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Turns Over But Won't Start


Best Answer Its a min , 12 February 2019 - 10:19 PM

Hi all.

 

Just a quick update to let you know it's all sorted and seems to be running fine. Did static timing, fitted some new plugs and checked/cleaned all connectors. Turned over a few times, and after a bit of coughing and spluttering (both me and the car), she burst into life.

 

Thanks for all your help and advice.

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#16 Its a min

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Posted 23 January 2019 - 10:45 PM

When you tried fuel down the carb it spluttered so I'd suggest to make sure the float bowl is filling, also check operation of the float valve

Hi Cal844,

 

There doesn't seem to be an issue with the float bowl as it's filling with fuel and given the plugs were wet, fuel seems to be getting into the carb/chambers.

 

At first I just thought I'd flooded it so cleaned the plugs and tried again without choke and gradually increased choke but still nada.



#17 Its a min

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Posted 23 January 2019 - 10:52 PM

I'm thinking, change the ignition components i.e. plugs, leads, coil, (as well as the suggestions made above and cleaning the earth strap again). Any suggestions on what the best components would be to get for a 998A+ which has been converted to electronic ignition and de-ballasted (does such a word exist?  <_< ) i.e. now 12V?

 

Oh, and any ideas on how I do static timing, if it's possible, now I've moved the dizzy?

 

Cheers



#18 jime17

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Posted 24 January 2019 - 07:24 AM


Oh, and any ideas on how I do static timing, if it's possible, now I've moved the dizzy?

Cheers


Hope I wasn't teaching you to suck eggs with my earlier post. It wasn't my intention. :-)

Static timing - get cyl 1 to tdc on compression stroke. Check both rockers are free to confirm if you wish.

Turn the engine back so the crankshaft pulley notch is at 8 degrees btdc. (I turn the engine back past 8 degrees and then turn the correct way to set it at 8. To take up slack in the timing chain and distributor drive etc)

Turn the distributor so the position for cyl 1 when the cap is on lines up with the rotor arm.

That's how I do it.

That should get you close enough.

#19 Its a min

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Posted 24 January 2019 - 01:16 PM

 

Oh, and any ideas on how I do static timing, if it's possible, now I've moved the dizzy?

Cheers


Hope I wasn't teaching you to suck eggs with my earlier post. It wasn't my intention. :-)

Static timing - get cyl 1 to tdc on compression stroke. Check both rockers are free to confirm if you wish.

Turn the engine back so the crankshaft pulley notch is at 8 degrees btdc. (I turn the engine back past 8 degrees and then turn the correct way to set it at 8. To take up slack in the timing chain and distributor drive etc)

Turn the distributor so the position for cyl 1 when the cap is on lines up with the rotor arm.

That's how I do it.

That should get you close enough.

 

Hi jime17.

 

I didn't take it that way as I try and see all posts as either useful advice or reminders on what I should be checking, checking again and then re-checking. My post was more along the lines of 'as an idiot, I've moved the dizzy without marking it's position when I knew it was pretty much timed correctly'.  :blink:

 

Thanks for the static timing instructions. Added to the to-do list!  :D



#20 DeadSquare

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Posted 24 January 2019 - 03:05 PM

DO  NOT  DO  THIS.

 

I hesitate to recount this method of getting a recalcitrant car to start .

 

I once told someone older than me, ( I thought 'tongue-in-cheek', but obviously my face was too straight ), to wedge open the bonnet and sitting on the near side wing of their Ford Corsair, to dribble petrol into the carb and twiddle the dizzy, while the car was towed along a quiet country lane until the engine fired.

 

Why, you may ask, do I give such a dire red letter warning if the result was that after only some fifty yards, the engine did indeed fire.

 

It is because when it fired, it ran 'lumpily', which encourage adjustment of the dizzy, whereupon it backfired with an eyebrow singing belch of flame and such a loud report that the "engineer"  recoiled, dislodging the pointed stake that had been wedging open the bonnet.

 

Most fortunately, the rapid closing of the bonnet grasped the "engineer's"  legs and saved him being thrown to the verge, but the sharpened end of the stake chose to puncture the radiator.

 

If only he had had an A frame.  Placing a pallet on it, he could have kneeled over the radiator with the bonnet safely held aloft by the stay.



#21 Its a min

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Posted 24 January 2019 - 03:15 PM

DO  NOT  DO  THIS.

 

I hesitate to recount this method of getting a recalcitrant car to start .

 

I once told someone older than me, ( I thought 'tongue-in-cheek', but obviously my face was too straight ), to wedge open the bonnet and sitting on the near side wing of their Ford Corsair, to dribble petrol into the carb and twiddle the dizzy, while the car was towed along a quiet country lane until the engine fired.

 

Why, you may ask, do I give such a dire red letter warning if the result was that after only some fifty yards, the engine did indeed fire.

