It wont start and then there smoke
Discussion
I drove my car into my garage on Xmas Eve. And started it once over the xmas break. I went to take the car for a drive yesterday and the car would not start. It kept firing but just wouldnt go the whole way and run. Eventually the battery gave up and I left overnight to recharge.
I tried to start today and the same problme and then smoke starting drifting out from the passenger footwell at which point I stopped.
Has anybody got any ideas they can throw me to check why its not starting and what may have gone up in smoke?
Appreciate any help.
Thanks
Clive
I tried to start today and the same problme and then smoke starting drifting out from the passenger footwell at which point I stopped.
Has anybody got any ideas they can throw me to check why its not starting and what may have gone up in smoke?
Appreciate any help.
Thanks
Clive
I took the plugs out yesterday and they were wet. I cleaned them up and checked the gaps and put them back. I can smell fuel and hear the pump so I know fuel side is okay.
Because it trys fire periodically I am assuming the sparks are okay but when I have a helper I will check the spark to the plug. What I am really concerned about was th esmoke from the passenger footwell.
Because it trys fire periodically I am assuming the sparks are okay but when I have a helper I will check the spark to the plug. What I am really concerned about was th esmoke from the passenger footwell.
Pull the covers off the footwell & investigate what is smoking. It may just be overloading the starter (they don't like prolonged use). There shouldn't really be any apparent starter stuff in the footwell apart from the fusebox, unless you have a modwise thingy.
Then.. Check spark & fuel as usual to determine why its not starting..
Dave
Then.. Check spark & fuel as usual to determine why its not starting..
Dave
I had smoke coming from my passenger footwell when the cooling fans relay burnt out,not uncommon on cars with only single relay for these fans,apparently.You could have a similar issue?It could be the difficulty starting is just from fouled plugs,especially if you have previously started the car and not warmed it up thouroughly.Have you tried to start it since cleaning the plugs?
monstergrowler said:
Yes I tried today after cleaning plugs yesterday. It cranks over andsounds like its firing but just wont go all the way and idle. It was after cranking it over for several seconds the smoke came out. I just tried to see if its still cranking and the car wont even turn over now.
You've got to get in the footwell and check all your fuses,relays and wiring,before doing anything else i would say.I had a similar problem to this after installing my Emerald system. Turned out to be fouled plugs and a dodgy connection to one of the coil packs... Obviously your problem isn't likely to be the same, but maybe check the leads and all coil connections (after checking for a spark at the end of every PLUG rather than just the end of the lead... On mine, the plugs had become fouled and even after cleaning, they were still f
ed so check these thoroughly!
ed so check these thoroughly!Clive, the first thing I would do is check if there is any signs of melting wire under the dash/fuse box area.
Second, get a new set of plugs and fit them.
Then disconnect the battery for 30 seconds and reconnect. If the battery has gone flat this can cause problems with the alarm system and imobiliser not operating correctly.
This also resets the engine management system which seemed to cure a similar fault on my car which I have not fully sorted out yet.(can't get the fault to appear again)
Hope this helps.
Paul.
Second, get a new set of plugs and fit them.
Then disconnect the battery for 30 seconds and reconnect. If the battery has gone flat this can cause problems with the alarm system and imobiliser not operating correctly.
This also resets the engine management system which seemed to cure a similar fault on my car which I have not fully sorted out yet.(can't get the fault to appear again)
Hope this helps.
Paul.
All looks okay at fuse box and wires I can see. I left the battry on charge and it turns the engine over again.
I think the battery is stuffed as since I bought the car 3 months ago, I never felt the starter spun the motor very fast. The optimate did always show a green led that suggeste dit was good.
I think I will buy a new battery and new plugs and take it from there.
I will let you know what happens.
I think the battery is stuffed as since I bought the car 3 months ago, I never felt the starter spun the motor very fast. The optimate did always show a green led that suggeste dit was good.
I think I will buy a new battery and new plugs and take it from there.
I will let you know what happens.
One of the guys with a V8S flooded his car and it absolutely would not start - turned over, tried but never started.
He admitted defeat in the end and called the RAC. The RAC man took the plugs out and dried them with a blowlamp, and put them back in the engine while they were still effing hot. It took 2 goes but the second time it started.
The flooding was caused by starting the car, moving it about 6 feet then shutting it down. My guess is that it dumped a load of fuel in the engine for the start that didn't get burnt off as he shut it down too quickly.
He admitted defeat in the end and called the RAC. The RAC man took the plugs out and dried them with a blowlamp, and put them back in the engine while they were still effing hot. It took 2 goes but the second time it started.
The flooding was caused by starting the car, moving it about 6 feet then shutting it down. My guess is that it dumped a load of fuel in the engine for the start that didn't get burnt off as he shut it down too quickly.
monstergrowler said:
Yes I tried today after cleaning plugs yesterday. It cranks over andsounds like its firing but just wont go all the way and idle. It was after cranking it over for several seconds the smoke came out. I just tried to see if its still cranking and the car wont even turn over now.
Is the smoke acrid? If the car had been running before, then turned over slowly then wouldn't turn over at all I wouldn't be surprised if the battery is shot. Before wasting £50 - £80 on a new one you could have it tested (but you'd have to remove it if you can't get the car running).If the engine will crank over then I'd turn it over for a couple of seconds and then have a carefull feel around the rats nest in the passenger footwell to see whether anything is getting hot. I really don't like the sound of smoke inside the car, that could be nasty if you have overheating leading to a wiring short. It also means that all bets are off in terms of the engine management system working properly.
Assuming the electrics do all seem OK, I'd guess it has been flooded. The best way to cure this is charge the battery fully and then fit a brand new set of plugs. If you have some compelling reason not to do this then you can try your luck cleaning the existing ones but that's going to be hit and miss. If you insist on doing it that way I'd suggest a wire brush around the terminals then bake the top in a flame for a couple of minutes, refit while hot (use gloves!). If you really can't stand the thought of mucking about with plugs then you can try disabling the fuel pump and crank it over for about a minute, then connect it back and have another go. To disable the pump either pull the wire off the pump, or pull the fuel pump relay, or disconnect the engine running signal from the dizzy.
Brand new plugs and a fully charged battery gives you the very best chance of starting it, though.
Assuming the electrics do all seem OK, I'd guess it has been flooded. The best way to cure this is charge the battery fully and then fit a brand new set of plugs. If you have some compelling reason not to do this then you can try your luck cleaning the existing ones but that's going to be hit and miss. If you insist on doing it that way I'd suggest a wire brush around the terminals then bake the top in a flame for a couple of minutes, refit while hot (use gloves!). If you really can't stand the thought of mucking about with plugs then you can try disabling the fuel pump and crank it over for about a minute, then connect it back and have another go. To disable the pump either pull the wire off the pump, or pull the fuel pump relay, or disconnect the engine running signal from the dizzy.
Brand new plugs and a fully charged battery gives you the very best chance of starting it, though.
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