Intermittent starting fault

[socr8s]

For some reason intermittently seem to have a starting problem. Fuel pump primes ok then reverse out of garage only to find revs dropping off and then stall. Have tried cleaning butterfly throttle, stepper and checked plugs and leads, but cannot identify anything specific. No obvious blockage in fuel line. No hissing when opening petrol filler and adding further fuel. The thing is that usually a week later go back to the car and starts absolutely fine. Has anyone got any other ideas as to what the problem may be? Is this a symptom of a dodgy lambda sensor or air flow meter. On trying to re-start is turning over fine but not quite catching.

[Seasider]

If its stalled just after starting you will have problems starting straight away, leave for 5-10 mins

As for original probelm it could be worth re-setting the ECU..

Awaits to get slammed by people who know better

[Cider Andy]

It could be any number of things, some of which you've already identified. What state were the plugs in when you checked them? Did you check them all? Correct plug gap is critical and some believe the plugs cannot be reused after flooding.

Genuine Lucas distributor caps and rotor arms are out of production, so they're scarce, although you can still buy them at a premium. I'm told the replacement [aftermarket] distributor caps are ok, but not some of the rotor arms. Certainly I had a problem with a replacement rotor arm that looked perfect but gave similar symptoms to those you're suffering. A couple of threads on here recently were ignition problems caused by damp inside the distributor cap.

[spend]

socr8s said:

...The thing is that usually a week later go back to the car and starts absolutely fine.....

and it drives normally - ie doesnt stall & gas itself?

Dave

[socr8s]

Yep. Drives absolutely fine. In fact this weekend reset the ECU and seemed to be even smoother than normal when travelling at low speeds around town.

Plugs seemed in good condition. Really did not require any cleaning at all.