HELP!! 1985 1.9 intermittent starting fault

[busengineer]

Hi,, this is my first post on this forum (first of many id imagine!)

We brought a 1985 1.9 petrol Autosleeper last week and on the whole were extremely pleased with it, BUT.....

I seem to have a starting problem, I went out to it yesterday morning to move it to get other car out and it wouldnt start, it just churned over and over until the battery sounded flat, so i left it as i had to go to work. When i got home i tryed it again and it fired up no problem at all, very strange i thought! But id read on hear about ignition switch faults and assumed id disturbed that or something.....

Gone out to it this morning as i have to move it today as i need my car out of the garage and guess what..... it wont start!

Please help, im ploughing through thread after thread trying to come up with an answer but to no avail at the moment

[MidLifeCrisis]

The smart chaps (not me) on here are going to need a little more info on what you did and what you heard/saw.

Did you pump the accelerator pedal before you tried to start it?
Did you turn the key straight from off to 'start' or did you turn it to the first notch for a while first?
Did you hold on any accelerator while it was starting? or pump the accelerator?
Did the starter motor sound like it was turning over powerfully or did it sound a bit pathetic?
Did the engine sound like it was trying to start (e.g. spluttering/coughing/almost starting) or did it just sound like the starter was turning a dead engine?
Do you have an alarm/immobiliser/anything else non-standard on there?
Did you do anything else? Any little detail could help track down the issue.

Particularly, what (if anything) did you do differently when it started versus when it didn't start? Again, small details may be vital (e.g. did you cross your fingers, say a short prayer to the T25 gods?)

Good luck - there are plenty of smart folks on here that will be able to help ......

[busengineer]

Thanks for the reply, sorry if this makes little sense, ive just come in from outside and its still not running

I didnt pump the throttle or touch it at all
It just churned over, sounded fairly slow but it has since weve had it
Not even a whisper of it firing, no coughs no splutters
Turned the key to 1 for a few seconds then tried to start
There has been an immobiliser fitted in the past and some of it is still there but that would not explain why it will start one minute and not the next as it all appears to be disconnected

Ive now removed the battery and will charge it up at work this evening, as im getting inconsistent problems at the moment and I think its currently battery related, im then tempted to move to the starter as I think its sticking or maybe has quite a bit of resistance, please shoot me down if im going the wrong way with this.

Ive waggled the ignition switch and checked the security of the plug, cleaned the battery earth

Where do i need to be looking for the gearbox earth?

Whats worrying me is it turned over as quick as it always has this morning but didnt fire which points to fuel to me, unless I need a stronger battery? I dont know, going round in circles until later i suppose

Im actually laughing at myself really as it had been starting fine I parked it down the side of my house. Now this problem occurs and my other car which is only slightly newer but working is stuck behind it in the garage so im catching a lift to work this afternoon

[Mocki]

just a quick point, or two!

1.you need to set the choke by fully depressing the throttle and then taking your foot off it before you turn the key.
2.Start with the basics, dont go looking for more than your problem is.
Take a plug lead off and put it on a old spare plug and check you have a spark
check you have fuel

if its turning over, it only needs fuel and a spark (at the right time) to start.

then look deeper if its needed.

[busengineer]

I totally agree, im just looking far too far into it!! You know what its like

Im a bus fitter by trade and my head says get the battery charged up and try again

Thanks for the choke advice i didnt know that and may make sense as it wont start early in the moring when its cold

[California Dreamin]

As Steve said ^^^^ the choke is operated by a bi-metalic coiled spring. Pressing the pedal down just the once allows the choke to set at the same time props the throttle open slightly on a stepped cam (which gives fast idle). As the choke housing heats up (it is fed by engine coolant and is also electrically heated depending on carb type) the coil spring pulls off the choke butterfly at the same time as taking the throttle off the steps of the cam one by one until it can idle on it's own.

Yes I agree...do the diagnosis with a properly charged battery.

And
Look on WIKI....there should be lots of info as this is a common theme.

Martin

[busengineer]

Thanks, the description has helped

I have been using Wiki its very useful, its just finding the right info at the right time but im getting there

[nevill3]

The gearbox earth is to be found at the back of the gearbox (towards the the front of the van) it usually goes from the gearbox mount to the chassis. The cables are quite exposed under there and can often perish, a new one is only a few pounds and Aiden the gearbox expert on here recommends positioning them elsewhere see this link https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... prevention

And also from the Wiki https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Al ... t_starting

I recently added an extra earth strap to mine from the point where the exhaust mount attached to the block and the point where the engine bars attach to the rear chassis/crossmember

[California Dreamin]

I've done the same on mine.....forget the existing earth on the nose of the gearbox and ADD a second braided lead in another position.
Look for somewhere that has potential to carry the lead to a substantial part of the vehicle body, take the eyelet mounting points back to brite/bare metal, mount the lead with some slack. Paint over the mounting points to stop corrosion.

It helps to mount the braided lead where it isn't goint to flex very much with the movement of the engine, otherwise it will snap over time with movement fatigue. Down the centre line of the engine is good as it won't move too much, close to the exhaust isn't ideal but OK if the lead doesn't get too hot.

These are 100Amp so you may need two if they are the only earth to the engine (fine as an addition)

http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/p ... ategory/27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Martin

[busengineer]

Fitted the fully charged battery this morning, depressed the throttle once and she fired straight up! Not entirely convinced its cured as it started before then let me down, but its a result all the same as I can drive to work today!

Thankyou all for your help and words of wisdom, I think im going to renew my earths anyway for peace of mind (too much time on French cars has taught me this anyway!) and im tempted to fit a voltmeter in the dash

[Mocki]

i think you will find that the lack of footage on peddle was lots of your problem.....
and the more you "wind" it over the less chance there is of it starting without the choke being set.