sudden death then ok 5 mins later...!

[boardmonkey]

Hi,

On my way to MOT a few weeks ago and the van died going up hill into a village. Tired to turn van over and she'd fire, splutter and die..thought it was fuel so got a lift home, got car, got fuel & got her started again and MOT pass.

Yesterday after completing the replacement of fan blower and associated wiring and other small menial jobs I took her for a blast around the airfield, all was fine until I did a right turn and van died.

Coasted to a stop, turned engine over and she'd fire and then splutter and die again. Left it a few minutes and same thing...Left it a further few minutes whilst contemplating the walk home and then turn her over and she fires up all ok...

Now, I am trying to determine if it is fuel starvation (tank crud), fuel delivery (pump) or ignition....fuel inline filter and ALL fuel hoses are brand new and clean...How can I determine 100% if its the pump or tank or Electrics, I mean without the expense of replacing all...I need the bus running sweet for the Easter weekend and running out of time.

Pushrod is 100mm in length...
Would a dodgy coil give these same results ? How would I test a coil ?

Thanks, Richard

[CovKid]

Intermittent fault is always a pain. I suppose (as a rough & ready diagnosis), if it conks out and a shot of fuel tipped down carb throat followed by an attempt to start yeilds nothing, its very likely to be electrical, if it will run every time you put fuel through manually (if only for say 20 secs), then its being starved of fuel and the carb is literally running out because the pump can no longer deliver what it needs. Even a pushrod of the correct length won't help a pump that is gradually breathing its last.

I mention all this because I had these symptoms for ages. It drove me absolutely nuts as I couldn't pinppoint the cause and it was seemingly ransom. In the end I fitted a £30 electric pump and I've not had the issue since. Howerver, the above may help you make a much faster judgement on what the cause is - fuel or spark.

[123-jn]

Immediately it does it is the coil very hot to the touch? This is one way a coil can show it is on the way out? Is there plenty of petrol in the tank. Is the little conical filter inside the fuel inlet on the carb clean?

[CovKid]

Conical filter tends to let you down at big throttle openings - mind you so can a weak pump. Had a lot of those lately.

[marlinowner]

It seems to me like a fuel problem father than ignition. A good idea to fit an electric pump, takes a lot of the uncertainty about fuel delivery away. Because of the position of the fuel outlet on the tank, you might well expect crud in the tank to be more likely to cause a blockage going uphill or on a long right hand bend, if it does it again it would be informative to immediately disconnect the fuel filter from the tank outlet and see if there is a good flow of fuel.

[boardmonkey]

CovKid,

I know you've mentioned electric fuel pumps on here, any recommendations on what one to get and how easy are they to fit...
30.00 ain't going to break the bank..

123jn - Coil - No it doesn't get hot...how long do you need to run the van for it to get hot, it looks old & battered though - green sticker type. Do they have any kind of shelf life before they start packing up? Plenty of fuel - at least half a tank as I stuck a load in last time I had this issue on way to MOT. Vans not a daily driver and only been to the garage and back in it since the fill up...10-15 miles, plus no insurance or tax yet.

Marlin -I may drop the fuel tank and have a look see, although if its got half a tank of fuel I've got no where to drain it !
Magnets on the bottom of the tank ? They seem cheap and plentiful on eBay....

Thanks for all the pointers, gives me something to do tomorrow between emails at work...the benefits of working from home.

[ghost123uk]

Simple test for fuel delivery to the carb = Remove the fuel feed pipe from the carb and stick it in a pop bottle. Remove all the thin wires from one side of the coil, (one side only to avoid confusion), then crank the engine. It won't start because of the wires you just took off one side of the coil. Note how healthy the squirting of fuel is into the bottle. It should be a reasonable pulsing squirt, not a dribble.

[CovKid]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Facet-12v-Ele ... 3f473a82a3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lots of info on here regarding fitting a Facet, both simple and complex but pump must go off when engine stops (safety). You want that one as pressure is about right and so is price. You'll need to figure out the hose connections though. I replaced it all with 8mm to match pump but you can mix/match a bit. What you MUST do is make sure fittings are tight as the line is under pressure. Other than that, electric pumps are great.

Mine is powered using the very basic method, triggered by the blue wire from alternator with a manual switch to prime the line if van has been stood but others power theirs via the coil and a relay. Have a search, you'll soon find the relevant thread. No point starting another.

[boardmonkey]

Hi,

Facet ordered...relay ordered...was going to follow big herbs wiring diagram (hence relay)

Just checking the fuel line out the tank, its an R9 fuel line into the filter, then R9 into a reducer and a hard polyamide cable fuel line to the engine bay then R9 to the pump and onto Carb...back to the tank via one way valve and more polyamide cable.

So is R9 the same as 8mm ?
Secondly do I need to replace all the polyamide with R9 ? I mean both from tank to Carb and from carb back to tank..?
Thirdly does it make sense to have a small relay box to put in the engine bay or expect to wire the relay into the existing fuse board.