One more thing. I know, I know, I'm annoying! Do you have a friend, neighbor, relative, anyone who might have a scan tool with live data capability? That might make things a little easier for you. For instance, if you tried unplugging the sensors one by one. If you have a shorted sensor, when you unplug it, the rest will start to read.

Anyway, keep us posted. I'm really curious to see what finally gets it going!

 

Maybe the trigger on the flex plate got bent during install? That would cause the crank sensor to not read anything and then no spark.

 

so, yes I've been checking via DC.

MAF (second try) reads about the same - .75 v
Throttle sensor - about 1 volt

Just disconnected and reconnected the cps plug.. .clicked, made sure...

Tried a restart after erasing codes, nothing...

I think I'm officially out of ideas now...

Gonna probably tow it in a couple days to the rover dealer.. hopefully they have a magic wand...

frustrating - damned gremlins!

 

@Jafir - "trigger" on the flex plate?

Everything looked balanced and not bent from the flex-plate/drive-plate/torque-converter standpoint..

not sure how to check that?

 

Okay, I figured you were checking it right.
So you have no 5v reference. Nothing is going to work. It sounds to me like your computer is not communicating. Either the 5v circuit is shorted out somewhere, you have a bad computer ground or power feed, or a shorted sensor.
I don't know if I explained this properly before, but you need to leave all the sensors unplugged as you go. So, unplug one, check for 5v, leave it unplugged, unplug the next one, recheck for 5v and continue on like that. If one is shorted internally, your 5v reference will return immediately. When it comes back, it was the last one you disconnected.
The only other thing I can think of is maybe the testbook has a way of feeding in 5v and once the engine is running, it takes all the necessary inputs from the engine and then starts back up on it's own.
Personally, I would feed 5 volts in from a regulator. I suppose that's down to your comfort level. I can almost 100% guarantee a dealer would freak out if you told them you did that! I've done it before, the car doesn't care where it comes from, it just wants the readings back from the sensors.

I know mitchelldiy costs money ($17), but their wiring diagrams are excellent and they'll tell you exactly where to find the computer powers and grounds and they also have a full computer pin-out. They also have a section that tells you how to read their diagrams. It's up to you and your skill level. If you're not comfortable doing this stuff yourself, or you're afraid you'll do more damage, or anything like that. Maybe your best option would be to have someone with a dealer level scan tool get it going again. I don't think it's going to need too much attention.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragment @disco oh no

this has been a struggle for sure

as much as i'd actually like to (and will soon) learn all about the electrical system... I'm sorta burnt-out on how much i've learned already at this point..brain-full the for the moment i guess..

first time ever, doing anything to a car beyond changing an air filter, and i take on a full engine rebuild.....

guess i deserve it at some level in the end... gotta walk the gauntlet the first time i figure

hoping, like you said, the dealer can pinpoint the issue rapidly and just call me up and say "yeah, we swapped out a bad wire. you owe us $60 for the labor. Come in, grab a free juice, take your rover away and have a great day"

dare to dream?

Gonna tow it in a couple days - we shall see



having suffered at the hands of others who have bailed when their fix happened, I'll certainly give everyone a read-out here of the results

hehe - and given I've got my transfer case up for rebuild/reseal next (in the fall, after prime off-roading season of course)... I'll certainly be busy on these boards where everyone has provided such awesome support/help - and all on a holiday (if you're in the US) no less!

 

If nothing else you will save a few $$s when you can tell the garage what has already been done.

Looking forward to hearing how quick and painless it is.....

 

If you aren't experienced with this kind of thing, it can be a little unnerving!
There are way too many possibilities for something like this. Without a really high level scan tool, you may not even be able to fix it. So don't feel bad!

 

did you ever get to check the crank sensor for rpm?

 

Not sure how to check that sensor for Rpm. I don't have a scan tool (yet) that does live readings...