Frustrating day

[Rackned]

Hi all

Hope you experts out there can help. After successfully getting the passenger door to close seal and lock. I then moved on to the drivers door. But I had to move the car over to gain access. Now it's been raining and the last time I started was three days ago. No such luck today so some help please.

There's an illumination ignition installed and as I have found out today the shut off device has been bypassed by a previous owner (another thing to put on the list to rectify)

The engine turns over
Ignition light is on on the dash.
Fuel pump runs
Engine will not turn over in drive gears but will in park.

I changed the coil, no joy,
I changed the electronic ignition no joy (have a spare)

Don't know what to do the engine won't fire.

Any help most welcome.

Mark

[HersnotHis]

Firstly the engine will naturally only turn over in Park and Neutral

You say you have swapped the Lumenition unit? Have you removed the distributor cap and inspected the interruptor wheel and inspected/cleaned the light/sensor?

Have you a spark? Remove a spark plug and leave connected with body resting on covenient part of engine. Get accomplice to turn over engine whilst you look at plug for spark.

HTH

H

[Rackned]

Ok was on my own today so will try spark test tomorrow.

And I'll check the sensor.

[Rackned]

Hi

Been and checked spark tonight and yes it's sparking ok.

So now have fuel, spark and turns over. Considering it's been running and I haven't changed anything I'm out of idears


Mark

[Bandit1200]

Hi all

Hope you experts out there can help. After successfully getting the passenger door to close seal and lock. I then moved on to the drivers door. But I had to move the car over to gain access. Now it's been raining and the last time I started was three days ago. No such luck today so some help please.

There's an illumination ignition installed and as I have found out today the shut off device has been bypassed by a previous owner (another thing to put on the list to rectify)

The engine turns over
Ignition light is on on the dash.
Fuel pump runs
Engine will not turn over in drive gears but will in park.

I changed the coil, no joy,
I changed the electronic ignition no joy (have a spare)

Don't know what to do the engine won't fire.

Any help most welcome.

Mark

I recommend you contact a garage to come out to assess the problem.

[Rackned]

What's the possibility of water in the fuel. I did fill,up about a week ago. Is the pick up in the tank at the top or bottom?

[Paul Kelley]

Try putting your battery on full charge overnight. The lumenition unit has a threshold of juice needed to work (it's binary). Quite possible to have enough juice to turn the starter but not enough to also fire up the electronic ignition unit. Even though your battery may appear strong the voltage level could be below the threshold needed at the unit. A cheap try, anyway.
Paul

[marshman]

What's the possibility of water in the fuel. I did fill,up about a week ago. Is the pick up in the tank at the top or bottom?

You could disconnect the fuel pipe from the carbs and let some fuel get pumped into a small clear glass jar or similar and see if there is any water in it.


Are you sure the choke is connected and operating correctly. Pull the choke fully out and make sure the linkages on both carbs are moving. My car starts easily with full choke but will turn over forever without it when it is cold. It is possible the cable has come loose at one end or the other.

Was the spark you saw a nice bright powerful spark or a bit weak and wimpy? It is much easier for a spark to jump the small plug gap in air than it is in a cylinder full of fuel vapour. If the spark looks weak and you couldn't hear it "crack" or "click" as it jumped it is still possible that there is an ignition problem. If it is a Lumenition with the chopper in the distributor have you checked that this is all in one piece and hasn't broken?

Just a few ideas to try.

Roger

[HersnotHis]

Hi

Have you had any joy yet?

If spark is OK then it indicates fuel problems. Could be not enough as per choke above or constriction or pump or ...?. But also could be flooding....?

When you removed plug to check spark what did it look like?

If you remove the air cleaner then you could try a few squirts of "Easy Start" or similar from Halfords and most motor factors.into each carb elbow My son who is a watersports instructor swears by this stuff to start temperamental outboards.

It also works great on my somewhat antiquated mower!

HTH

H

[marshman]

Hi


If you remove the air cleaner then you could try a few squirts of "Easy Start" or similar from Halfords and most motor factors.into each carb elbow My son who is a watersports instructor swears by this stuff to start temperamental outboards.

It also works great on my somewhat antiquated mower!

HTH

H

NO NO NO, please do not use "Easystart" or anything similar. It should be banned in all except the most dire of emergencies. It is highly volatile and literally explodes in the cylinder rather than burning like petrol does. The shock as it explodes can do irreversible damage to the cylinders/pistons/rings. Yes loads of people use it, then find they have to keep using it as the have knackered the piston rings or something and the engine will then rarely start with out it.

To see if it is a carb/choke problem you can hold a small petrol soaked rag over the air intake (not recommended but will work) but it is not solving the problem. A proper methodical check of fuel and ignition should find the problem.

Roger

[HersnotHis]

NO NO NO, please do not use "Easystart" or anything similar. It should be banned in all except the most dire of emergencies. It is highly volatile and literally explodes in the cylinder rather than burning like petrol does. The shock as it explodes can do irreversible damage to the cylinders/pistons/rings. Yes loads of people use it, then find they have to keep using it as the have knackered the piston rings or something and the engine will then rarely start with out it.

To see if it is a carb/choke problem you can hold a small petrol soaked rag over the air intake (not recommended but will work) but it is not solving the problem. A proper methodical check of fuel and ignition should find the problem.

Roger

Sorry disagree this stuff (diethyl ether) just adds a bit of volatility. I have used it since.....? and have never had an on going engine problem. It just gives a start if ignition OK but then engine dies if fuel is a problem.

[KOY 23]

Marshman is right, easy start is evil stuff and not to be recommended.

[Paul Kelley]

If you find it's on the spark side, solve it (see suggested battery/voltage point above) but still won't start, it's probably also flooded by now. So, time honoured technique is choke IN, floor the throttle to get in fuel AND air, churn the starter.
PK

[Jeff]

Should be banned!

[Rackned]

Hi
Update on the starting problems.

Don't use anything other than petrol in an engine!!!!

Having spent time checking over the electronics again I have still not got her running.

Battery charged over night and retried got a couple of misfires but still no joy. Will try to upload film.
Moved onto removing filter to get to fuel pipes. Now suspect a fuel issue, water in the juice or did I do the unthinkable of diesel?

Pipes off carbs into a coffee jar, ignition on and full pumps into jar. Compared fuel with new purchased and confirmed is not diesel and no water.

Reassembled and try the choke in foot to floor. Now I gave a good understanding on how all this works having built a couple of racing engines and a couple of cars in the past, so I have ignition, good battery and the pump is pumping. Engine just about fires occasionally and I get a back fire. Will try to upload film.

Then I notice in the bottom of the coffee jar some black bits, closer examination lots of black bits. I'm sure I washed out the jar, so repeated the fuel collection. Black bits in the fuel, checked filter and some in there, so now suspect deterioration of fuel hose, this has passed into carb and has blocked needle. So this weekend new pipe ordered and will be replaced, filter replaced and carbs cleaned.

Hopefully this will solve it, just hope a seal agent hasn't been used in the tank.

The diagnosis continues

https://www.shrec.org.uk/owncloud/index.php/s/demTb9IZlDGYP6o

Video uploaded in the next 12 hrs