I laid my 2004 x-type up to do some work prior to a mandatory safety inspection. I was bring the maintenance up to date and discovered the oil pan gasket had failed. This repair went well and I had a set of Bosch double platinum plugs that needed to be installed and did that at the same time. I also had a flat spot on the flywheel which I addressed by removing the starter and adding some teeth with my welder and Dremel. The car won’t start on gas or ether. I thought I had bad plugs but it seems the fire is irregular. I’ll add some video and let me know what you think.

I believe this is good fuel pressure

 

Spark seems irregular to me. Let me know your thoughts

Spark plug video

 

You sure that you got the plugs wired back in the right order?

New plugs CAN fail. Try putting the old plugs back in.

If that was an electric welder, it's possible that it zapped the ECU.

I would also check to see that your starter teeth are properly profiled (height width separation) AND that your starter Bendix is the proper distance from the ring.

 

Hi Jeffury1,

Got to agree with Sone......direct Arc or MIG welding on a electronically controlled engine without prior systems isolation could be rather problematic, as the voltage spikes and transients that would have been circulating within the engine and car's earthing systems could damage or at least confuse the crap out of the ECU and other peripherals.
What did you attach your earth clamp to while welding on the flywheel? Hope that high current wasn't passing through crank via main bearings to get to engine block or chassis...that could be quite nasty for those crank bearing surfaces.

Also of note...the coolant temp reading on your first image posted....-6 degrees C ...is that in any way true or a likely a false reading? ECU adjusts fueling according to engine temp, so something way out there could enrich engine and foul plugs.

You might have to give the ECU a reset at the very minimum to clear any corruption that might have occurred in its stored learned data. At least that way it will refer back to factory base parameters for engine fueling, spark etc. You could try pulling Fuses F32 and F37 (I think for your 2004 model) for 30 minutes to see if that helps reboot the ECM.
Otherwise, If you disconnect the battery for half an hour to clear the ECM, you may also end up clearing your radio settings, so you will probably also need your 4 digit radio security code to get the radio to unlock again.

 

Thanks for the replies, I grounded the welder to the flywheel. The ECU would have been reset because the battery was disconnected for quite some time. We’re you able to view the video? Am I correct that it is not firing correctly? Starter and the new teeth are working great. I tried different spark plugs and a coil tester. Yes -6 is correct for the coolant. If your theory is correct maybe I messed up the CPS sensor. Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t it send the timing info to generate the spark signal? I’ll try to share the clip of the spark tester.

 

Spark plug tester clip

 

Should have mentioned the welder was a mig, not sure if that’s better, worse or indifferent.

 

Mig or Arc - probably makes little to no difference..... They both use high currents to achieve the melting of the welding medium.
The very nature of electric welding (no matter what the method) should be done on inert subjects, as the current flow is not continuous but a succession of rapid energy bursts which create voltage spikes and current pathways through the welding subject.

I see another thread recently started byanother forum member that has also undertaken welding on their X400.
Their car is also exhibiting issues and they are reporting B2477 errors which is a code given when the general electronics module (GEM) has been corrupted or damaged.
I am wondering if you are having a similar issue.

 

You hear all of the paranoia about EMPs (Electro-Magnetic Pulses) regarding nuclear weapons detonated in high atmosphere (truth is, the planet is subjected to hundred of big EMPs every day -- it's called "lightning").

On a local level, electro-welding is simply a controlled and aimed EMP. It's a blast of direct current at high amperage, a few milliseconds long, repeated rapidly. And, while the primary current path is between the electrode and ground, the field surrounding it travels much further than that.

Under certain conditions, a near-field EMP can damage electronic devices, such as your car's ECU, by blasting open a few of the transistor junctions in a device. Rarely is there any visible damage.

 

I tried the old plugs, no go. The welder is not the culprit because I had this issue before welding. While cranking, I hit a dead spot on the flywheel and had to address it. I removed the intake manifold do redo the plugs and the injectors are pulsing perfectly but the spark is off. I have another video of that. Very confusing!!

 

Hi All, my Wife is loosing faith in me working on her car. It was running fine prior to me working on it and always started, even with the fly wheel issue. It's been down for 7 weeks now. The only code it had was for an oxygen sensor which I changed while everything was apart. The injector pulse is perfect but the spark is off. The rpm's are 132 while cranking so it the ECM is receiving a signal. The ohms of the sensor off the car are 345 and I don't have a multimeter that will measure such small AC voltage to test although it is registering DC voltage, enlighten me if anyone knows what that means because I can't find any info. The CPS sensor however is cracked so I am ordering a new one. Pic attached. Would the Cam sensors manage the fuel timing and the crank sensor manage the spark by any chance?

 

Common signs of a faulty crankshaft position sensor include issues starting the vehicle, intermittent stalling, and the Check Engine Light coming on.

The crankshaft position sensor is an engine management component found on virtually all modern vehicles with internal combustion engines. It monitors the position and rotational speed of the crankshaft and sends the information to the engine control unit so it can make appropriate adjustments based on operating conditions. The crankshaft speed and position are some of the most important parameters used in engine management calculations, and many engines cannot run if the crankshaft position sensor is not providing an accurate signal.Usually, a problematic crankshaft position sensor will produce any of the following 7 symptoms that alert the driver of a potential problem that should be serviced.

1. Issues Starting the Vehicle

The most common symptom associated with a bad or failing crankshaft position sensor is difficulty starting the vehicle. The crankshaft position sensor monitors the position and speed of the crankshaft and other parameters that play an important role when starting the engine. If the crankshaft position sensor is having a problem, the vehicle may have intermittent starting issues or not start at all.

 

Have a look at Tech Bulletin XT303-04. You can find it at JagRepair. CPS (Jag calls is CKP) diagnosis and repair starts on page 44. Your 345 Ohms indicates the sensor is good but agree you should change it since it is cracked. The tech bulletin says you should measure AC voltage of 1.5 to 4 Volts peak-peak on the CPS, higher voltage indicating higher engine speed. If your meter can't read that low I might try measuring it on a DC setting on the meter. The DC reading is really averaging the signal over some small time so you should see zero when the engine isn't moving and something non-zero when it is moving. That doesn't give you a lot of information but will tell you if the thing is putting out any signal.