1.8 NA not starting

[BRG75]

Any suggestions warmly received.

My old 2002 75 club, won't start, the day after Steve collected it from my drive.

1. Car had been off the road for 2.1/2 years, but regularly started, and shunted from garage to driveway. Always started instantly.

2. Sold to a friend, last week.

3. Collected, and returned, by local MoT station. 5 miles, return.

4. Driven to Shell Garage, and £30 of petrol put in. 6 miles, return.

5 Parked outside his house, N/S wheels on kerb, and facing down hill.

6. 20 minutes later, car momentarily fires up, and dies.

7. O/S Rear of car jacked up, so level, but still facing down hill.

8. Pump can be heard priming, when ignition turned on; and again, shortly
after engine dies.
9. Rev. Counter gets close to 1,000 rpm, whilst engine is momentarily
running.
10. Fuel filter (WGS100072) lifted partly out of tank, to fit orange clip.
(bought earlier as a precaution, but never checked if needed)

11. Top too tight to move, and vanes not adequately lined up to fit clip.

12. Filter re-instated, and another 2 gallons of petrol put in from a can, just
in case (or clutching at straws)
13. Battery very strong, 15 months old, and happily spinning engine over.

Are we missing the obvious, please?

[BRG75]

A quick update.

With an oil filter wrench and lever, the filter body has now been turned (tightened) enough to fit the orange clip.

Needless to say, still no joy.

Does anyone know what pressure we should be seeing at the engine end. We certainly have pressure, but enough?

Many thanks for any input.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by BRG75

Does anyone know what pressure we should be seeing at the engine end.

For your 1.8 Mike it's 3.5 bar (50.7 psi).

Simon

[BRG75]

Could this be a symptom of an ECU problem, I wonder.

It was bone dry, and plenum rodded through, when put in my garage; but since then we have had a lot of rain.

Unless anyone can advise differently, then checking this will be our next step

[BRG75]

Thank you Simon, we'll see if we can measure it.

I think it can be done with a tyre pressure gauge.

[SD1too]

Hi Mike,

These things happen when cars are laid up; faults appear that were not previously present. You asked about missing the obvious and that's where I think you should start. I am rather concerned about this:

Originally Posted by BRG75

Car had been off the road for 2.1/2 years, but regularly started, and shunted from garage to driveway. Always started instantly.

Was the battery put on a smart charger during this period? Regular starting and shunting a car a very short distance will deplete the battery. When you're turning the engine over, the battery voltage will drop. If the battery is partially discharged the voltage can theoretically drop to a level lower than that required by the ECUs or any other component for that matter. The age of the battery is irrelevant and the car's had a lot of starter motor use with very little charging time (5 miles, MOT test, 6 miles).

So in short, I'd put the battery on charge for over 24 hours before speculating about ECU failure!

Simon

[BRG75]

Hi Simon,

No not a smart charger, but both a trickle charger and a 20 amp High / Low. were used.

However, when I knew that the car was going for an MOT, I did indeed give it at least a 24 hr. charge. This would have been last week.

[SD1too]

That's great Mike, you're one step ahead of me!

In that case, is the fuel pump buzzing when the engine is cranked (testing crankshaft position sensor)?

Is the engine still running momentarily then stopping or is it not firing at all (fuel pressure v. camshaft sensor)?

Simon