98 Cobra First Start Fail

[TommyB]

Hi all, I'm using a 98 Cobra engine in my Factory Five Racing Mk 4 build. At first start attempt yesterday it wouldn't fire. There was the occasional pop which would occur out of phase. A little history... I freshened up the engine, having the heads cleaned up and reassembled by a reputable builder. Assembled the long block myself using the proper kit for setting the valve timing. Triple checked my work. Pretty sure all is good there. Wire harness was "dieted" to remove all excess wires from main chassis harness (Wire Diet|). Ecu was flashed to remove PATS, EGR, IMRC, (Intune chip installed). I did a COP (coil on plug) conversion using one of "Red Monster's" kits . I've got fuel at the rails, and there is spark at the one plug I checked before the attempt. I used both cam and crank position sensors which came with the donor, which was a pallet purchased from Prestige Mustang. I'm not sure where to start here. I'm a little suspicious about the COP conversion. There were no instructions with the kit, although it seemed to be of good quality. I was definitely bummed yesterday. Had friends and a bottle at the ready!! Today is another day... Time to move forward.. Thanks for your help.. Have a great day Tom

 

[wvragtop]

well im the say usal thing and tell you to stay positive and just double check your work. good luck

 

[cbrown9064]

Stock MAF and injectors?

 

[Tabres]

Do you have the COP conversion harness on backwards? I've seen people get them on backwards and have similar issues as you're describing.

 

[Shake&Bake]

I wouldn't think the COP kit would be the problem here, but I have heard of a few having issues. I would connect with Red Monster and see if he can help test or replace the kit. I have his kit and its been perfect. The tune is the first thing I would investigate.

The next thing I would do is check for a proper ground. My Cobra is very sensitive when it comes to grounds. I have even added additional ground wires.

Also you will have a plug on each side of the engine that connected to the coil packs (grey), make sure that isn't touching any metal. That happened to me and caused some hard starts. I wrapped these with electric tape and no more problem.