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date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:58:06 +0200,    group: uk.rec.cars.classic        back       
Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
Hi Folks!
I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
Any ideas?
Bill, DK
date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:58:06 +0200   author:   Bill C.

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
Bill C.  wrote:

> Hi Folks!
> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
> Any ideas?

Dodgy battery, possibly. When cranking the engine there's not enough
oomph to give a spark. Easily tested by borrowing another battery or
trying a jump start.
date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:03:11 +0100   author:   %steve%@malloc.co.uk (Steve Firth)

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
Steve Firth wrote:
> Bill C.  wrote:
> 
>> Hi Folks!
>> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
>> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
>> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
>> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
>> Any ideas?
> 
> Dodgy battery, possibly. When cranking the engine there's not enough
> oomph to give a spark. Easily tested by borrowing another battery or
> trying a jump start.

Another possibility is flooding carburettor (I had the same problem with 
a Morris which turned out to be that).  Check the float and needle valve.

If it is none of those, suspect the condenser, the coil, or the 
distributor cap.  Any of those could give hot start problems.

Jim
date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:10:13 GMT   author:   Jim Warren

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
"Bill C."  wrote in message 
news:488a222f$0$90264$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> Hi Folks!
> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
> Any ideas?
> Bill, DK
>
>
Can we please get one thing straight before we all pile in.  Does refuse to 
start on the self starter mean that the starter motor doesn't turn the 
engine or that the starter motor turns the engine at normal cranking speed 
but the engine doesn't fire?  Or somewhere in between the two?

Ron Robinson
date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:15:52 +0100   author:   R N Robinson

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
R N Robinson wrote:
> "Bill C."  wrote in message 
> news:488a222f$0$90264$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
>> Hi Folks!
>> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
>> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
>> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
>> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
>> Any ideas?
>> Bill, DK
>>
>>
> Can we please get one thing straight before we all pile in.  Does refuse to 
> start on the self starter mean that the starter motor doesn't turn the 
> engine or that the starter motor turns the engine at normal cranking speed 
> but the engine doesn't fire?  Or somewhere in between the two?
> 
> Ron Robinson 
> 
> 

That's easy to answer, YES.

Alan...
date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:40:04 +0100   author:   Alan Smith

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
"R N Robinson"  skrev i en 
meddelelse news:g6dc9q$nip$1@aioe.org...
>
> "Bill C."  wrote in message 
> news:488a222f$0$90264$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
>> Hi Folks!
>> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
>> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
>> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
>> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
>> Any ideas?
>> Bill, DK
>>
>>
> Can we please get one thing straight before we all pile in.  Does refuse 
> to start on the self starter mean that the starter motor doesn't turn the 
> engine or that the starter motor turns the engine at normal cranking speed 
> but the engine doesn't fire?  Or somewhere in between the two?
>
> Ron Robinson

I'll clarify:
Engine warm (stopped < 15 minutes ago).
Get in car.
Key in.
Ignition on.
Key turned.
Starter relay engages.
Starter motor turns.
Starter cogs engage.
Engine turns at a reasonable speed.
Engine refuses to start.

Finish the ice cream which was the reason for stopping.
Ask friendly passers-by to give a push ( at the back of the car ).
Get in car.
Key in.
Ignition on.
Passers-by push ( on the back of the car )
Disengage clutch.
Engage second gear.
Engage clutch.
Engine turns.
Engine starts.

Sorry if the vagueness of my previous mail confused you.
Thankyou all for the suggestions - keep them coming.

Bill, DK
date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:13:08 +0200   author:   Bill C.

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
In article <488a222f$0$90264$14726298@news.sunsite.dk>,
   Bill C.  wrote:
> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
> Any ideas?

Does it turn over slower when hot? If not you can assume the starter's ok. 
I'd go for the mixture being wrong. But obviously check the voltage at the
coil to make sure it is the same as at the battery when cranking - or the
correct amount if a cold start coil.

-- 
*A plateau is a high form of flattery*

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.
date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:53:18 +0100   author:   Dave Plowman (News)

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
"Bill C."  wrote in message 
news:488b8547$0$90272$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
>
>
> I'll clarify:
> Engine warm (stopped < 15 minutes ago).
> Get in car.
> Key in.
> Ignition on.
> Key turned.
> Starter relay engages.
> Starter motor turns.
> Starter cogs engage.
> Engine turns at a reasonable speed.
> Engine refuses to start.
>
> Finish the ice cream which was the reason for stopping.
> Ask friendly passers-by to give a push ( at the back of the car ).
> Get in car.
> Key in.
> Ignition on.
> Passers-by push ( on the back of the car )
> Disengage clutch.
> Engage second gear.
> Engage clutch.
> Engine turns.
> Engine starts.
>
> Sorry if the vagueness of my previous mail confused you.
> Thankyou all for the suggestions - keep them coming.

No, it didn't confuse us, just didn't give us enough to work on.  Now we 
have, well almost but I'll come to that later, and the really important bit 
is the ice cream that you finished before getting the push start.  What I 
reckon happened is that for some reason the engine had flooded (petrol level 
in the float chamber too high?) but by the time you finished the ice cream 
enough of the petrol had evaporated to enable the plugs, now getting the 
full current from the battery unencumbered by the starter motor, to fire the 
mixture.  What you didn't tell us was whether the car had been parked facing 
up hill - this can make matters worse if the float chamber needle valve is 
prone to leak and over fill the chamber ( if the engine layout is as I think 
it is).  If this happens again, try slowly pressing the accelerator pedal 
right to the floor and working the starter again, that way you should get 
enough air through to dilute the mixture to something the plugs can fire. 
Don't stamp on the pedal or the accelerator pump(s) will only make matters 
temporarily worse.

Good luck

Ron Robinson
date: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:59:08 +0100   author:   R N Robinson

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:58:06 +0200, "Bill C."  wrote:

>Any ideas?

The ignition is controlled by a relay that requires _either_ starter
current, or oil pressure, before it will power the ignition. If this
isn't working, it might not fire when you expect. Does it fire if you
crank it until the oil pressure warning light goes out?  (the usual way
this failure manifests itself).


(Danmark?  I think it's still the same)
date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:37:36 +0100   author:   Andy Dingley

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
"Andy Dingley"  wrote in message 
news:0vss84l7qf7ri0usinohqqhcmvrb6la8di@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:58:06 +0200, "Bill C."  wrote:
>
>>Any ideas?
>
> The ignition is controlled by a relay that requires _either_ starter
> current, or oil pressure, before it will power the ignition. If this
> isn't working, it might not fire when you expect. Does it fire if you
> crank it until the oil pressure warning light goes out?  (the usual way
> this failure manifests itself).
>
>
> (Danmark?  I think it's still the same)

If it works on oil pressure that should effectively rule out push starts - 
except by several very fit people. . .

Ron Robinson
date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:13:13 +0100   author:   R N Robinson

Re: Fiat 124 Spider 1972   
Thankyou all for the ideas/theories/suggestions. I'll be trying them all out
together with the owner of the car, and I'll let you know the results.
Bill, DK

"Bill C."  skrev i en meddelelse 
news:488a222f$0$90264$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> Hi Folks!
> I'm asking for a friend of mine - a new owner of this model.
> 1600 motor, Weber carbs, points ignition, manual choke.
> The car refuses to start on the self starter when warm. If pushed
> it'll start right away. He's changed the starter motor to no avail.
> Any ideas?
> Bill, DK
>
>
date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:42:27 +0200   author:   Bill C.

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