Thread: B14 1.6 to 2.0 swap in progress NEED help!

OK so my friend got a 97 b14 4dr E model, the only option the car has is a/c. well we found a 96 se-r in the junkyard and we grabbed the engine, transmission, ecu, wiring harness and axles.

So we got the engine in and went to start it and it cranked over a few times then made this weird sound, hard to describe, I would almost call it a hooooonk sound. anyways when the sound happens the engine stops turning over, I think its just the starter going bad, or possibly the ring gear on the flywheel..

I checked for spark, its got a strong spark, checked plugs, they smelled of fuel. But the engine was turning really slowly so I changed to another battery but it still was turning slowly, then my friend noticed the ground bolt on the alternator was glowing red hot, so I took the alternator belt off thinking maybe it wasn't turning(it was), but same thing, so then I unplugged the wires to the alt from the clips on the fender well, tried again but same thing.

Then I noticed the ground for the alt was the only thing left so I unbolted it from the frame rail an tried firing the engine again, this time it cranked over much faster and coughed to life..

Most of the plugs plugged right in except one but the colors matched so I just spiced the plug from the other harness onto the car harness.

So what the hell? anyone ever have any issues like this?

i'll post up the pics i took when i get home....how come the car is still in the carport??

because your a dumbass and didnt put the driver axle in all the way an fluid went EVERYWHERE! LOL

There is two plugs on the driver side in the engine bay that the harness connects to. The sr20 harness plus in but is pinned differently you need to cut and splice those few wires together. This same thing happened to me. . That's what I did I found the info on the forum and can find what wires tomorrow if needed. Lucky for you the engines out of my car right now

yes please let me know what wires need to be changed! that would help alot

b13 or 14? was it an auto or manual to begin with?

So after a prolonged discussion and rifling through the FSM with lynchie, the problem is likely as simple as bad grounds.

The wires nissanboi shows above won't stop an engine that wants to crank from cranking. They are mainly transmission related, and if the car wants to crank they're already out of the equation.

The alternator has that useless little ground wire on top of it, and since your grounding bolt on the t-stat housing was loose, your entire electrical system on the engine was trying to ground through that puny little wire. You can't move any amperage through a wire that small that will let a car start or run. Under the stress of the starter motor trying to draw amperage way beyond the wire's capabilities, I could sure see something starting to glow. Hell, you're lucky the wire didn't cook it's insulation and start a tiny little fire.

You tightened down the t-stat bolt and removed the tiny ground from the alternator at the same time, and that could make you think weird things, but in all likelihood it was just a bad ground.

Let me know how it goes, I think we nailed the sucker down.

^^ your right mine was an auto and it would kinda click and start to crank but not fully turn over untill I replaced the wires I guess it was a inhibitor or something for the auto

I JUST did this swap myself on a 97 sentra w/ 96 SE-R parts. When I first threw it together I forgot to install the grounding strap directly to a starter bolt and it would start to crank and just die until I fixed that. I also swapped every wire harness from the engine bay back to the car doors, had to do this.


It may also be noteworthy to mention that when I did the headgasket on the old 1.6L I switched up the plugs for the crank position sensor and the distributor coil and it wouldn't start. They plug right into each other and are the same color, just the one with thick wires goes to the coil.

I've also seen this on a Maxima where the main engine ground rotted at the engine block. It would turn over very rough for almost 20 seconds before the engine would start. His alternator ground insulation burned up because it was being used to ground the starter.

Make sure your ground is solid from the battery terminal, to the body ground, to the engine block. Also make sure the grounds behind the headlights are bolted down

Interestingly enough, my car is running very good but I've noticed it will sometimes also make the "HOOONK" sound for a second just after it fires up. I think it is because I have a 92 starter, the style without the shroud around the starter gear when it engages

^^ OT but that sounds like starter squeal. Very common with all of our starters there's a how to to fix it on the old forum.