Thread: B13 SE-R Replacement SR20 - Crank / No Start

Hey everyone,

I have installed a low-mileage replacement SR20DE into my 1991 SE-R and currently have crank / no start condition. I will list the information below:

Crank / no start
Brand new battery. New alternator installed on engine before engine install
Confirmed fuel delivery
Voltage at MAF sensor, TPS sensor
Voltage at ignition module
Voltage at coil, and at the coil-to-distributor wire
No voltage from the distributor to the spark plug wires
Abnormally flickering lights on the gauge assembly when cranking - need to confirm if there is a main harness ground.

I also have two connectors that lost their labels and I cannot seem to find a home for them. The larger connector is identical to the power steering load sensor, but that sensor is already hooked up. The smaller connector comes out of the harness right next to it, and both come out of the harness for the fuel injectors. I have compared the outgoing engine with the newly installed engine and cannot find anything different between them that would cause these two to be orphaned.


Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

That connector your holding is one of two, either the idle air control (FIC valve) or its on the wrong side of the harness as usually those two clips pictured are on the driver side of the intake manifold and are for egr/emissions related stuff and dont go anywhere. Make sure you injector harness isnt flip flopped.

Secondly im gonna bet you have your fuel lines hooked up backwards. It happens almost every time to people who dont realize it. From the fuel filter it should go to the pipe on the rail that goes to the passenger side, then the return comes off the fuel pressure regulator. Almost every time people want to hook up the feed line from the filter to the fuel pressure regulator exit.

Give it a shot.

"No voltage from the distributor to the spark plug wires"

I had an issue where I was not getting spark after the ve swap, so I took the distributor out and manually turned it. Make sure the "cap and rotor" are there inside the housing and making good contact.

"Abnormally flickering lights on the gauge assembly when cranking - need to confirm if there is a main harness ground."

there is a big ground wire that goes from the battery negative to the frame next to the wheel well and continues to the engine block. It's all one wire with three connectors. On mine I ended having to move the connection to the block to one of the starter bolts instead because it wasnt getting ground enough to turn the starter. The ECU harness ground is two wires that connect on the intake manifold. Those are small wires.

Yeah, make sure the grounds that go on the intake manifold are attached to the intake manifold, that is all your sensor, engine, ecu grounds so if they are not connected you wont get any signal from the distro, the injectors, the ecu, nothing.

Thank you very much for the input!

I'll check the things mentioned above next time I have a chance, and will update when I do.

Thanks again, and happy Thanksgiving!

I have verified that the grounds on the intake manifold are firmly attached, along with the body ground below the battery tray and the body ground on the passenger side near the washer fluid filler. However, I do not see any grounds off battery negative, it just attaches to the engine block near the thermostat housing.

Still no luck on those two odd connectors, although I can see that the injector harness is definitely on correctly.