Foot to the floor
Discussion
I think the "throttle when starting" came about with traditional carb's but with modern fuel injection systems and ECU's, any throttle tends to confuse things ... just ask the local Ford dealer my old man has been bothering for months with a poor starting problem of his focus - turned out to be the old sod's right foot prodding the throttle !!
............... and I agree, its always a relief to hear the fuel pump prime !
............... and I agree, its always a relief to hear the fuel pump prime !
GlynMo said:
With many (most?) modern cars, if you put the throttle pedal to the floor when operating the starter, the engine won't start, giving chance to build up oil pressure/get oil circulating. Is this true of the Griff 500? I suspect I know the answer, but does anyone know?
This is certainly the case on my Aston..... Foot to the floor and it won't start, it just spins over building oil pressure.... The manual actually tells you to do this when the car has been left standing because of the dry sump system....Don't think the old Lucas system on a Griif has this feature though...
Quinny said:
This is certainly the case on my Aston..... Foot to the floor and it won't start, it just spins over building oil pressure.... The manual actually tells you to do this when the car has been left standing because of the dry sump system....
Don't think the old Lucas system on a Griif has this feature though...
Yes, it was on my V8V that I learnt about this feature. I also suspect that the Lucas ecu won't do it though, and I'm not about to experiment!Don't think the old Lucas system on a Griif has this feature though...
It should go into flood clear when doing this 
but why would you want to do this to build up oil pressure? with the Serp motor oil pressure is almost instantaneous (once running) and low speed grinding on the starter (about 300 RPM) is going to do nothing for cam life and will be slow to build oil pressure 
start up and drive off using no more than half max eng revs until warm 
but why would you want to do this to build up oil pressure? with the Serp motor oil pressure is almost instantaneous (once running) and low speed grinding on the starter (about 300 RPM) is going to do nothing for cam life and will be slow to build oil pressure start up and drive off using no more than half max eng revs until warm QBee said:
Foot to the floor and keep turning over the starter is I think the technique for starting when you have stalled and flooded it. May be wrong, and it doesn't always work
Yes agree. Start without any foot throttle. Turn ignition on. Spins motor for 3-4 seconds to build up oil pressure and then fires. Mine starts on the rich side in cold weather and may need a blip of throttle to help settle down to idle at 900rpm.Some cars of the Cortina Cavalier carburetor era required some throttle to start. On the RV8 with Lucas ECU it could cause flooding.
Quinny said:
This is certainly the case on my Aston..... Foot to the floor and it won't start, it just spins over building oil pressure.... The manual actually tells you to do this when the car has been left standing because of the dry sump system....
Don't think the old Lucas system on a Griif has this feature though...
This sounds like a new (and raterh useful) feature on these modern ECUs. Not a feature on the Lucas or any other older system I'd come across.Don't think the old Lucas system on a Griif has this feature though...
Sardonicus said:
Megasquirt as this its called Flood Clear and is adjustable 
by default throttle over 70% when cranking turns off the inj's so you can clear the motor's throat if by chance you managed to flood it
If flooding is suspected, 'perhaps' clear by taking out the plugs and cranking gently. Never had to try it myself. The AA crank for 2 minutes on full throttle to clear, WITH PLUGS IN. Petrol lubricated bores may suffer damage. by default throttle over 70% when cranking turns off the inj's so you can clear the motor's throat if by chance you managed to flood it If flooded at home 'perhaps better' to un plug and leave over night for fuel to evaporate though plug holes.
blitzracing said:
The Mark Adams ECU chips have a start delay built into them.
"A small starting delay (approximately 2-3 engine revolutions) has been introduced to allow oil pressure to build up before starting."
Wow!, perhaps a previous owner may have put a MA chip in mine hence the 2-4 second ignition delay before firing . Also found precats missing and a hidden fan over ride switch present. Who knows, I now wonder what cam I have."A small starting delay (approximately 2-3 engine revolutions) has been introduced to allow oil pressure to build up before starting."
If I take the lid off the ECU how do I recognise the Mark Adams chip?
Thanks.
EGB said:
If I take the lid off the ECU how do I recognise the Mark Adams chip?
Thanks.
It might have Tornado written on it....Thanks.
But I can confirm that the MA chip definitely has a modified start up map in it, and it works well...
I remember on my old car, that if I stalled with a cold engine, it would flood on trying to restart.....
With the MA chip that never happened, and it would settle into a dead even tickover straight away.....
EGB said:
If flooding is suspected, 'perhaps' clear by taking out the plugs and cranking gently. Never had to try it myself. The AA crank for 2 minutes on full throttle to clear, WITH PLUGS IN. Petrol lubricated bores may suffer damage.
If flooded at home 'perhaps better' to un plug and leave over night for fuel to evaporate though plug holes.
That really is the proper way to do things if excessively flooded for whatever reason but you need to unplug the coil unless you want flame throwers out of each plug hole If flooded at home 'perhaps better' to un plug and leave over night for fuel to evaporate though plug holes.
and yes I see this happen many moons ago on a flooded Ford Orion the shooting flame must of been 12ft high as the compression fired the fuel rich mix of air and fuel out of the plug holes because the arcing HT leads were in close proximity 
needless to say its something you don't forget 
EGB said:
blitzracing said:
The Mark Adams ECU chips have a start delay built into them.
"A small starting delay (approximately 2-3 engine revolutions) has been introduced to allow oil pressure to build up before starting."
Wow!, perhaps a previous owner may have put a MA chip in mine hence the 2-4 second ignition delay before firing . Also found precats missing and a hidden fan over ride switch present. Who knows, I now wonder what cam I have."A small starting delay (approximately 2-3 engine revolutions) has been introduced to allow oil pressure to build up before starting."
If I take the lid off the ECU how do I recognise the Mark Adams chip?
Thanks.
I have been advised (by more than one person) to depress the accelerator a little when cranking, as in the event of a backfire through the induction the pressure will have somewhere to go. I think this is specific to my particular set up as I have a CF plenum, which would probably explode under such circumstances. I saw the results of this on a Noble a couple of years ago, the plastic plenum was completely fubared
Chilliman said:
I have been advised (by more than one person) to depress the accelerator a little when cranking, as in the event of a backfire through the induction the pressure will have somewhere to go. I think this is specific to my particular set up as I have a CF plenum, which would probably explode under such circumstances. I saw the results of this on a Noble a couple of years ago, the plastic plenum was completely fubared
Same for me but mine starts first split second on cranking so don't touch the throttle.Gassing Station | Griffith | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff