fuel pressure & juice to injectors, but no start

This car *was* running.

We replaced the crusty alternator, and I've grafted on a new connector (someone had the wrong alternator on it, which strained/broke the cables!). It had been running, including driving, but not getting juice back from the alternator. Before dealing with this, I had to divert to working on my wife's van (RIP), and it sat.

Now it isn't starting.

It has fuel pressure, and the rented noid flashes as it cranks (I tried three cylinders, all flicker).

Occasionally, it actually kicks over and runs feebly for a few seconds. And every several seconds of cranking, I hear what sounds like a single cylinder firing once.

It turns over and runs on carb cleaner (ether is on the way, in a few days).

So at this point, I'm baffled.

Most of my searches, from this and other sites, try to reach the point of a pressurized fuel rail and juice to the injectors. [I don't think it's plausible that all eight injectors failed simultaneously!]


There wasn't a starting issue before swapping the alternator, and it cranks quite hard (even when I don't let it draw 200A from the charger!)

answering my own question . . .

we pulled and reset the vacuum line from the regulator to (uhm, was it the throttle body? I forget).

And then it just happily kicked over.

Now back to the alternator not kicking on . . .