Had trouble starting my car this morning, I had not driven it for well over a week because I have been ill, my dad drove it once last week.
I started it this morning and it wouldn't start, it just sounded very weak. I then noticed a bit later it didn't sound any weaker so concluded the battery probably was ok. The indicators on it were also green.
I then put the throttle right down and left it to turn over for about 6-8 seconds (yes I know this does the starter motor no good) and it finally kicked into life. The car then ran perfectly and has started first time every since instantly.
No loss of oil, coolant, no warning lights, everything is normal. What could have caused this? I am worried inc ase it happens again. It has been very wet here so could it just be the battery terminals which got damp?
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Do you park in facing into the wind ?
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No idea but it has been very stormy here, the road was flooded and the council had to come and jet also the trains and clear the leaves up. It has been very very wet and windy. It dosn't have any HT leads, its just a coil pack which sits above the plugs.
I probably need to grease the battery terminals.
Edited by Rattle on 19/11/2009 at 17:02
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maybe just a bit damp as not used for a while, maybe it will just need a good run out to charge up the battery a bit more
As i take it there is no addtional drain on the battery, as i guess it would have been completly flat maybe some greasing and a could charge will do it a world of good - just a thought sorry i cannot help anymore
Edited by redviper on 19/11/2009 at 17:16
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The indicators on it were also green. Strange mine flash yellow.
The cold start temp sensor in the inlet manifold is prone try a new one there approx £13.00 at vx., also check leads, new plugs etc.
Edited by bigtee on 19/11/2009 at 17:23
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Actually I don't remember it idling at 1200 when I got it going, I could hear the tappets away while the oil pressure built up, normally the exhaust is so loud you can't hear that. So it may well be the problem. I will see how it goes and keep an high on the idle speed when cold.
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Hydraulic tappets?
They might have needed the engine turning over for a while to 'pump them up'.
Don't worry about it, it's an old car and as long as it's running OK it doesn't matter if it takes a while to start after it's been standing. I'd say it's quite normal.
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I will just keep an eye on it, I suppose we just get used to cars starting instantly all the time these days.
My tappets have been a little noisy from cold but its usually just the first couple of minutes, I have 10/40 in there atm, maybe 5/30 might be a bit better.
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i would agree with bt
these cars can suffer from conpensation in the ht bit by the way as under the fancy plastic rocker cover top and below the coils in a pretty row is a cavernousk holey thing for trapping that conpansation stuff,you will see the end of the sparkly plugies as going green just like your yes no yes no indookatiors
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Car's that are (shall we say) getting on in years & mileage can be harder to start the longer they are left at this time of the year - damp is worse than the cold actually.
Electrickery will take the path of the least resistance - the easy way out, rather than 'jump the gap' under compression pressure.
I have often gone out to non - starters to find there's very little compression available due to a cold engine + the owner trying to start the critter for yonks and thereby washing all the oil away from the cylinder bores.
You did right comrade - to floor the throttle & turn the critter over (not too much mind)
Another trick is to remove the spark plugs & stick em in the oven next to the Cornish pasties :)
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I give my bangernomics vauhalls a squirt of WD40 in the coil pack / HT lead area once a month during winter and that seems to stop any starting hesitancy.
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Thanks hopefully it is just a one off :). For the people that said the leads this is what I usually would suspect but the there are no HT leads, just a coil which sits above the plugs. It seems these can suffer from damp problems just like old fashioned leads did.
I would say a lack of compression is exactly what it sounded like, which I why I checked oil and water. A lot of water did come out the tail pipe but that is just condensation.
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"It seems these can suffer from damp problems just like old fashioned leads did."
Which is why PU`s question of "do you park facing into the wind" is so good.
A lot of people have never seen how damp can penetrate an engine bay due to that.
WD-40 all over the electrics and park it tail on to the prevailing weather.
(glad to see you up and about)
Edited by oilrag on 19/11/2009 at 21:11
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Can you still buy Holts Dampstart. I've a can of the stuff in my shed. Solved many problems, I'll have to give it a shake to see if it's still got any propellant.
snip, enough please btb. Your ladybird reference was removed for good reason quite a few weeks ago by one of the other moderators and your frequent jibes about it are becoming tiresome
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/11/2009 at 00:51
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i still prefer easystart, some of that down the neck of anything will fire it up if its ever going to run
------------any children reading please ignore this post ----------------------
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Will give it all a go if I ever get a day off, very unlikely for the next week or so :(
I might also get a blanket from a scrap yard it might help stop the damp getting in and it will certainly make the car seem quieter from the drivers seat.
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Do engines start to become dependent on dampstart / easystart type products after a while if used they're used regularly to aid starting?
I remember several years ago when my dad was a farmer and they had a tractor that became more and more stubborn to start. Despite giving it a good service, and changing parts etc, it would only ever start with a squirt of easystart. Prior to using the product for the first time on that engine it aways started on the button. The engine one morning was being lethargic though and one of the other farmers fired it up with easystart. Ever since that day it would only ever start with easystart. It seemed to have become addicted to the stuff.
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"Do engines start to become dependent on dampstart / easystart type products after a while if used they're used regularly to aid starting? "
I suspect the the `sharp` uncontrolled combustion of ether based stuff, can allegedly damage piston rings Dave and further reduce available compression.
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the easy start washes oil off the bores so the more you use it the more the compression rings dont seal in the bore so you need more easy start to start it
i hate starting diesels on the stuff because they fire in the wrong order and its also possible the engine could run backwards
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
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More details
source, marine diesels direct forum
"STARTING STUBBORN DIESEL ENGINES JUST SAY NO TO ETHER
Nearly every week customers post inquiry to the Torresen Marine
Diesel Direct forum asking about how to overcome starting
difficulties with their diesel engine. Nearly as often, the
subject of starting fluids and ether accompanies the
conversation. It appears that we all want a quick fix. Instead
of getting to the root of the problem we look for a magic potion
that will solve the problem in a spray form.
Not only does the use of ether not solve the problem, it also is
liable to shorten the life of the engine by causing serious
damage. The damage could include cracked piston ring grooves or
the rings and pistons themselves. When a cylinder fires from
normal injection, the fuel burns for the entire stroke of the
piston. Ether explodes when the compression gets it hot enough
and that could be well before the piston is at the top of its
compression stroke and the forces exerted are well beyond the
design of the engine.
Our recommendation is simple. Stay away from ether."
end of quote
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Just an update the car started today first time, ran perfectly and I opened the to have a good listen. It ideled at 1200rpm and soon went down to 800 as it should, the tappets were also fairly quiet (well normal for this engine).
So it probably was just damp or siezed tappets or something.
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rattle how much money have you spent so far on it?? if you not run the car at all for a week then it bound to be difficult to start, cos of the weather, sell it man and get a better one
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There is no point, as it now has just 3 months MOT its going to worth £600 max, it has four good tyres, four new springs, new shock absorbers etc no other second hand car will have all that and anything I buy < £1k I will just end up replacing all the rubber and other bits anyway.
I am going to at least keep it till March, get a 12 month MOT sticker on it then decide to upgrade or not :).
At the moment though it is a lot easier for me to spend a bit on repairs every now and then rather than be stuck with a great big car loan.
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