[tghlk]

For the first time in 5 years, my Pinto fails to start. It's a stock XR powertrain.  All I did was verify the cam timing.
Fuel pump is pumping. I'm getting fuel at the rail.
Spark plugs are sparking fine. Plugs are wet so they are getting fuel.
Getting code 11 which means everything is normal.
Checked cam timing at TDC and it's normal. I've got it set 4 degrees advanced.
I trued shooting some carb cleaner in the plug hole and didnt make a difference.
Thinking it's flooded, I tried starting at WOT, but nothing. Got a pop out of the exhaust.
I'm getting air, fuel and spark.
was driven into the garage last week so it should run!

Still nothing! Any ideas?

should the rotor in the distributor be centered on the @1 contact at TDC? that's where it's at now.

[Chuck W]

If the dist rotor is at the #1 contact when the engine is @ TDC, your base ignition timing is retarded. (By at least 10*)

[dan_xr4]

Estimating your ignition timing based on the rotor position is difficult. If you have a timing light, then you should check your ignition timing while cranking. The rotor is supposed to supply spark from 0 degrees to 60 degrees Before Top Dead Center. The center of the rotor should really be around 30 degrees BTDC.

If fuel is igniting in the exhaust that would indicate a problem with the spark and not the fuel. If your spark is weak enough, then you might get a weak spark outside the cylinder but not get enough of a good spark inside the cylinder under pressure.

The amount of crank fuel is based mostly on the Engine Coolant Temperature measurement. If the Engine Coolant Temperature measurement is off by a lot, then you would not get the correct amount of fuel when cranking.

[Spacemo]

You may want to try replacing the TFI ignition module.  Like the above post said, you could have weak spark outside the cylinder but not good enough under pressure.   Mine failed when it got hot, so it would run fine for a few minutes then die.  I always carry an extra one now.

[Chuck W]

You may want to try replacing the TFI ignition module.  Like the above post said, you could have weak spark outside the cylinder but not good enough under pressure.   Mine failed when it got hot, so it would run fine for a few minutes then die.  I always carry an extra one now.

I'd be inclined to investigate this as well. Seeing as it was driven into the garage and there was no mention of any work being done.

[motorhead_1]

ohm out the ECT sender
if it has the correct purple ring sender it should be close to this
-- ~44 ohms at ~210F (boiling water); ~414 ohms at 60F.

[dan_xr4]

The Engine Coolant Temperature sensor in the lower intake manifold between cylinder #1 and cylinder #2 has two pins. This is the Engine Coolant Temperature sensor that the EEC-IV module uses to determine crank fuel pulsewidth. With the sensor unplugged from the harness, on a cold morning at 32 degF the resistance between the two pins should be around 95k Ohms. Later in the day at 60 degF the resistance between the two pins should be around 46k Ohms.

[TurboRay]

.
A couple of things:

Ultimately, I think you're gonna find something a little more obvious than ECT resistance or TFI concerns. Other than no spark at all or a slightly poor idle, I don't think either are causing a "no-start" condition. OTOH, if you're concerned about the TFI, unplug the SpOut connector to eliminate it from any function besides triggering the coil. 

If you've got compression, (properly-timed) spark, and fuel...... it should start and run (even if poorly) ~ OR, at least TRY to start. You said the plugs were "wet", so you matted the throttle to kill injector firing. That's all well and good ~ but, if the FPR has a ruptured diaphragm, fuel will still be drawn (or, pumped) into the intake thru the reference hose. I suggest pulling that hose from the regulator to see if fuel is present.

Also, how did you check for t/belt orientation? Aligning the marks? If so, yet the disty-gear pin got sheared...... the rotor could wind up pointing at or near #1 and be off by 360°. Check by either grasping the rotor firmly and trying to turn it ~ &/OR, by making sure you're on the compression stroke when the rotor is pointing toward #1.

As for quality of spark ~ if the coil is good, you should see a nice white/blue spark whenever it's triggered. You said, "plugs are sparking fine" ~ so, did you check at a spark plug? If you only checked for spark outta the coil tower or wire, you could have a "leaking" rotor that's allowing the spark to ground into the dist shaft (seen it happen several times). Test by holding the (sparking) coil wire above - not touching - the rotor's center contact...... there shouldn't be any spark).  <shrug> GOOD LUCK! <thumbup>

[tghlk]

It's fixed! Somehow I got the adjustable cam sprocket 180 degrees out. When set correctly, the timing marks are on the bottom of the sprocket instead of on the top where one would expect them to be.

[dan_xr4]

You verified the camshaft timing, then the engine did not start. You must have changed something. You added an adjustable camshaft drive sprocket and then the engine did not start ?

Your question about the rotor in the distributor pointing at cylinder #1 with the crankshaft at 0 degrees was very good. The answer should have been maybe. You obviously have to be at 0 degrees on the compression stroke of cylinder #1 and not 0 degrees on the exhaust stroke of cylinder #1. When at 0 degrees on the exhaust stroke of cylinder #1, the rotor in the distributor should be pointing at cylinder #4.