 

It is because when it fired, it ran 'lumpily', which encourage adjustment of the dizzy, whereupon it backfired with an eyebrow singing belch of flame and such a loud report that the "engineer"  recoiled, dislodging the pointed stake that had been wedging open the bonnet.

 

Most fortunately, the rapid closing of the bonnet grasped the "engineer's"  legs and saved him being thrown to the verge, but the sharpened end of the stake chose to puncture the radiator.

 

If only he had had an A frame.  Placing a pallet on it, he could have kneeled over the radiator with the bonnet safely held aloft by the stay.

:o That's not static timing!  :D

 

And I'm not starting a 'not to-do list' Haha.



#22 jime17

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 07:16 AM


DO NOT DO THIS.

I hesitate to recount this method of getting a recalcitrant car to start .

I once told someone older than me, ( I thought 'tongue-in-cheek', but obviously my face was too straight ), to wedge open the bonnet and sitting on the near side wing of their Ford Corsair, to dribble petrol into the carb and twiddle the dizzy, while the car was towed along a quiet country lane until the engine fired.

Why, you may ask, do I give such a dire red letter warning if the result was that after only some fifty yards, the engine did indeed fire.

It is because when it fired, it ran 'lumpily', which encourage adjustment of the dizzy, whereupon it backfired with an eyebrow singing belch of flame and such a loud report that the "engineer" recoiled, dislodging the pointed stake that had been wedging open the bonnet.

Most fortunately, the rapid closing of the bonnet grasped the "engineer's" legs and saved him being thrown to the verge, but the sharpened end of the stake chose to puncture the radiator.

If only he had had an A frame. Placing a pallet on it, he could have kneeled over the radiator with the bonnet safely held aloft by the stay.

:o That's not static timing! :D

And I'm not starting a 'not to-do list' Haha.

He's lucky it was the only the radiator he punctured!

Did he re-solder it deadsquare or should I not open that can of worms? ;-)

#23 DeadSquare

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 07:43 AM

 

 

DO NOT DO THIS.

I hesitate to recount this method of getting a recalcitrant car to start .

I once told someone older than me, ( I thought 'tongue-in-cheek', but obviously my face was too straight ), to wedge open the bonnet and sitting on the near side wing of their Ford Corsair, to dribble petrol into the carb and twiddle the dizzy, while the car was towed along a quiet country lane until the engine fired.

Why, you may ask, do I give such a dire red letter warning if the result was that after only some fifty yards, the engine did indeed fire.

It is because when it fired, it ran 'lumpily', which encourage adjustment of the dizzy, whereupon it backfired with an eyebrow singing belch of flame and such a loud report that the "engineer" recoiled, dislodging the pointed stake that had been wedging open the bonnet.

Most fortunately, the rapid closing of the bonnet grasped the "engineer's" legs and saved him being thrown to the verge, but the sharpened end of the stake chose to puncture the radiator.

If only he had had an A frame. Placing a pallet on it, he could have kneeled over the radiator with the bonnet safely held aloft by the stay.

:o That's not static timing! :D

And I'm not starting a 'not to-do list' Haha.

He's lucky it was the only the radiator he punctured!

 

And equally fortunate that his legs were presumably sufficiently far apart when the bonnet fell !

Did he re-solder it deadsquare or should I not open that can of worms? ;-)

 



#24 Its a min

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 03:10 PM

 

 

 

DO NOT DO THIS.

I hesitate to recount this method of getting a recalcitrant car to start .

I once told someone older than me, ( I thought 'tongue-in-cheek', but obviously my face was too straight ), to wedge open the bonnet and sitting on the near side wing of their Ford Corsair, to dribble petrol into the carb and twiddle the dizzy, while the car was towed along a quiet country lane until the engine fired.

Why, you may ask, do I give such a dire red letter warning if the result was that after only some fifty yards, the engine did indeed fire.

It is because when it fired, it ran 'lumpily', which encourage adjustment of the dizzy, whereupon it backfired with an eyebrow singing belch of flame and such a loud report that the "engineer" recoiled, dislodging the pointed stake that had been wedging open the bonnet.

Most fortunately, the rapid closing of the bonnet grasped the "engineer's" legs and saved him being thrown to the verge, but the sharpened end of the stake chose to puncture the radiator.

If only he had had an A frame. Placing a pallet on it, he could have kneeled over the radiator with the bonnet safely held aloft by the stay.

:o That's not static timing! :D

And I'm not starting a 'not to-do list' Haha.

He's lucky it was the only the radiator he punctured!

 

And equally fortunate that his legs were presumably sufficiently far apart when the bonnet fell !

Did he re-solder it deadsquare or should I not open that can of worms? ;-)

 

 

:wacko: Ouch!



