11 replies to this topic

[marsy]

went to start my mini today after it has been running okish for a few days, (a bit rich) but went to start today and it wouldnt fire up!
it may of been battery? but it was turning over fine
but the spark plugs are wet with petrol, what should i do? will it start ok tomorrow? as in will the petrol evaporate?
(ive got the battery on charge, hoping its this)

[ginigwunkle]

not the battery if its turning over,

could be plug gaps, leads, coil, points/rotor arm/cap on dizzy

(bad earth if its not turning over quick but stil turnin!)

[marsy]

not the battery if its turning over,

could be plug gaps, leads, coil, points/rotor arm/cap on dizzy

(bad earth if its not turning over quick but stil turnin!)

might need a new coil i reckon, as sparks at spark plugs didnt seem to strong when tested.
has had new plugs, leads, rotor arm, and cap, (electronic ignition on this one)
will it start up tho with the spark plugs covered in petrol?

[ginigwunkle]

no,
leave the plugs out over night to air out and let it evaporate, try again in the morning with no choke jus pulse the throttle......

u need balast coil or non balast? i have a balast type lyin round....

[marsy]

no,
leave the plugs out over night to air out and let it evaporate, try again in the morning with no choke jus pulse the throttle......

u need balast coil or non balast? i have a balast type lyin round....

i dont know i just posted that? ive got a 1983 mayfair 998cc been converted to electronic ignition, with the convertor thingy that goes in your distributor, (a little white box with blue writing on , an a couple of wires going to coil, i think?)

[dklawson]

It takes a lot of cranking to flood an SU carbureted engine. Don't jump to the conclusion that it's the coil. Always make all the standard ignition adjustments first and check/replace the cheap components first. What kind of spark did you observe at the plugs? Were the plugs covered in carbon or was the ceramic still white-ish?

Leave the spark plugs out as suggested so the gas can evaporate. If your fuel pump is electric, remove the air cleaner so you can look into the throat of the carb (use a mirror if necessary). Turn on the ignition and look in the throat of the carb to see if fuel is coming out of the jet. This would indicate a stuck float valve. If you've got a mechanical pump, have someone crank the car while you make this same observation.

Edited by dklawson, 26 August 2007 - 09:22 PM.

[marsy]

It takes a lot of cranking to flood an SU carbureted engine. Don't jump to the conclusion that it's the coil. Always make all the standard ignition adjustments first and check/replace the cheap components first. What kind of spark did you observe at the plugs? Were the plugs covered in carbon or was the ceramic still white-ish?

Leave the spark plugs out as suggested so the gas can evaporate. If your fuel pump is electric, remove the air cleaner so you can look into the throat of the carb (use a mirror if necessary). Turn on the ignition and look in the throat of the carb to see if fuel is coming out of the jet. This would indicate a stuck float valve. If you've got a mechanical pump, have someone crank the car while you make this same observation.

the spark plugs were black, carbon.
will try the other tomorrrow when it light, many thanks!

[ginigwunkle]

i have electronic and i have 4 wires to coil(1 for rev counter)

u kno what make of coil it is?lucas, aldon, etc...?

[dklawson]

OK... you've got two threads running and you and I are chasing each other. I'm going to make future posts here, not on the coil thread.

The plugs were black with carbon. Buy NEW PLUGS. Your weak spark is likely (in part) to be from the carbon on the electrodes. Throw in a new set of NGKs and once the car is running go through a standard tune up. Start with the ignition settings and valve adjustments. Then move on to adjusting the carburetor(s) if necessary. Ignition settings always come first.

[marsy]

OK... you've got two threads running and you and I are chasing each other. I'm going to make future posts here, not on the coil thread.

The plugs were black with carbon. Buy NEW PLUGS. Your weak spark is likely (in part) to be from the carbon on the electrodes. Throw in a new set of NGKs and once the car is running go through a standard tune up. Start with the ignition settings and valve adjustments. Then move on to adjusting the carburetor(s) if necessary. Ignition settings always come first.

sorry bout that dklawson! thats for your advise!

[marsy]

ive just taken spark plugs out and they are carbon/black, and are wet and stink of petrol, despite me taken them out and drying them early?
is there really that much fuel in the engine?

[dklawson]

Did the car start with the dry plugs? As I mentioned earlier, heavily carbon fouled plugs aren't going to fire correctly. Start with new plugs. If the car starts OK with new plugs, go through the normal tune up procedure starting with the valves and ignition. Then, when that's right, move on to the carb settings. Fuel adjustments come last.

Is it normal for the plugs to be wet? No. It can be caused by two things. Either a couple of plugs aren't firing so there's a lot of unburned fuel passing through the chambers, or you have a fuel system problem that's pumping excessive fuel into the intake manifold. That's why I suggested looking to see if gas was being pumped into the carb throat when you crank the car.