non starting 66 2000sc??

thebaldyman

thebaldyman

Member
Hi

My sc is proving to be a pain in the rear at the moment :roll: It was running really well then we fitted the accuspark ignition system and once we fitted this it proved a sod to get started. Anyway after refitting it and checking the timing etc it was up and running really well.

My dad went to start it a few days later- no start, turns over fine just won't fire? So far we have checked that the fuel pump is pumping, there is a spark at the plug end and the timing is at 4 btdc. All we get is constant turning over with no attemot to fire :evil:

We have today gone back to points and condensor, double checked everything again and..... no 'kin difference :evil: :evil: It will just not fire? i have spark, fuel What the hell is going on????? :cry:

I am now losing the will to live with it!! When you time it which is number 4 cylinder? As my engine has the timing marks on the flywheel I used the cylinder nearest the bulkhead is this right?? I think the issue is timing but we have tried moving the dizzy whilst turning the engine over but again not even a cough :roll:

Any advice really appreciated :D :D
 
Cylinder number 4 is the cylinder at the rear of the engine bay.

I would try connecting cylinder number one to each of the different positions on the distributor, and see if you can get it to fire. The 4 cylinder motor is hard to set up. They should be set up so that the lead position closest to the front of the engine bay, on the distributor, goes to the cylinder closest to the front of the motor. Then looking at the rotor button, which normally has an arrow on it you can work out the other remembering the firing order 1 3 4 2.

However these motors can be put together wrong, so that the leads have to be in other positions. There was some discussion of this about a year ago on this site. So it might be worth trying other positions and seeing of that makes a difference. Someones car had their distributor set so that it was 90 degrees out, which is really strange. Normally they end up 180 degrees out, so that number 1 plug needs to connected to the rearmost point on the distributor.

What condition are spark plugs in? Are they damp with fuel and not firing, or only weakly firing. Are the points set right. What sort of leads do you have? Are push in leads, being used with a screw in distributor cap and iginition coil. I have had problems with mixing them in the past, as the main lead would not stay home, in the coil, and would appear to work by giving a weak spark.

I have had my 2000 sc go through non starting / hard starting episodes for no real apparent reason. I think if you flood the spark plugs with choke, then it can be a bitch to start after that. The last time that happened to me, it was the car telling me that it was time for new spark plugs, points and condensor. If the starter motor is a little tired, I think what can happen is that by the time fuel get pumped to the carb, you spark is getting a little weak. Hand priming is a good idea if the car has sat for a while. Also check that you have a good fuel flow from the fuel pump. It should spray fuel out really well when hand pumped with the fuel line off the distributor. You could have impeded flow through the fuel lines from a rust build up. It will pump out some fuel, but not enough for proper fuel flow to the motor.

James.
 
Hi James

Thanks for the in depth reply :D Had my dad turn it over and I checked the spark at the plug end and it looks a little weak to me. It has the screw in leads and dizzy cap so they are a good fit, however, the coil was replaced a few days ago so i am wondering if the main ht lead as descibed above may be the cause. When turning it over we have flooded it a couple of times and removed each plug to dry it off each time but it still won't do what we want. I'll get there if it sends me to the loony bin :LOL:
 
In my experience, reluctant starters usually succombe to a tow start. Not the total answer, but it allows you a better chance of figuring out the real cause once you have it running!

Chris
 
Wahey got it going :D

Followed some of the advice given regarding the coil to dizzy HT lead. Pulled the choke out 1/2 way and off it went first turn :p Drove it to warm it up, checked the timing etc all was well.

Decieded to drive it to work this morning and hey presto on the money and didn't miss a beat all the way and home again :D How happy am I now...........
 
thebaldyman said:
My sc is proving to be a pain in the rear at the moment
Click to expand...

You and me both, mate!
It's been a battle of wills to get my TC going these last few months. Problem sounds the same as yours- sweet running, even on choke, but absolutely refuses to start from cold.

The problem keeps coming back to haunt me with no warning, but I'm steadily ironing out the issues. In case the same happens to you, here's a list of all the things I've done to try and sort it so far (aside from the usual checking ignition system/fueling, etc). It might not be all that useful for your situation, but it's always worthwhile sharing experience IMO. Because God knows I would not wish the last 2 months of non-starting on anyone! You would not believe how testing that gets- practically mini servicing the bleeding thing every day in the vain hope it'll fire. Getting it running but then still having to go through the whole ordeal again the following day! (Why is it so difficult?!!)

New battery: 570 cold cranking amps- turns starter a LOT faster for a lot longer. Size is "075" and fits boot tray snuggly. Ebay- £50.

Prime the fuel pump: Over the winter, it's harder to start anyway, so I pump the fuel pump by hand until it goes firm. You can hear the slosh of the float chambers filling up. Just shows how much pressure is lost when left standing- pressure that the pump would have to build up gradually over multiple cranking attempts in order to get fuel into combustion chambers.

Sort the choke setting: I wasn't sure how far the choke lever should pull the jets down on full choke, as my cylinders were flooding all the time. TC's seem to be quite good at starting from very little choke, but not sure about SC's. Try firing from no choke, then tiny amount of choke (look at the lever arm on side of carb body as it pulls the pad downwards- try 0.25" between bottom of mixture adjust screw and pad to start), and increase amount of choke until it fires. Then remember that position and try it again over the course of a few days, adjusting if necessary. When it fires first or second time without fail, you know you've got the right amount of choke for cold starting your engine. Reposition the choke cable on the lever so that your cold start position is achieved when the choke handle is pulled right out in the cabin (or as close as you can get it). That way, you'll never get too much choke again, and will have plenty of travel to set up the fast idle.

Sorting these things seem to have helped make things a little easier for me so far, but I'm not sure I'm out of the woods yet!!

Michael
 
Cheers Michael!! I'm taking your advice on the choke setting as we have found you can flood it quite easily if your not careful!!! :D
 
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