We are fixing and donating a '99 Solara for a family in need. We had a donor '99 that had a heck of a knock. Ran fine before the knock. We pulled the motor and dropped in a motor I believe was from an '01 (both are V6).
First attempt it fired but almost immediately cut off. It will fire every time and run for a split second and die. If you give it lots of pedal, you can keep it running but very poorly, sounds muffled, like a lean bog.
I used a NOID light to test if the fuel injectors are firing… have very intermittent light and not as bright as it should be. The coils are firing fine. We can keep it running with lots of throttle. The check engine light is flickering, not flashing, and the security light is intermittently flickering on and off. The RPM gauge also flickers at the same frequency and bounces between 0 and 300 RPMs, although the RPM is much higher.
Didn’t have my scanner with me at the time, but I am taking it back tonight.
I am leaning in the direction of a bad ground. It just looks and feels like a power supply or ground issue.
I have a lift and a shop just to play around with my car and work on my equipment, nowhere close to a pro. We are trying to help a family that really needs a car.
Any help would be appreciated.