Help; can't get her started!
Discussion
Well I only bought her yesterday, done 2000 mile an past 4 year and had sat for a while, but she ran fine during test drive and spent the morning going to and from MOT centre and garage. I jumped in with it in idle and drove off, drove about 6 mile and coming on to a dual carriageway in second gear I give a little squirt of the pedal and got nothing, maintained the revs. I then slowly depressed the pedal and got nothing for about 5 seconds then got a gradual build up of revs and she was fine again after that.
This morning I started up and she struggled to idle and cut out after about 20 seconds, would not start again. Symptoms as described.
I have just tried flooring the pedal and still nothing. If it is the plugs I have flooded, how do I learn from my mistakes and prevent this from happening again?
another novice question, is it possible for the plugs to dry out if left standing? I am not free until Friday!
This morning I started up and she struggled to idle and cut out after about 20 seconds, would not start again. Symptoms as described.
I have just tried flooring the pedal and still nothing. If it is the plugs I have flooded, how do I learn from my mistakes and prevent this from happening again?
another novice question, is it possible for the plugs to dry out if left standing? I am not free until Friday!
rigga said:
Modern fuels don't go "off " as much as back in the day ......I can leave my car for months with out issue, and my bike for nearly a year between starts and it fires right up.
Hmm I understood the opposite to be true due to the change in the make up of fuels and the ethanol content which is more volatile and thefore more likely to evaporate and ethanol's propensity to trap moisture which then contaminates the fuel.Tyre Tread said:
rigga said:
Modern fuels don't go "off " as much as back in the day ......I can leave my car for months with out issue, and my bike for nearly a year between starts and it fires right up.
Hmm I understood the opposite to be true due to the change in the make up of fuels and the ethanol content which is more volatile and thefore more likely to evaporate and ethanol's propensity to trap moisture which then contaminates the fuel. ok then maybe I've got it arse about face, but certainly in my experience "old "fuel is no barrier to an engine starting and running fine.Old fuel would have either worked or not, it started and you drove it to MOT etc so its unlikely to be the quality of the fuel. Has it had a filter change in the past few days, a four year old filter could be the problem, but I am still going to go for break down of something sparky.
It's a case of breaking the problem down, if it smells of fuel then you probably have fuel there. Then check for a spark if you have a spark as well then you have to start looking further, it may well have flooded. My money will be on spark, maybe a coil connecter or something like that.
DAKOTAstorm said:
Well I only bought her yesterday, done 2000 mile an past 4 year and had sat for a while, but she ran fine during test drive and spent the morning going to and from MOT centre and garage. I jumped in with it in idle and drove off, drove about 6 mile and coming on to a dual carriageway in second gear I give a little squirt of the pedal and got nothing, maintained the revs. I then slowly depressed the pedal and got nothing for about 5 seconds then got a gradual build up of revs and she was fine again after that.
This morning I started up and she struggled to idle and cut out after about 20 seconds, would not start again. Symptoms as described.
I have just tried flooring the pedal and still nothing. If it is the plugs I have flooded, how do I learn from my mistakes and prevent this from happening again?
another novice question, is it possible for the plugs to dry out if left standing? I am not free until Friday!
Check all the plug leads are seated correctly at both ends and check the dizzy cap is good sound electrical to me, also check the fuel pump connections just to be sure they get corroded! The plugs might be ok but it might pay you to buy a new setThis morning I started up and she struggled to idle and cut out after about 20 seconds, would not start again. Symptoms as described.
I have just tried flooring the pedal and still nothing. If it is the plugs I have flooded, how do I learn from my mistakes and prevent this from happening again?
another novice question, is it possible for the plugs to dry out if left standing? I am not free until Friday!
It's worth noting that the traditional method of checking for a spark (e.g. pull a lead off and hold it close to the block) doesn't necessarily tell you that there's a spark inside the cylinder. If I understand correctly, it's much easier for a spark to jump a gap at atmospheric pressure than it is at full cylinder pressure, so if your ignition system is producing a weak spark it might appear okay but it's actually giving nothing inside the cylinder.
This is what happened when my coil failed in France last year. There was a visible spark, but the engine wouldn't start. So even if you can see a spark you can't quite rule out an ignition problem.
This is what happened when my coil failed in France last year. There was a visible spark, but the engine wouldn't start. So even if you can see a spark you can't quite rule out an ignition problem.
DAKOTAstorm said:
Upon turning the key I can hear the fuel system priming and then she just tries and tries but doesn't kick in! Lost revs yesterday in second gear and felt quite sticky but had no problems starting. Today struggled to idle, cut out then now won't start.
Any clues?
Just for clarity, when you say 'she tries and tries but doesn't kick in' are you talking about the fuel pump or starting the car?Any clues?
The pump pressurises the system then cuts out, it will then pump again when required. It could possibly the pump failing intermittently?
Sounds similar to the symptoms I had when I put an cheap aftermarket rotor arm in the distributer. Could be worn rotor or the distributer isn't fastened properly. I also agree with the other comments about coil (check if you get a good spark from the main HT lead to the distributer) or flooding (easy to check by looking at a plug), or airflow (check filter, AFM, and butterfly on the plenum). Other thing it could be is something to do with the throttle? Throttle POT?
Ok I tried again this morning, still no luck, but it did progress a little.
The fuel system primes, does its job then stops, turn the key to start engine and it churns, today however it did make more of an attempt with a few little splurts. I tried with foot flat to floor on pedal, no pedal and then turning the key straight to ignition with no pedal and then pedal. I do believe however that I can smell fuel.
Ordered new spark plugs.
All the connections seem good and tight, all though the extensions are corroded.
To test the plugs I disconnect one, balance it on a metal surface (engine block?) and start the ignition?
The fuel system primes, does its job then stops, turn the key to start engine and it churns, today however it did make more of an attempt with a few little splurts. I tried with foot flat to floor on pedal, no pedal and then turning the key straight to ignition with no pedal and then pedal. I do believe however that I can smell fuel.
Ordered new spark plugs.
All the connections seem good and tight, all though the extensions are corroded.
To test the plugs I disconnect one, balance it on a metal surface (engine block?) and start the ignition?
This turned out to be a fuel problem, the fuel pump was malfunctioning due to age, essentially it wasn't pumping through enough fuel which is why I lost power when accelerating and then it gave in all together, which is why the car wouldn't start! Diagnosed and solved thankfully by TVR Ecosse
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