is it not surprising how a person can do all the work involved in something like this only to be held up by one simple little missed detail. I certainly know from experience myself. Now if I could just get my Cadillac CTS "low speed idle not learned" code to go away/stay off. Probably wiring.
 
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