Starting issue...
Discussion
Bit of an odd one.
On my wee Acty van (550cc), I can leave the old girl sitting for several weeks, open the garage, turn the key and she fires up instantly.
Drive it for a few miles so it is up to temp, turn it off and it will again fire instantly (i,e popping to local petrol station etc)
Drive for say, 30 mins or more, turn it off and it will turn over and over approx ten or so times before firing.
Drive the same distance or more and leave it for the entire day (at a car show for example) and once again, at the end of the day, it will turn over ten or so times before firing even though it may have sat for ten hours.
Drive it home, stick it in the garage, come back to it several days / weeks later and it fires up first turn of the key once again.
Can't say I have ever experienced that.
I have experienced hot start issues and cold start issues, but never anything like this.
It always starts, but is rather annoying.
Anyone had anything similar?
On my wee Acty van (550cc), I can leave the old girl sitting for several weeks, open the garage, turn the key and she fires up instantly.
Drive it for a few miles so it is up to temp, turn it off and it will again fire instantly (i,e popping to local petrol station etc)
Drive for say, 30 mins or more, turn it off and it will turn over and over approx ten or so times before firing.
Drive the same distance or more and leave it for the entire day (at a car show for example) and once again, at the end of the day, it will turn over ten or so times before firing even though it may have sat for ten hours.
Drive it home, stick it in the garage, come back to it several days / weeks later and it fires up first turn of the key once again.
Can't say I have ever experienced that.
I have experienced hot start issues and cold start issues, but never anything like this.
It always starts, but is rather annoying.
Anyone had anything similar?
Are you using exactly the same starting technique each time? For example, I usually wait for the fuel pump prime to complete before I crank the engine over, but might skip that if I'm in a hurry. If there's something you're doing differently, perhaps without consciously thinking about it, it might prevent the immediate firing up in some situations but not in others.
Vapour lock that settles after a more extended period of time? Would make sense as I'd imagine the engine bay temps are quite high in a cab over engine layout
Either that or a leggy fuel pump with an odd behaviour or crud in the fuel system somewhere (either tank or filter) that gets stirred up with use and settles down after an extended period of time but you'd expect running issues.
Either that or a leggy fuel pump with an odd behaviour or crud in the fuel system somewhere (either tank or filter) that gets stirred up with use and settles down after an extended period of time but you'd expect running issues.
Edited by The Wookie on Thursday 31st August 14:17
Sorry for the delay in replying.
Yes, using same method to start.
Vapour lock has now been mentioned by someone else. That could also explain why on shorter trips it's not getting hot enough to cause this, but on extended runs, thrashing itself to pieces, it is suffering.
My friend said on one of his Dads old cars, they had to wrap fuel lines in similar stuff you put on manifolds which cured it.
Maybe that's the way forward.
Thanks for the input, chaps!
Yes, using same method to start.
Vapour lock has now been mentioned by someone else. That could also explain why on shorter trips it's not getting hot enough to cause this, but on extended runs, thrashing itself to pieces, it is suffering.
My friend said on one of his Dads old cars, they had to wrap fuel lines in similar stuff you put on manifolds which cured it.
Maybe that's the way forward.
Thanks for the input, chaps!
Krikkit said:
Depending where the fuel pipes run (i.e. how hot is it getting?) it might be worth trying some cheap pipe insulation rather than going full-hog on pricier stuff, it only has to last 30 mins...
Not a bad shout! Especially as we sell a great deal of it at work, including heat-resistant types. 
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