Griff vs RX8 vs Triumph Herald
Discussion
What do these 3 cars have in common?
During my 25k miles in my Griff I have on occasion noticed that if the engine is stopped within a few seconds of starting from cold, it is a pig to restart. Typical example: a very embarrassing stall getting it out of a parking place, followed by much grinding of the starter motor. A more extreme case recently was where I reversed the car out of the garage, then half an hour later put it back in, without giving the plugs time to warm through. The following day it would not start until I removed and dried the plugs, which having been covered in petrol in sub-zero temperatures simply weren't going to dry themselves. (This explains why the "bible" has a long section on how to dry out plugs.)
A few days later I read the Autocar long term test of the RX8, and surprisingly, in 16000 miles the car had twice been trailered back to the dealer to dry it out after someone had moved it a few yards and then switched off.
I guess I thought electronic ignition and fuel injection had banished forever the sort of behavours I experienced almost 30 years ago with my Triumph Herald. Clearly not.
During my 25k miles in my Griff I have on occasion noticed that if the engine is stopped within a few seconds of starting from cold, it is a pig to restart. Typical example: a very embarrassing stall getting it out of a parking place, followed by much grinding of the starter motor. A more extreme case recently was where I reversed the car out of the garage, then half an hour later put it back in, without giving the plugs time to warm through. The following day it would not start until I removed and dried the plugs, which having been covered in petrol in sub-zero temperatures simply weren't going to dry themselves. (This explains why the "bible" has a long section on how to dry out plugs.)
A few days later I read the Autocar long term test of the RX8, and surprisingly, in 16000 miles the car had twice been trailered back to the dealer to dry it out after someone had moved it a few yards and then switched off.
I guess I thought electronic ignition and fuel injection had banished forever the sort of behavours I experienced almost 30 years ago with my Triumph Herald. Clearly not.
Classic flooding problem. Happens to loads of cars.
Happened on my Brother's Corolla GTi last Monday, he moved it on the driveway Sunday. Luckily once he'd told me he moved it I stopped thinking about damp electronics and floored the throttle and got it going.
My Audi A6 has done this a few times too - I now run the engine for a minute before shutting down if I'm only moving the car. The AA man told me on an Audi I should floor the throttle then try to start, as this cuts the fuel supply off altogether and allows it to get going - not sure about other makes.
I don't think it has so much to do with cold plugs as it has to do with the cold start injector (or the ECU) piling tons of fuel in to get a cold engine running.
Edited to say: On the Griff, just remove the fuel pump relay and start the car (it should start if you've not flooded it too badly) - it will start then stall (no fuel). Connect the relay and all should be fine.
>> Edited by targarama on Sunday 27th February 16:01
Happened on my Brother's Corolla GTi last Monday, he moved it on the driveway Sunday. Luckily once he'd told me he moved it I stopped thinking about damp electronics and floored the throttle and got it going.
My Audi A6 has done this a few times too - I now run the engine for a minute before shutting down if I'm only moving the car. The AA man told me on an Audi I should floor the throttle then try to start, as this cuts the fuel supply off altogether and allows it to get going - not sure about other makes.
I don't think it has so much to do with cold plugs as it has to do with the cold start injector (or the ECU) piling tons of fuel in to get a cold engine running.
Edited to say: On the Griff, just remove the fuel pump relay and start the car (it should start if you've not flooded it too badly) - it will start then stall (no fuel). Connect the relay and all should be fine.
>> Edited by targarama on Sunday 27th February 16:01
targarama said:
Classic flooding problem. Happens to loads of cars.
Classic it may be, but I'm surprised you think it happens to loads of cars these days. The Griff is the first car in at least 20 years I have experienced flooding on, in which time I have driven 20k miles per year total in 3 TVRs, 3 Vauxhalls, 2 Golfs, a Lancia, Fiat Coupe............
>> Edited by Big Al. on Sunday 27th February 18:26
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