Wont Start..

A couple of weeks ago i was enjoying a day out in my 1.6 1985 Mk1 Cabby when all of a sudden i went to pull away and the throttle didnt respond and the car died. Had recovery come out and he found my flange gasket on the carb to manifold was split the whole way around, he put pressure on the carb and the car almost fired but not quite. I replaced the gasket thinking it would fix the problem, it did not, its turned over but wouldnt fire.

I then checked it was getting fuel and sparks and found only one plug was sparking and the lead ends into the dizzy were corroded so thought id found the problem, i replaced these a couple of days ago and all 4 plugs had a spark and fuel was getting to the carb, but still it wont fire.

Before it died i hadnt had any problems from it at all apart from it seem to be missing/not responding quick enough when i try to accelerate quickly. I thought this may be due to the carb gasket and might be but havent had chance to try it yet.

Any ideas? Its going into a garage wednesday.

Timing is everything.
Verify your timing.
Then start to worry on the rest.

Briano1234 said

Timing is everything.
Verify your timing.
Then start to worry on the rest.

Thanks!

Surely my timing wouldnt have changed. It has been running completely fine for over a year and was running fine before it cut out? I will check it either way thougj.

Briano1234 said

Timing is everything.
Verify your timing.
Then start to worry on the rest.

Thanks?

Would my timing have changed? I havent touched anything except the dizzy cap, leads and gasket and it had been running completely fine for over a year?

Ill get it checked either way.

Replacing HV leads can lead to the Cap getting knocked a wee bit, and if the Dizzy lock bolt is loose then you can move the dizzy and not even notice it. (Been there done that, as a matter of fact just last week.) My HV leads had the rubber bits disintegrate on me, and there was indication of HV arcing.  (Granted I hadn't driven the car in about 4 months)…. dead battery, put in about 4 gallons of 93 Octane, and it is running smoother, I do think the gas was old, as in last Sept… (it is parked and I don't drive my Green one much.)

 

Are you actually getting fuel into the cylinders/are the spark plugs wet? I presume your float chamber in the carb is full. I would have thought you would get some kind of fire/back fire even if the timing was out.

Saulty said

Are you actually getting fuel into the cylinders/are the spark plugs wet? I presume your float chamber in the carb is full. I would have thought you would get some kind of fire/back fire even if the timing was out.

Thanks for the reply!

Im not massively technically knowledged on how everything works and am still learning. I checked the fuel hose that runs from the fuel pump to the carb and disconnected from the carb and fuel was running to there. The car has been in the garage and was bone dry so i dont think the plugs should be damp. How would i check for fuel into the cylinders?

Im unsure of what you meam by the float chamber as well?

Sorry, still getting to grips with everything!

If you're getting fuel into the cylinders but it's not actually firing then the fuel would be unburnt and make the plugs wet, which is what I mean by the plugs being wet. If they are dry then you aren't getting fuel into the cylinders. I'm not that up to speed on carb models but you might not have fuel entering the float chamber. The float chamber is like a small tank in the carburettor that stores fuel for the intake of the engine to suck in with air. You have probably also got on accelerator pump built in to the carb that squirts fuel into the choke of the carb when you put your foot down. That's eliminates flat spots in acceleration caused by the sudden inrush of air caused by the throttle opening. There is probably a small pipe in the centre of the carb pointing downwards. If you open the throttle do you get a squirt of fuel into the carb? I hope this helps, I'm sorry if I don't explain it very well.


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Saulty said

If you're getting fuel into the cylinders but it's not actually firing then the fuel would be unburnt and make the plugs wet, which is what I mean by the plugs being wet. If they are dry then you aren't getting fuel into the cylinders. I'm not that up to speed on carb models but you might not have fuel entering the float chamber. The float chamber is like a small tank in the carburettor that stores fuel for the intake of the engine to suck in with air. You have probably also got on accelerator pump built in to the carb that squirts fuel into the choke of the carb when you put your foot down. That's eliminates flat spots in acceleration caused by the sudden inrush of air caused by the throttle opening. There is probably a small pipe in the centre of the carb pointing downwards. If you open the throttle do you get a squirt of fuel into the carb? I hope this helps, I'm sorry if I don't explain it very well.


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Ah yes that makes perfect sense, i dont remember them being wet so maybe it could be that the fuel is not getting to the cyclinders! Im 99% sure ive seen the accelerator pump working when i move the lever manually. It does make sense, thanks for the help!

Well when ever I have stored a car,  I place Stabil in the tank shake it up and drive it so the stabil gets to the Carb or Injectors.

I have had Carbs Lacquer up more often with the advent of Ethanol flavored gas than the old timey real gas.

Occasionally the bowel of the float can get stuck in this Lacquered affair and stay closed not allowing Fuel in the bowl to be Sucked in by venturi.  

To prevent a Carb teardown, I usually spray Carb cleaner into the Venturi of the Carb, to clean the jets and start to loosen the float, then I remove the fuel line and Spray a good bit in there and bounce the car a little.  

