Van won't start after left standing

[richlaz]

Hi all,

My van has been SORN and parked up for approx. 3-4 months, and now I can't get it going (knew I should have kept starting it up every couple of days! ) Engine was running fine when last started, which was approx. 8-10 weeks ago.

It's an '84 1.9DG

Firstly, the battery was dead... so I took it out, charged it, it was then stable at around 12.8v - all good

Then noticed with the ignition on, petrol gauge didn't move, so put 10L of petrol in. Now gauge is just above the red line - happy days

Upon turning the key... the engine turns over, but doesn't seem to fire (I've tried cranking on and off for probably a total of 5 mins) but no joy... now the battery is dead again so it's back on charge!

Not sure whether to have the accelerator permanently on the floor when cranking, or whether to just pump it every now and then... what would be most effective?

I've taken the spark plugs out, and gave them a bit of a clean with a wire brush, and checked the gaps (I believe they should be approx. 0.7mm?) A couple were a bit wet/oily, one had some black/carbon deposits, and one didn't seem too bad (can't remember which ones were which though).

I'm afraid I know very little about engines, so am a little stuck now. I believe the next step would be to check if the plugs are "sparking"?

I seem to remember my father had a "tool" which goes between the ignition cable and the spark plug, and lights up when it fires. Only problem being... this would test the coil, cable etc, but doesn't necessarily mean that the plug is sparking.

Would a better way be to remove the spark plug, re-fit ignition cable onto spark plug whilst still removed from engine, then turn the key? (Would need a jump lead between the thread of spark plug and Earth to complete the circuit though)?

Moving house in a couple of week so need to get this back on the road

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[greasemonkey]

Just some starters from me, I'd start with the battery again and check what voltage it drops to in cranking. A dead battery can still read over 12volts, but not have the amps to crank and get a good spark, especially if rest of system is weak. If all looking good move on like you're doing. You can take the spark plug out to see if it's working (clean with brass brush) but just watch you don't get in the way of the spray of petrol coming out of the open hole

[Ralf85]

Spot on. Take the battery out, charge it up leave it for 24 hours then check the voltage. Let us know the result.
Batteries need to be kept working otherwise they can fail.

[paperhouselad]

Try pumping thr accelerator 20 times, then wait 10 mins before trying again but with no accelerator at all while trying to start, this always worked for me with an old moonraker which was of the road. Good luck.

[CovKid]

or, just before you attempt to start it with a freshly charged battery, remove air filter rubber from top of carb, tip half an eggcup-full of petrol straight down carb throat. Now try to start it. If it splutters into life then dies quickly, its fuel starvation.

Either blocked filter or weak/knackered fuel pump. Pumping throttle may not work if carb float bowl is empty. This quick test will sometimes point you in the right direction for whether its a fuel or an ignition problem. Petrol probably draining back to tank and pump no longer strong enough to suck it through. If it does splutter into life for a few seconds, investigate fuel pump. If its the same, investigate ignition.

[richlaz]

Many thanks for the replies

Battery is now on charge (I'm hoping the battery is ok, it's around 2 years old, nice big Bosch 750A / 74Ah).

Will try all the suggestions over the next day or two and report back

[CovKid]

Bet its starts once it gets a whiff of petrol. They usually do. When you're cranking, the pump simply isn't going fast enough on the starter to pull the fuel up the pipe. If you have to, do the eggcup of petrol a few times as it'll eventually run long enough for pump to do its job and it'll run on its own.

Many move to an electric pump if the mechanical one goes as the line is always primed then. Great if you ever run out of petrol and want to get the fuel through quickly on the side of the road.

[itchyfeet]

^^^ my money is on this
my van won't start on petrol at the moment but will switch over from lpg when running, pipe drains down, must fix it

[richlaz]

I'm hoping this is all the problem is

Need to get back down the petrol station and re-fill my cans

[daysofthunder]

I had the same issue with my 1985 1.9dg , changed the fuel pump and it solved this issue for me . But like I always say start with the least expensive fixes and work upwards . Battery needs to be a good one then move onto serviceable parts ect . I always think its worth a good service before the season starts for camping

[CovKid]

petrol down the carb will confirm it. Weak petrol pumps can create intermittent problems before packing up, or they just go. Mine still runs back to tank but don't care now as electric pump soon pulls it through. It ran a whole lot better after that too. Had moments when it would splutter or kick back at random moments. That all went.

You can also get probs at high speeds where you're at full throttle and the pump has to keep up. Sometimes it doesn't and you lose power until you reduce speed to something the pump can match.

[richlaz]

I know it sounds really stupid... But where on the carb (2e3) do I pour the petrol in?

Don't want to pour it into the air intake or somewhere it's not supposed to go

[itchyfeet]

You need to take the pancake trunking off , three nuts and pour in the choke hole towards the rear of vehicle
the one here with the choke flap shown closed is best
be very careful not to drop anything down the carb except petrol, not too much either, half egg cup as said

[richlaz]

Many thanks for all your help guys... absolute geniuses

Tried the petrol straight into the carb (in a milk bottle lid), fired up immediately, then died again. Proved ignition etc ok.

Kept repeating the procedure, on the fourth time, the engine started and kept running

Let the engine warm up, took for a drive, tried switching off the engine, leaving for a while, and re-starting, all is perfect

The fuel lines and carb float must have been completely dry where the van was standing for a good few weeks. I've definitely learned my lesson... not to leave it for so long without running the engine!

Now I have a bigger problem... we're moving house next month... new house is a terraced with limited parking (no space for both vehicles)... also have a baby due in May... and the missus wants to sell the van

Thanks again for all of your help and advice - really happy now - saved me a lot of stress

[greasemonkey]

Nice one