Crank sensors

[festy]

So there's absolutely no firing at all? Not even an occasional pop?
It could still be ignition related, a really weak spark will jump the gap in open air but not with the compression inside a cylinder, but I'd still think you'd get the occasional firing.

Have you verified that your injectors are actually opening? With ignition on, there should be 12v to one side of each injector, and the ECU grounds the other side. If you unplug an injector and stick a noid light or test lamp on the plug, you should see it flashing while you crank the engine over.
If the car has been sitting for a long time, there could be air locks in the fuel line or the injectors could be gummed up.
I wouldn't expect every one of them to be stuck, but I recall it happening to someone before...
You could pull the fuel pump fuse, and see if the fuel pressure drops when you turn the engine over. If the injectors aren't opening, the pressure should remain.

And is the battery charged and in decent condition? Are the terminals clean and tight? These systems really struggle if the voltage drops too low, and while the starter is turning the battery voltage might be getting too low to open the injectors and charge the coil too.

Failing all that, it might be time to wire up a check-engine lamp and diagnostics switch. Not only will that tell you what faults if any are present, but you can also run self-tests on the injectors etc.

[MD]

Steve,

yes it is an auto, but it will crank, and I am assuming the trans lockout switch works the same as any other and if it's cranking, it should be good to go.

I am not sure that it  does. It's why I was looking for the neutral switch location. The wife's 75 cranks but does not fire until I wriggle the auto gear selector and then it fires and continues to run like a Swiss watch. So as soon as I get a chance, I am going to examine that sucker, give it a lobotomy and fit a new one.

You got nothing to loose but your smoker's cough mate..

[festy]

I seem to recall that the P/D switch only really affects the idle speed (higher idle in D), but MD's evidence sounds convincing - it could be a function only implemented in certain chip versions.

The switch should ground pin 28 of the ECU if that helps...

[four90s]

Hi All,
I'm embarrassed to say that I completely forgot the basics.

Put in a new set of plugs and guess what.....vroom.

Now, just need to fix the major p/s leak, new front brakes, put the interior back together (from getting to the ecu), etc., etc..

I'd like to say that I'll remember this in future, but you know, some mistakes are so simple you forget you've made them. Or is that just me. Now where did I put my memory medication.

By the way MD, there is adjustment built into the selector cable for when things need a bit of adjustment.

Cheers and thanks once again to everyone for your help.

Steve
Adelaide.