Valver won't start!

Site Subscriber Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 1141

Ok, so my cheap valver has decided not to start.

I left it for about a week, I started it on the Wednesday and she went fine, went to start on the Monday and battery was dead. She wouldn't start of jumps, so put in the battery out of my dads Van today - cranks, sounds like it "wants" to fire on the third rotation but doesn't.

Sparkplugs spark on the block, fuel pump primes, have removed the CTS plug as that was the original cause of it not starting. Smells of petrol after a few goes of getting it to fire. Tried cleaning connections etc.

Any ideas please guys? Shes abandoned on the road atm Sad

Site Subscriber Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 3547

is the rev copunter reading when shes turning over? under the inlet manifold, there is an injector, unplug that, as that will be the cause of the smell of petrol, its flooding the inlet manifold.

Site Subscriber Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 1141

danlp6 wrote:

is the rev copunter reading when shes turning over? under the inlet manifold, there is an injector, unplug that, as that will be the cause of the smell of petrol, its flooding the inlet manifold.

Yeah, the needle jumps a little.

Thinking maybe coil pack or ECU (water damage from the big splash?)

Could do with someone local with some spares to come and swap some bits out, most of my tools were knackered last year Sad

Doc! Wanna earn yourself some stella?

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

when u changed the battery did u reset the ECU ?

plip the doors locked and unlocked whilst they are closed to reset it.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

sort out the earth

Site Subscriber Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 1141

Wicked Neo wrote:

when u changed the battery did u reset the ECU ?

plip the doors locked and unlocked whilst they are closed to reset it.

The door plip doesn't work Rolling Eyes

However, have removed the battery previously to replace the +ve terminal and this didn't cause a problem.

Cleaned up the earth terminals Chris, and even bridged it to the block with some thick cooker cable and it didn't make any difference.

Dizzi/Rotor Arm maybe? Bearing in mind it was very damp / freezing between the day it started and the day it didn't.

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

in that case, u should be able to use the C/L switch on the dash, make sure the doors are closed thou Smile

yeah some 19's dont need the ECU resetting depending on the version in your car, some of the ECU's came with an immob built into them, meaning it wont fire the injectors if its not reset.

Site Subscriber Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 1141

Thanks Neo, but that didn't work Sad

Can anyone write me a idiots guide checklist? Could really do with another one to swap stuff over trail and error like.

Humph, I wanna go play in it Sad

Site Subscriber Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 3547

so when its turning, the counter reads, that rules out crank sensor, pull the king lead off of the dizzy, and stick a screw or something metal into it then rest it(dont hold it!) on the engine where its going to get a good earth, and see if it sparks, if not youve found the problem. if theres a spark, there should in theory be fuel, you say the fuel pump primes, so there is almost certainly fuel. whip the plugs out and d/c the injector feed, and turn her over for a few turns, as its most likly the its flooded, and the plugs will probly be soaked, stick um on a rad or something, to dry them out.

Level 10 User Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 620

have you tryed bumping it? if it fires and then cuts out its immobiliser electrical thts how i found on the dads 449 chammy

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

danlp6 wrote:

so when its turning, the counter reads, that rules out crank sensor, pull the king lead off of the dizzy, and stick a screw or something metal into it then rest it(dont hold it!) on the engine where its going to get a good earth, and see if it sparks, if not youve found the problem. if theres a spark, there should in theory be fuel, you say the fuel pump primes, so there is almost certainly fuel. whip the plugs out and d/c the injector feed, and turn her over for a few turns, as its most likly the its flooded, and the plugs will probly be soaked, stick um on a rad or something, to dry them out.

Thats good stuff Dan but does not take into account a couple of revisions of the ECU.
Some of the ECU's had the immob built into it, which means when u turn the key, the fuel pump will prime, you get the spark but the injectors incl the cold start injector wont fire.

This of course does not seem to be happening with addies car althou check the dash Addie, is the ECU light flashing for a couple of secs then going out or does it remain flashing.
If it remains flashing you have an ECU fault, needs to be reset and you also need to check the live battery terminal and the two live wires that go to it on seperate connections (one being direct for the starter and the other for rest of the systems, the 2nd one can cause the ECU not to fire up properly(again u will know this by the tell tale ECU light on the dash flashing) i did some research into it after the fun we had with neals chammy on the lady bower meet and found that just a dodgy connection there can cause the ECU to misbehave in so many ways)

Site Subscriber Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 3547

im just working on the principles ive worked on for my 19, and i never knew about the ECU having an immobiliser etc, so we learn something everyday. most of what i have learnt on my 19 is either from chris or by myself and general logic lol.

Site Subscriber Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 1141

ECU light doesn't come on. Had a general clean out of the spark plugs / leads / dizzy etc all seems fine and pretty recent.

Sounds like maybe an ECU fault, maybe it was damp after we went swimming and the freezing weather finished it off?

I just want it to go again *crys*

Site Subscriber Joined: 10 Jun 2004 Posts: 2317

Take the ECU out, take the plastic covering off and have a look see if any water got in.

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

So you are saying when you turn the ignition on, you are not even getting the ECU light come on at all?
like huw says, remove the ECU from its plastic cover and check the connections, may be corroded or damp, the pcb itself is covered in a plastic resist to prevent corrorsion but its worthwhile pulling the lid off the metal case too, just in case and putting the hairdryer on it to dry it out.
Heat from a hairdryer is not hot enough to damage any of the board components, but wave it around anyway, dont just point it at it and leave it.
Again double check your battery connections, corrosion on the live feed to the electrical systems can cause ECU faults, they prefer 'clean' power and not where it may suffer from 'spikes' due to corrosion or dodgy live cables on the batt terminal.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

tbh its only ever been later ph2's and clios that I have ever seen the light go on in!

But the dry the ECU is a good one

pop the TB - air box hos eoff open the throttle plate and sniff, if it stinks of petrol or even pours out you need to disable th einjectors and crank it whilst flooring it for a bit.

Site Subscriber Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 1141

Cheers Chris I'll give that a go. Its got an IK on it so should be easy enough. Only ever seen the ECU light in my old 19 manual, never actually on a car - though if the bulb has popped who knows.

I unplugged the CTS for what it was worth too, as that was the cause of it not starting last time (would only start when floored and then had to rev 3-4k for a minute or it would stall, a CTS fixed this totally).

Need to get a new spark plug wrench as mine snapped off today, grrr.