TEKNOPUG 3 Posted October 28, 2006 My engine is playing silly buggers and I'm wondering where to start looking. It will start on the turn of the key, run momentarily and then die. This happens at every repeated attempt. Occasionally it will rev for a couple of seconds and then die. As it fires and runs I assume that it's got compression, fuel and a spark? So I'm guessing that it's air issue of some kind? Where to start though? Could a fault with the SAD cause this or the AFM? It ran fine last Sunday when I drove to and from the South meet with no problems. Monday morning it managed about 200yards and then died. Has been like that since. I was hoping that maybe it was a damp electrical problem but I've left it for a week and tried again today but no change. Ideas anyone? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonofsam 5 Posted October 28, 2006 Well, I had a few issues recently with the same symptoms as you, turned out to be not enough amps @ the fuel pump. Have you tried wiring pump straight upto ciggy lighter to see if it will run then? I got so F*ked off with it, that I wired pump upto wire 2 now and its been fine ever since. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TEKNOPUG 3 Posted October 28, 2006 That could well be the case. I did have some trouble a while back when the car wouldn't fire at all even though it would turn over. Eventually solved it by charging up the battery. Seems that the fuel pump is very sensitive to a drop in power. Don't have any means to charge the battery here though. Would there be enough fumes in the fuel lines to allow the engine to fire each time though? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonofsam 5 Posted October 28, 2006 (edited) Yeh I guess so.Whilst testing the pump with the ciggy lighter(momenterally jabbing it with a live) socket I could get the engine to fire, but then die as soon as the pressure dropped.Whilst hard wired in, it would run fine. Yeh must be very sensitive as i was getting 4.7 volts(even with battery fully charged) at the pump connector, still cant figure out why though.Changed-injection double relay/plug to it/spark plugs/tdc sensor all the earths were good, even had an A level electronics student come and have a look and he didn't have a scooby! Weird. Reply from Rob_The_Sparky. I presume the engine runs OK with the pump hard wired. If so then it has to be a problem in the wiring driving the pump. Things to check: What voltage do you get at the fuel pump with the connector off? If not 12V then something else is dropping the voltage (which is what has happened to me on starter motors). This is less likely but possible. If you have 12V with the connector off then the connection isn't entirely duff. I'm assuming 4V is with the motor connected? If so then test further up the circuit to see if the voltage suddenly rises. E.g. if you have 12V one side of a switch and 4V the other then the switch is duff. This is the most likely thing and would indicate a poor connection or switch. Hope that helps Rob P.S. you might want to check what voltage you get across the pump with it hardwired, sounds odd but would confirm 100% that the wiring is the problem or not. Edited October 28, 2006 by sonofsam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TEKNOPUG 3 Posted October 28, 2006 Well there isn't much I can do about a low battery at the moment unless someone wants to come and give me a charge?! Something must be draining the battery as I went for a really long drive on Sunday and it was fine. Did have lights, heater fan, rear demister on the whole time though, so quite a load. Maybe the battery is just not holding a charge very well or the alternator is not doing it's job. It's annoying how something can fail just by being parked up for 12 hours. A low battery would seem the most likely cause. Arse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
max0 5 Posted October 28, 2006 mine did a similar thing, got told to check for air leaks and the tacy relay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futura 3 Posted October 28, 2006 A friend had got exactly the same issue as you, we looked at every possibility but never thought about the battery because the starting motor was turning over perfectly. We put in a new battery and since then the car runs fine. Where exactly in London are you? I have a battery charger I could lend you if you want. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TEKNOPUG 3 Posted October 28, 2006 Hi Futura, I'm in Finsbury Park, N4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alastairh 47 Posted October 29, 2006 Does sound a like a fuel pump related item. Had that in the past. Get the multimeter out/pull the fuel line off the fuel rail. Alastair Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futura 3 Posted October 29, 2006 Hi Futura, I'm in Finsbury Park, N4 I will see if I can free up some time today and give you a charge, I am 6 miles away. PM me your mobile and exact address if you are interested. If I can't make today I will be working in St Paul's on Tuesday so could take the battery charger with me. Let me know Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