Usually within 3-4 minutes the previous lacquered stuck bits free up….and fuel flows.

Sometimes I have had to remove the the bowl and remove the plunger to get the carb cleaned and ungummied…. by directly spraying the float pivots, the plunger or stopper, and the jet from the inside out.

If your plugs are getting wet, as in too wet to spark, then you usually have a stuck float that the plunger is down and can't move up because of lacquering…..

I have found that e10 petrol this is more common than non-ethanol Gas. Non-ethanol Gas will still lacquer up, but not as quickly…..

Fuel, Air Spark all in the proper time equals good running engines, Vacuum leaks will make it run lumpy, but it still should start.

If you have changed the dissy cap and leads check the rotor arm is ok and that should of been changed as well. Check the HT leads are in the right place and order 1,3,4,2 (1 being cambelt end of the engine.)

Look for any wires being knocked off or air hoses not put back on?

What carb do you have, Webber or original Pierburg?

mark1gls said

If you have changed the dissy cap and leads check the rotor arm is ok and that should of been changed as well. Check the HT leads are in the right place and order 1,3,4,2 (1 being cambelt end of the engine.)

Look for any wires being knocked off or air hoses not put back on?

What carb do you have, Webber or original Pierburg?

Thanks for the reply!

I didnt change the rotor arm as it seemed to be in quite good/new condition, the dizzy cap didnt really need changing either tbf but changed it anyways. Leads are all int he right place.

I have the Weber 32/34 DMTL carb on mine.

Mechanic from a trusted garage came out to look at her today and found that plugs 1-2 were losing/had a very weak spark, he is almost 100% sure its the IGNITION MODULE that is causing the plugs to lose the spark (Apparently a common problem)? The weak spark in the outside atmosphere would be almost non existant once the plug is inside and has pressure/fuel/air etc and the sparks will keep being blown away as such due to being so weak.

Going to replace it and hope that he is correct, if not further work will be needed!!

I had a similar problem, car cut out and wouldn't start, here's a copy to the thread and what I found to be my problem.
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=helllllpppp%2Fclipper-cab-problems
 This may help, I was at my wits end.

Tankerman24 said

I had a similar problem, car cut out and wouldn't start, here's a copy to the thread and what I found to be my problem.
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=helllllpppp%2Fclipper-cab-problems
 This may help, I was at my wits end.

Thank you!!

Swapped out the ignition module and it still didnt start!!!! Also was no longer getting a spark when i was the other day which is strange…

Went and spoke to the mechanic who came to look at it and tbf he couldnt be more helpful, probably as hes a family friend as well but still!

Said to check the rotor arm as the roll pin is known to snap but sprung back as normal and didnt turn past where it should be!

Then he said to check my cam timing, will this effect it starting? As currently it just cranks over and nothi g happens, no pops or farts, nothing!!!

Quick question, does anyone know if my rotor arm should line up with the mark on the dizzy or be 180° opposite all the time or just when the cam pulley is lined up?

Its currently like this but was just stopped at a random point and not when the cam pulley was lined up.



Thanks again!

The crank has to be at 0tdc on the finger.
The Cam has to have the dimple at the top of the head not the rebar.
Then the rotor should be in the middle of the hash.

As you don't know the Crank time, it is very hard to say if that is in time 180 out, or some other place.

Briano1234 said

The crank has to be at 0tdc on the finger.
The Cam has to have the dimple at the top of the head not the rebar.
Then the rotor should be in the middle of the hash.

As you don't know the Crank time, it is very hard to say if that is in time 180 out, or some other place.

Thanks, when you say the crank what are yoi reffering to? Sorry still learning!

There is the Crankshaft, Bottom pulley on the engine above the oil pan, that the pistons are connected to.

The Crankshaft Zero time mark is located on the pressure plate of the transmission.  It is checked on the transmission by removing the plug and White or Green 27mm plastic Allen cover.

This cover once removed, you will see a finger.
This finger should point to the Crank at the "0" or cut on the pressure plate when the engine is at 0tdc.

www.cabby-info.com has pictures.
http://www.cabby-info.com/Files/AdjustingTheTiming.pdf

Still no luck, i went to look at the golf again, found there was no power to the coil which is strange as i had a spark buy no spark now at all. Checked HT and LT sides pf the coil and very very low resistance 00.7ohms on LT side but HT was around 3100ohms which was fine.

Need to see why im not getting power to the coil, going to test the ignition module, any ideas on what else i can check?

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the coil power comes direct from the fusebox, which in turn is fed from the ignition switch. do the clock warning lights come on as well?

rubjonny said

the coil power comes direct from the fusebox, which in turn is fed from the ignition switch. do the clock warning lights come on as well?

I see, the fuses are one thing that i am yet to check. I am also going to test the other components like the module plug, hall sensor plug etc as in the haynes!

Yes the dash lights all show if that is what you mean?

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