1800: cranks but won't start [sound attached]

[tabin]

Hello Forum!

I have been lurking around feeding of the expertise of all youse for quite a while now and I really have to say this is one of the best car forums I have been too, and it is certainly the best regards to P1800s!

Maybe youse can do me favour and have a short read and grant me with your thoughts about my P1800S not starting.

Since I was away for work for about three/four weeks (and she hasn't been started in that time). Now, she probably is a bit moody and feels neglected, 'cause she just won't start again.

So I went and built in a new battery yesterday, as the old one was pretty low. I checked the distributor and the sparks (incl plugs) - although they are just a couple of month old - contacts are all nice and shiny. The fuel filter looks ok, aswell. I tried playing with the carb-idling-screws for about three hours, but that wouldnt do much either. I have them now back to default setting (according to the B18 service manual, that is 1/2 turn in).

So I am pretty much at the end on what could be wrong with her. I don't want to dismantle them carburetors if I don't need to, but there might be an issue with the needle, or the fuel connector between them blocked? I am pretty sure the oil level is about right in them, although I could be wrong on that. Or maybe could I have drowned her engine?

I've attached a short sound, so youse can actually hear how it sounds like, when I try to crank her up.

I'd be very grateful if youse could give me any advice or point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance and

Cheers,

Stanley

PS - It's a '69 P1800S B18 with 2SU (probably one of the last models to have carbs)

[Burdekin]

First two checks would be take out spark plug connect it back onto the lead and earth it on the engine while cranking to see if you have spark. Next check is take off fuel hose from carbs and crank the engine and check if fuel is coming out. Could be blocked fuel line or fuel pump needs replacing. Need to determine if it is fuel or spark that is the problem.

[tom-madbiker]

as mitch says then squirt a puff of brake cleaner in the carbs and try again should fire straight away

[john h]

How old is the petrol in the car? Unleaded goes 'stale' after 2-3 months and several times I have encountered this a cause for non-starting.

John

[Clan]

firstly the cranking speed is too low , is the battery low or a high resistance in a battery lead connection ?
Secondly as above the fuel , this modern stuff does go off very quickly , Another point it IS firing but only on one cylinder which might indicate fouled spark plugs .
so try a fresh battery , new plugs and it may start , if it is a fuel issue , try spraying some "easy start" down the carbs to get it going , once warm the fuel will be ok , but top up with fresh fuel ..

[Derek UK]

"I have them now back to default setting (according to the B18 service manual, that is 1/2 turn in)."

Discuss. All that does is set the idle speed when on choke. Doesn't affect the ability to start other than having a few revs dialled in.
Have you altered the jet positions?
Check you've put the plug leads back in the right order. 1-3-4-2 anticlockwise with #1 at 11 o'clock looking down on the dizzy cap.

[Faust]

As others have said, check to see if you've got a park at the plugs... if you have, then this eliminates a whole load of potential issues in one go.

You say you've adjusted your carbs - I would have thought that (unless you've really messed 'em up) your car would at least try to run, which makes me think the problem lies elsewhere.

Your cranking speed does sound a bit slow: are the earths all ok?

One thing that I've found with my engine is that it really doesn't like to start when it's been cranked for a while (thus building the mixture in the cylinders).

I had a non-start problem on my Amazon (B20b engine) a while back - every ignition component was fine and she's cranked but not fired. I removed the plugs and cleaned them up... I left them out of the engine overnight to let the fuel mixture disapate from the cylinders - put it all back together and she started 1st turn of the key after that.

[Derek UK]

Having now heard the file I might add that your ignition timing might be too far advanced. This maybe because it is(!) or that your advance retard mechanism is stuck in the fully advanced position. It should certainly turn over faster than that with a new, fully charged, battery.

[tabin]

First of all thanks for all the answers! I am very happy getting more options to go from here

Here's what I'll do:
- I will buy some aerostart (hopefully) tomorrow and try that first (as tom-madbiker and Clan suggested).
- If I can't get some time during lunch break, or if that doesn't do the trick, I'll check the resistance on the leads.
- Then i will reinsure that the plugs are sparking - as and how mitch1971 suggested.
- If all that is no good I will do as Faust suggested and dry the block overnight and try again.
- While waiting for them cylinders to dry, I will check the pump like mitch1971 said.

A little bit more clarification:
- I had the car running before that for about half a year almost daily.
- The leads are connected according to the firing sequence 1-3-4-2 (Derek UK)
- The fuel shouldn't be older than a month, so I'll rule that out for now (john h and Clan)
- I played with the carb idler choke settings as I thought I was drowning the engine, or the carbs were distributing unevenly (Derek UK and Faust)

As for the sound-file: I recorded that before I exchanged the battery. I noticed it being a little slow, that's why I built in a new one. Only thing was, I actually forgot about that I recorded the file before the exchange. The sound is similar, but. The cranking is just faster now, just as it supposed to be.
Sorry for not mentioning and I kinda feel a bit stupid about that...

Derek UK: I am not really sure about the ignition timing being too far advanced and advance retard mechanism. It has been all good before (as mentioned above), but I'll read up on that one.

Once again thanks everyone!

[tabin]

Just a short update:

On my way out to werk this morning I onscrewed the spark plugs and they were all covered in pot (so maybe I shouldn't have assumed that they were ok, although I had new ones just in May). They must have gotten all potted up when I was trying to crank with the old battery.

I left them out for the block to dry anyways (just as Faust suggested) and will clean them once I get home. Actually I am quite confident that it should be fine after that.

I will report back tonight.