#25 Its a min

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 03:14 PM

Any suggestions on new coil?

 

998 A+, Minispares stage 1 kit, electronic conversion kit and de-ballasted for 12v with NGK BPR6ES plugs..  Was thinking the Viper from Accuspark.

 

https://www.ebay.co....tm/192337383535

 

Any one used this or will it be to over the top for my setup?

 

Cheers.



#26 Ethel

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 04:15 PM

Strikes me as snake oil (pun intended) the whole point of an oil filled coil is that the oil is free to circulate and carry the heat away.

 

When you say deballasted do you mean you're using a standard 12v 3 ohm coil? That'll be more than up to the job if it's compatible with your electronic ignition setup.



#27 nicklouse

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 04:22 PM

Any suggestions on new coil?

 

998 A+, Minispares stage 1 kit, electronic conversion kit and de-ballasted for 12v with NGK BPR6ES plugs..  Was thinking the Viper from Accuspark.

 

https://www.ebay.co....tm/192337383535

 

Any one used this or will it be to over the top for my setup?

 

Cheers.

and the point of spending more money? just get it set up and running.



#28 Ethel

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 04:50 PM

It's probably a good idea to go through things from square one before risking chasing yourself up blind alleys.

 

Ignition:

 

Do the plugs spark...in the right order....and at the right time? 

Leads to 1-3-4-2 anticlockwise on the dizzy with 1 nearest to no1 cylinder i.e. also at "1 o'clock". With the rotor arm also pointing to 1 o'clock and the timing marks somewhere near. Check the static timing if your electronic module allows. Low tension connections the right way round (-ve to switched terminal on the dizzy)

 

Everything else can be worked round to at least get it to fire, but look at what you might have disturbed doing the clutch:

Solenoid connections (including earth if inertia starter) - is there still a ballast bypass wire?

Float chamber vent

Crankcase breather hoses



#29 Firephoenix

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 08:25 PM

I’ve seen this exact same thing before. Started, spluttered died. Then nothing.
Checked the obvious, fuel, spark, cleaned the spark plugs etc.
The battery died from cranking, we called the AA who came out to jump it.
It was spinning nicely with the jump pack directly off the AA van, but even with easy start down the carb it still wouldn’t fire.
Rechecked spark, fuel etc. All seemed correct.
So as a punt and desperation, we luckily had a new set of spark plugs in the boot. Fitted plugs, (old ones black, sooty and slightly damp with fuel, even after cleaning). First turn of the key it fired and run up to temperature normally, so don’t consider the spark plugs okay just because they were cleaned.

#30 Its a min

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Posted 25 January 2019 - 10:58 PM

Strikes me as snake oil (pun intended) the whole point of an oil filled coil is that the oil is free to circulate and carry the heat away.

 

When you say deballasted do you mean you're using a standard 12v 3 ohm coil? That'll be more than up to the job if it's compatible with your electronic ignition setup.

 

It's probably a good idea to go through things from square one before risking chasing yourself up blind alleys.

 

Ignition:

 

Do the plugs spark...in the right order....and at the right time? Only checked plug one which had a good strong spark. Will check the others.

Leads to 1-3-4-2 anticlockwise on the dizzy with 1 nearest to no1 cylinder i.e. also at "1 o'clock". With the rotor arm also pointing to 1 o'clock and the timing marks somewhere near. Check the static timing if your electronic module allows. Dizzy, leads etc. weren't touched until I tried turning the dizzy as it wasn't starting. Static timing on my to-do list.

Low tension connections the right way round (-ve to switched terminal on the dizzy) Yes, checked and rechecked.

 

Everything else can be worked round to at least get it to fire, but look at what you might have disturbed doing the clutch:

Solenoid connections (including earth if inertia starter) - is there still a ballast bypass wire? Ballast wire still present in the loom but not connected. Just as a thought (and I may have already disconnected it but),  as I've pulled a 12v feed for the coil, do I still need the yellow/white wire connected as from my understanding, this was just to give the initial 12v while cranking before the ballast wire took over?

Float chamber vent Float chamber seemed full of fuel and plugs getting wet. Also checked it all out and it seemed to be clean and working. Does it have a vent???

Crankcase breather hoses Only has, and ever had, a tappet cover breather hose which connects from the canister to the carb - all connected.

Hi Ethel,

 

Thanks for all the above.

 

Answer to first question is yes. I disconnected the ballast wire, pulled a new white wire from the fuse to coil and replaced the ballast coil with a 12v 3ohm one.

 

I've answered on the second post in red font but still added to the 'to check list' but as previously mentioned, the only thing moved, apart from the clutch assembly, was the coil and starter motor. I'll try cleaning up all the contacts and see if I can find any breaks in any of the wires.

 

Cheers.


Edited by Its a min, 25 January 2019 - 11:08 PM.





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