%&#§$! flooded again

[ChimBungee]

left the office, started the engine, idling at low rev for 20 seconds then the engine died.

Waited 30 minutes, started again, fuel pump OK, starter motor yodeling but the engine wouldn't bl**dy kick in.

Took bus & train, testicles frozen but eventually at home...

Will try again tomorrow morning and if still no joy, I'll have to call the RAC again who already know my car inside out.

I already had that problem and she ended on a trailer (spark plugs dried & cleaned, fuel pump checked, fuel leak sorted)

Back then I thought it was due to a dodgy battery which has been sorted 2 weeks ago.

So it's back, that feeling when you get into the car "will she start?".

I have her since December and she left me stranded four times since. I had hoped that a new battery would sort things but she's still prone to flooding...

Is that normal? What can you do to avoid this?

Currently I'm not a happy bunny and start to get the impression that my Chim is not fit to serve as my daily drive

ChimBungee, frustrated, getting drunk now

Rant over...

[sam_strachan]

I feel your pain - I experienced something similar last night - although I was lucky to get it started in the end. I had to wait 30 mins but bizarrely after cranking it for about 10 seconds or so, I put my foot on the accelerator and kept pushing down and it caught.

This is contrary to what I thought would work (I posted about it here: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=159128&f=8&h=0 ). I only did it out of frustration.

I suspect it's partly just down to the fact it's freezing.

>> Edited by sam_strachan on Thursday 3rd March 21:04

[pzero64]

I have no idea about mechanical things, or anything else for that matter, but I know that this helps.

Oh, yeah, another won’t hurt, I’m sure.

Good luck.

[colinrob]

My TVR won't start when it is hot well on the starter but will bump start, just bought a rover 620ti starts every time but I've got a box full of neutrals needs new box so we all have ti live with shit

[hut49]

Commiserations - that's a bummer.

Other than assuring you its not normal - and must be resolvable - it's difficult to suggest anything constructive. However just to attract others to lend a hand with competitive ideas...it sounds like a fuel supply problem. Do you notice any hesitation, sudden loss of power when driving, after the engine is at normal operating temperature?

Presumably it is possible to measure the output pressure to exclude a faulty pump? Could it be a poorly connected fuel pump relay?

I suppose I'd also check the coil.

Hope you get it fixed soon - it'll be spring soon try and get some positive vibes to carry you through to the time when you can drive to work with your sunglasses on

[ChimBungee]

colinrob said:

so we all have ti live with shit

interesting statement from a quality manager

[ChimBungee]

hut49 said:

Do you notice any hesitation, sudden loss of power when driving, after the engine is at normal operating temperature?

Actually no, when she runs she runs. She's a bit lumpy when cold which I think is normal. 2-3 minutes and she's smooth.

hut49 said:

Hope you get it fixed soon - it'll be spring soon try and get some positive vibes to carry you through to the time when you can drive to work with your sunglasses on

Which I did this morning when I froze the opposite part of my body

I'll give Fernies a call tomorrow, hope they got an idea.

[FlipFlopGriff]

I'm no technical person but ours was running lumpy when cold and stalled on start up a couple of times.
Turned out to be the resistance setting on the black thing on the side of the plenum. It looks a bit like a dickie bow. It wasn't out much but it makes a big difference. Only a five minute job to resolve.
FFG

[IPAddis]

FlipFlopGriff said:

I'm no technical person but ours was running lumpy when cold and stalled on start up a couple of times. Turned out to be the resistance setting on the black thing on the side of the plenum. It looks a bit like a dickie bow. It wasn't out much but it makes a big difference. Only a five minute job to resolve. FFG

?

Throttle position sensor?

[puffsorted]

Job 1 - Clean that stepper motor

[mr grumpy]

Just for the one downmanship - I had a problem with my engine flooding, had the plugs cleaned, then replaced along with new leads, coil, snb temp sender jobie. Also cleaned the stepper motor(several times) eventually the car would start but belched black smoke from the zorst and after about 1 to 2 minutes the idle would get rougher and rougher. A heavy right foot would clear it again. After a terrible drive to my local speciallist it turned out to be the air flow meter had failed so the ecu though there was loads of air going in so dumped in buckets of fuel - hence the big clouds of black smoke. I now have two nice black rings on the front of the house and a big vacant hole in my wallet where several hundred pounds used to be.
Not saying that this is definately the problem you have - but just to prepare you for the worst.

Good luck, hope its cheap and you still have money left over for

Edited cos my proof reading is even cr*pper than my typing

>> Edited by mr grumpy on Friday 4th March 17:48

[david beer]

Just another angle ! Mine behaved so on two occasions when the coil was about to give up, if it didnt "catch" quickly it would flood. Absolutely fine now for months.

[ChimBungee]

mr grumpy said:

Good luck, hope its cheap and you still have money left over for

Actually it's under warranty, however the dealer is 50 miles away...

The man from RAC just tried to get it run and gave up after an hour, waiting for the trailer now.

I've had her for 3 months now, stranded four times, two times trailer.

[tahiti450]

mr grumpy said:

had the plugs cleaned, then replaced along with new leads, coil, snb temp sender jobie. Also cleaned the stepper motor(several times)

Absolutely

Had the same thing happen recently, just once, but really frustrating. I think there are some common relatively minor contributing factors which make this likely to happen and all fundamentally affect spark and cranking performance.

LOW AMBIENT TEMP = a.) reduced battery output / b) thicker oil (so increased cranking resistance). So more of the (smaller) available current is going to the starter and so a bigger voltage drop and poorer spark.
c) more mixture enrichment, so if it doesnt fire pretty much immediately it will flood equally immediately thereafter.

ANY DETERIORATION IN THE IGNITION SYSTEM; plugs, leads, coil, dizzy cap, moisture.

My battery was at the end of its life and since replacing it there hasn't been a problem even at sub-zero temps.

The throttle potentiometer might be worth checking as is the stepper motor and obviously if the AFM is U/S then that would effectively prevent the engine from running other than briefly. The hot-wire type AFM has no moving parts and is pretty unlikley to fail other than wiring / loom problems.

Once flooded, drying the plugs can be accelerated by (assuming the battery is up to it) cranking it over with the fuel pump relay removed - in time honoured fashion. If in the heat of the moment you're unsure which of the relays is the pump one, as i was, just pull one out and see if the fuel pump no longer comes on with the ignition but the engine still cranks. You need to be patient (like i am - not) but it usually works (unless the battery goes flat first). I was lucky in that it happened in my drive so plenty of batteries / cars / jump leads on hand to jump it!

Moral of the story is; Good battery and pristine ignition system (and if it doesn't fire within a couple of seconds, stop cranking - I SAID CRanking - and wait a bit).