Starting Trouble

Morning All!

Just before the lockdown and after months of searching, we bought our dream vehicle, a 1971 SWB 2.25 Petrol Series 2a (the last month of production!). I tried to buy one in good condition so I would be able to spend more time enjoying it than fixing it.... first lesson learned!
Anyway, she's called Delilah and is finished in Marine Blue - I've attached a pic

The only job we had to do was complete a brake overhaul but what a situation this got us into...
She ran fine when we collected her and everything seemed good. After stripping the brakes to test the cylinders the fuel tank ran empty. Promptly filled her back up and she started again fine

Fast forward to later that day and she started to splutter and wouldn't idle well. This continued to worsen until she wouldn't idle at all and the only was she would run would be to depress the accelerator by at least half

We managed to finish bleeding the brakes whilst feathering the throttle and depressing the brake at the same time but two days later, we can't get her started at all. She will crank over but won't catch

At first I thought this would be the idle jet on the carb. Stripped this down and cleaned it with not a sign of blockage... Carb back on and still no luck
Ignition system? Coil working fine. Distributor working fine. I can get a spark at all four plugs

I'm not the best mechanic ever so am stumped really. I noticed that the inline fuel filter was only half full when I took off the carb. Could this mean fuel pump? I'm just guessing...

We were hoping to take our first road trip this weekend and find somewhere to enjoy a picnic quietly with the dogs. I think the chances are slim!
Looking forward to getting to know you all!
Thanks
C

Have you looked at the pump should have a glass bowl on it see if its full of cr@p if its run dry
chances are its lifted dirt/water from the bottom of the tank. Remove the line going to the carb put it
into a clear bottle & turn the engine & see if it pumps fuel. Clean or dirty?? pump until clean
fuel comes though if no fuel comes through the line is blocked or pump diaphragm is knackered.

Pour a little fuel down the carb see if it starts with the line in the bottle in case the fuel line has
dirt in it.

Welcome to landy ownership & lz nice looking motor.

Welcome to the forum! That's a nice-looking Series you have there.

My first thought after you ran the tank empty was also idle jet on the carb. Which carb do you have - original Zenith or replacement Weber? The Weber is quite sensitive to crud in the fuel, which seems somehow to get past the filters.
It's normal for the inline filter to seem half-full. Did you check the glass filter bowl on the fuel pump? Worth taking that off and cleaning it out if it looks cloudy. To test the fuel delivery to the carb, you can take off the fuel line at the carb, put it into a jar and pump the primer lever on the fuel pump. You should get a nice jet of fuel with each stroke.
If that checks out, you will need to investigate further with the carb - the float needle valve can also block. Lots of experts on here who'll be happy to advise.
Let us know how you get on....

As Kevstar said... He's quicker at typing than me

Hi and welcome, plus one on ExMIL 109 and Kevstar post's about running.
There is no need to have the engine running when bleeding brakes.

If there is fuel visible in the filter, it's probably not the pump. As Kevstar says, try an eggcup full of petrol straight into the top of the carb. Unfortunately, if there is a blockage and it can't be cleared by getting the engine to run, you will have to strip the carb. Take the top off and see if there is fuel in the float chamber and if there is any dirt laying in the bottom of it. Probably won't make any difference but is the air mixture jet adjusted properly. When I bought mine the air mixture screw was a mile out and it was difficult to keep it running on anything less than a fast tickover. It did start ok though. Welcome to the world of series landy ownership.

Col

Thanks for your replies everyone!
The carb is a replacement Weber.. I do have the original Zenith but couldn't say why it was replaced. I've taken the Weber apart and it's spotless inside. None of the Jets are blocked and the float is working fine.
I'll empty the sediment bowl tomorrow afternoon and check the fuel lines. Watch this space...

Try checking the timing.

Col

Don't be coming on here 'starting trouble' welcome.

doriz said:

Don't be coming on here 'starting trouble' welcome.

Click to expand...

It's what I (can't) do best!

Right.. So not good news
I cleared the sediment bowl (little cloudy but noting nasty in there) Pumped the primer and as suggested it was coming through nicely and clear. Turned the ignition and fuel was pumping through too. Connected back up to the carb and it still won't start.
Tested with a small amount of fuel into the carb but that didn't make a difference either.
The carb is definitely clear and working well and the fuel lines are good too. After 4-5 attempts, she did fire up but didn't sound well. Had to put my fut hard on the accelerator to keep her going and even with that she cut out after about 4 seconds.
I haven't checked the timing but what would cause it to go from running perfectly to not starting in an hour?

Next thing to check is the points/condenser. There are some poor quality parts out there (I had a set of non-genuine points overheat and die in less than a day). Many of the petrol Series owners on here have gone with electronic ignition after a lot of hassle with points/condensers. It's also possible the points gap has closed up (loose mounting screw?)
Have a look at the plugs after trying to start - if they're wet then there's fuel getting through and that suggests an ignition problem. If they're bone dry then it's back to the carb...

Ok so I've tried a few things since last week
I checked the timing manually turning the engine over and this was fine
Spark plugs are wet after trying to start and fuel is getting through well. I took the spark plugs out again to check and I'm only getting a yellow spark. I have now replaced the coil and points. These didn't make a difference to trying to start her but after this I replaced the spark plugs and condenser. I still have a yellow spark (not white/blue) but she started and ran well (tried to stall a couple of times but it didn't take much effort to keep her going). She ran for about 10 minutes and then I decided to take a trip up the road. We got about 3/4 mile and she over revved with no input from me and then stalled.
I've also no longer got any pressure or resistance in the clutch pedal which means no gear selection
We're back to not starting which is very frustrating.
Not as frustrating as the push back we had though or sleeping on the sofa tonight *sigh*
It's funny to me how things can go from perfect to so wrong!

Don't be too dispondant, owning these old vehicles requires a certain amount of perseverance. When you say over revving, was it by much, as if your foot was hard on the throttle or just revving hirer than usual as if the choke was engaged? It sounds li,e a problem with the throttle linkage somewhere. The clutch is a separate issue. Is ther plenty of fluid in the reservoir?

Col

You’ve done almost everything I’d have tried. Apart from checking you’ve got the HT leads in the right sequence. I’d also replace them as well. I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the coil but you’ve replaced it. Is it backfiring? That’s indicative of a blocked idle jet. As posted Weber carbs are prone to that problem but it’s easy to unscrew and blow clean.