Engine flooded

[dickymint]

When I bought the SEAC I was warned to turn off the ignition immediately if the engine stalled. Due to fact that the fuel pump keeps pumping until the ignition is off. stupid set up really but I have always been careful to observe the warning because Steve told me a wait of up to half an hour is required for the chambers to dry out sufficiently to restart
Any way it happened to me the other day and sure enough it wouldn't restart. Simple solution - pull out the fuel pump fuse, crank her for a bit, pop the fuse back in and Roberts your Fathers Brother
Just thought I'd share that with you all!

[redwedge5]

Very helpful hint, thanks and so simple! Last time I flooded the engine on starting I had to wait an hour and so expected I would always have to do this. Not now .

[shpub]

If it doesn't start after you have done that... the spark plugs are usually wet with fuel and need replacing! Drying out doesn't usually recover them in my experience.

[Graham]

Yep i do the same with the wifies v8 disco. sometimes if yoiu get a big temp change over night, somthing in the ignition gets wet and when you try to start it, the engine floods before the ignition dries out enough to spark properly. so out with the fuel pump fuse a quick spin till it fires then back in with the fuse and yer off.

does it about twice a year !!!

[The Colonel]

Also happens couple of times a year with my passat 'turbo' motor.


- this is a bit though:

shpub said:

If it doesn't start after you have done that... the spark plugs are usually wet with fuel and need replacing! Drying out doesn't usually recover them in my experience.

surely once the engine is fired up all traces of fuel gets burnt off?

[rus wood]

These comments apply to the standard 350 engine and my 390 engine, SEACs may have something special done to them.
During starting cranking the fuel injected into the engine is enriched (i.e. extra fuel) for approx the first 12 seconds so a technique I have used in the past is to floor the throttle and keep cranking, this seems to dry it out quite quickly and it usually stumbles into life one cylinder at a time. Once started and warm any damp plugs will dry out quite quickly.
I have unplugged the cold-start injector (I have been told that it is only needed at -20C and below).

Disconnecting the fuel-pump relay will still allow fuel to be injected until the pressure falls to near zero. A better solution would be to disconnect all 8 (9) injectors or the coil to ECU cable.

Russ

[rev-erend]

Dicky

Gotta say - if everything is setup correctly then this should not happen !

The injectors should only pulse when the engine is cranked over or running !

Possible problems :

Leaking injector

or fuel pump still running with ignition on

or fuel rail pressure too high causing leaking injectors.

With the flapper airflow meter - I believe it should be set that the pump does not run until the engine is cranked.

[jmorgan]

The Colonel said:

Also happens couple of times a year with my passat 'turbo' motor. - this is a bit though: shpub said: If it doesn't start after you have done that... the spark plugs are usually wet with fuel and need replacing! Drying out doesn't usually recover them in my experience. surely once the engine is fired up all traces of fuel gets burnt off?

Happened to me. Flooding caused by a few other tiny faults but took ages to restart after fixing and flooding. Started only by drying and baking the plugs but then it didn't run right, even after a good blast, until new plugs were put in.

>> Edited by jmorgan on Friday 31st December 10:00

[rev-erend]

Jeff - when you baked the plugs perhaps you added too much flour to the mixture

[jmorgan]

Yeah, it was caked on

[rus wood]

Rev-erend - on a flapper injection system the fuel pump is energised in two ways.

When cranking power is sent to the fuel pump.

During normal running when the flap is just a tad open power will also be sent to the fuel pump.

So to test the second part you just need to hold the flap open a bit (take the air filter off and with the ignition on but not running). You should be able to hear the fuel pump running.

Russ

[rev-erend]

Exactly but when it's not running

i.e. You turn it off and turn the ignition light 'on'
then no power show be sent to the pump.

If the pump is still running under this condition - then the flapper is not set right.. and injectors / too much fuel pressure could cause flooding ..

[SLB]

Yes, that has always been the issue - the fuel pump still runs when the engine has stalled. The pump is triggered by cranking on start-up, but only stopped by the ignition key.

I thought quite a few other flapper cars were also like this, or is just some SEAC's? Either way I thought a thread a few months ago suggested this was not an uncommon TVRism.

I found it easy to pull the easy 6 of the 8 injector leads off, crank the engine a couple of turns, put them back and away you went. The other 2 cylinders quickly get going again.

[900T-R]

Hmmm - on my Bosch CIS (K-Jetronic)-equipped Saab 900s, the pump would come on the moment you put the key in the running position. Only the later LH systems (hot wire AMM, largely comparable to the Lucas CU14 that incidentally found their way in 1990-on Saab 900 16 valve models instead of the Bosch LH 2.2 and 2.4 used before) needed a cranking signal for the fuel pump relay to switch 'on'.