I've just refitted my engine after it has been out to fix the gearbox. It won't start.

After checking all the wiring and plumbing I switched on the ignition and waited for the fuel pump to stop pumping. I then tried starting the engine. The starter motor squeels as if turning the engine faster than usual but the engine doesn't take. no coughing or spluttering.

The battery voltage is good (12.03) There is air going out of the exhaust when turning over and there is spark on all the plugs. So the engine is turning over and I have spark. I even tried a squirt of WD 40 into the carbs, which is what got it to start when the car was being built. The carbs haven't been adjusted since the engine was taken out so I'm willing to bet that the fueling is probably OK

What could be wrong?
What should I try next?

I wasnt sure which way to connect the spark plugs so after taking advice from here hav connected 1 to the sprocket end and then 2, 3 and 4 towards the clutch end. Any ideas?

valve timing? Ignitor timing?

So many things it could be..

Yeah. I spoke to the guy at the repair shop who said that they had the bottom off the engine but didn't disturb the timing chain. His first thought was that the starter clutch was not properly engaged but there is gas coming out of the exhaust and there is spark on all the plugs so the engine must be turning.

triple check electrics!

squirt manually a bit of fuel in a piston!!

then you easyly see..

Tks

Tried that. No effect. I removed the starter motor and tried it. It is OK. I felt inside the hole, as suggested by Haynes, to check if the sprocket turns one way but not the other. That's OK too.

I don't understand why it would be turning over faster than usual.

Plug leads to wrong plugs?
Your man should'nt have disturbed anything timing to do the gearbox...Hopefully!

[Edited on 21/10/06 by ReMan]

If it's like mine it#s wasted spark - 2 coils each sparking 2 cyclinders at once. One sparks 1 & 4, the other sparks 2 & 3. So which end you count from doesn't matter a damn - but if you mix up the HT or LT leads it won't go.
Try swapping the LT leads on the 2 coils.
Bob

I had something similar

the main ign fuse pack coming of the 12v battery Im sure it has a thick black thick red

I thought the thick black was a negative but it needed to go on this pack because it was a postive

or they needed swapping over

?

I've just done a compression test. 30 - 50 PSI all round. I took off the rocker cover and timing rotor cover to check if the chain had jumped a tooth. Everything is OK. All the timing marks line up so the cams and spark are lined up with the crank.

Given that the engine was running just fine before it was taken out, what could cause the sudden drop in compression?

That's very strange to have that pressure on all cylinders when it was running ok before taking it to bits. Are you sure your compression tester is ok? Can you try it on another motor?

There's very little that could cause low copression on all cylinders except for cam timing, but you say you've checked that!?!

Hmmmmm.....

The compression tester was new a year ago and was only used 2 or 3 times. Given that the starter motor is turning over faster than it should, I believe the tester's reading.

Some days you wonder if its all worth it.

[Edited on 22-10-2006 by smart51]

Can you get someone from the gearbox place to come have a look? Sounds like they may have disturbed something and not realised.

The guy from the bike repair shop said he can come over on Tuesday if I can get the day off. I'm trying to make sure it's not something I've done and trying to get it fixed quickly.

Low compression suggests that I've not put it back in wrong, which is good.