mgs
[Top] [All Lists]

RE: wierdest starting problem. help!

To: "'JPGarner@UCDavis.Edu'" <JPGarner@UCDavis.Edu>
Subject: RE: wierdest starting problem. help!
From: Alan Pfau <apfau@ismi.net>
Date: Sun, 28 May 2000 20:26:06 -0500
Hi Joe,
        I had a similar problem once and thought at first it was carb. but it 
turned out to be electrical. Check and see if right after it stalls it still 
has spark. In my case, I didn't have spark but after it cooled a little (only a 
matter of a minute or less) it would spark again. The culprit was the coil, I 
replaced it and no more problem. I assume that after it heated up, some 
windings made contact and shorted out.

For what its' worth,
Al Pfau
apfau@ismi.net

----------
From:   Garner, Joseph P.[SMTP:JPGarner@UCDavis.Edu]
Sent:   Sunday, May 28, 2000 5:40 PM
To:     'mgs@autox.team.net'
Subject:        wierdest starting problem. help!

Hi there,

I hope you are all having a better time of it than i am. I had an
interesting drive on sunday afternoon - about 140 miles from Davis to Palo
Alto. The car was a joy, the other motorists were hair-raising. Or at least
far more erratic and scary than usual.

Anyway, i climbed in to set off back home today, and the car started up
beautifully. I backed up and then engine died. (This is similar to the
vapour lock problem i had before and had successfully cured by replacing the
hoses on the adsorbtion canister). The engine re-started, I revved it at
3000 to warm up, and then after about 15-20 seconds it died. It would then
not restart. If i wait 10 minutes, the engine will start, rev for 15-20
seconds and then die. It then won't fire at all, unless i leave it for a few
minutes.

I have pulled the lines of the adsorbition canister to release any vapour
pressure, but this has no effect. The fuel pump is working, as the fuel
filter has fuel in it, and you can see it pumping in. The engine will run
briefly, so can i rule out any of the "standard" ignition faults? 

The car has been sat outside today (albeit under a car cover), so it has had
a chance to get far hotter than usual. Which is why i suspected vapour lock.

My heart is sinking at the though of this being a serious carb problem.
Serious meaning something that i cannot fix at my girlfriends house (where i
am now!) or one that will require me to retune the engine after i fix it.
There's a mechnic i trust down the road but i don't expect him to be able to
help until tuesday. Any advice in the interim would be very much
appreciated.

thanks in advance

cheers

Joe




<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>