jlevie to the rescue: engine has fuel, wont turn on

[Kershaw]

starting has been an ongoing saga with this engine. its also slightly complicated by the fact that the head has a home ground cam. dont ask me.. i found out when i had a valve adjustment done. btw, it adds absolutely 0 power and runs absolutely identical to any other e30 in the 1/4 mile.

so, the fuel pump was an issue. it made a loud buzzing sound and i figured it was due for a replacement. also, the spark plugs were bone dry after 5 minutes of intermittent cranking. so i bought a used unit on the forums. still didnt start. replaced the fuel filter. still didnt start. popped the line off the injector rail just to see if the maybe the line was clogged. fuel sprayed everywhere. pulled the spark plugs, they were drenched. good. at least im getting fuel to the engine. spark plugs looked like shit. and i've seen some shitty spark plugs, owning a rotary. i figure they are due for replacement. im also happy to find out that spark plugs do not cost $20/plug like they do for my rx8.

i did get the engine to turn on for 30 seconds and it even turned on very normally. not the usual low rpm/high rpm/stumbling rpm i got before. however it only lasted 30 seconds and i was not able to replicate it.

thoughts? i would go out and buy some spark plugs, but unfortunately the e30 wont turn on and the rx8 is in the body shop due to a pretty epic r3v. so im stuck here until my friend comes over.

[1mz]

alternator/battery/charging issues? just trying to think outside what you've checked

[Kershaw]

alternator and battery are really really strong. i dont know how many times i've cranked this car over the last 4 months, but it really is the strongest cranking car i've driven. now if it only resulted in the car turning on....

[jlevie]

Having fuel spray when you pull the hose means very little. What you need to know is what tfuel rail pressure is when cranking the engine. The only way to do that is to connect a pressure gage to the rail inlet.

So the first things to do in diagnosing the no-start condition are to check rail pressure and see if there is spark.

[Kershaw]

http://www.2carpros.com/how_to/how_to_check_fuel_pressure.htm

so i found that website. seems easy enough.

does the e30 happen to have a port readily available to plug in a fuel pressure tester? also, where might i go about acquiring such a tester? i see i can buy them on amazon. but does anyone know if you can rent them at autozone?

also, the injector closest to the FPR is all dirty and wet above the head. all the other injectors are dirty and dry. i assume this is also a problem?

[Kershaw]

i changed the plugs. still doesnt start. i pulled a plug and (lol) held the wire with the plug in it and had a friend crank it. well it was a good few seconds before it zapped the crap out of me.

shouldnt it have been instantaneous?