Starting Trouble 2.286 petrol.

My 2.286 petrol engine seems to be having trouble starting, not all the time, it turns over and runs absolutely fine when it catches, before I open myself up a can of worms, has anyone else had the same problem, if so, what is the cure. It's strange, sometimes fires up instantly, then the following day it would turn over until the battery dies.

I've not had a petrol for years but what I would do when it doesn't want to start-
Have a new plug to hand and try it in each plug cap in turn, if you have a good spark on all 4 then it's fuel/choke related.
Do that then report back.

jrose said:

My 2.286 petrol engine seems to be having trouble starting, not all the time, it turns over and runs absolutely fine when it catches, before I open myself up a can of worms, has anyone else had the same problem, if so, what is the cure. It's strange, sometimes fires up instantly, then the following day it would turn over until the battery dies.

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What carb have you got? Is the choke working? And what is the temperature where you are?

Is it still on points? Take the dizzy cap off and check the gap. Turn the engine over by hand and check they open and close properly every time.
Pull a plug, put it in the plug lead and ground the body to the engine somewhere. Spin the engine and check you get a good healthy spark across the plug gap

Turboman said:

What carb have you got? Is the choke working? And what is the temperature where you are?

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I have a Weber 34ich, not the original carb forvthe engine. Temperature is around 5 Degrees where I live. The choke seems fine.

Damp possibly. Wipe your dizzy, leads & coil down, spray with ignition sealer - sorted.

jrose said:

I have a Weber 34ich, not the original carb forvthe engine. Temperature is around 5 Degrees where I live. The choke seems fine.

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Those aren't a particularly good carb in cold weather.

What I would do is remove the intake hose, and get someone to operate the accelerator pedal and then the choke, while you look down the venturi to see what happens. If the butterflies and accelerator pump are working, get your assistant to spin it over, and give it a good blast of Easy Start, or brake cleaner if you haven't got any.

If it starts, then your issue is not to do with spark, it is to do with fuel. If it doesn't, you can play with distributors as suggested^^^^^^^^^.

If it does start, and runs OK, but then packs up while in motion, I would suspect fuel starvation, either due to a partially blocked fuel filter, or carb icing while on the move.

a good spark is the quickest and easiest thing to check for though 'condensers' are strange things when they start to fail and can give very intermittent problems

kermit_rr said:

a good spark is the quickest and easiest thing to check for though 'condensers' are strange things when they start to fail and can give very intermittent problems

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Takes 2 seconds. Blast the stuff down the inlet manifold, if it starts, you have a spark!

Modern condensers are absolute rubbish, but rarely stop an engine dead. Occasionally they do, but condenser breakdown usually results in a dirty spark across the points, leading to burning of the points faces.

Electronic ignition is much better, as is the Zenith carb, which, if that was my vehicle, I would be looking to refit, I think Zeniths are available.

I've not been able to drive my 2A in years, when I get to it, I expect it will need new points and condenser, personal preference or maybe stupidity, i'd rather not swap to electronic.
the only upgrade I did was to swap the solex (with working heater) for an SU. at least it was off a rover, 3000 if i remember correctly

kermit_rr said:

I've not been able to drive my 2A in years, when I get to it, I expect it will need new points and condenser, personal preference or maybe stupidity, i'd rather not swap to electronic.
the only upgrade I did was to swap the solex (with working heater) for an SU. at least it was off a rover, 3000 if i remember correctly

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Electronic ignition is much better, but if you don't want to, that is up to you. The points ignition was never that good, and is worse now, not only are the points and plugs not very good now, the coils and distributor caps are also of very low quality. If you do keep it, avoid old stock, and try and get Bosch components rather than Lucas, they are much better now than the Lucas stuff made in the Far East.

Solex is a lovely carb on vehicles that were made to use it, I rebuilt ours using a carb kit from Classic Carbs. If that doesn't work, there is another carb company that does a more comprehensive rebuild, drilling out the holes in the carb body, and using bronze inserts and new shafts to make the carburettor as new.
Solex are extremely smooth and powerful if you get it right, or at least as good as can be expected from a Series 2a.

I never had any problem with the solex, but the SU was a massive upgrade, engine ran smoother, more low down power and better economy. I'd do it again

Flossie said:

I've not had a petrol for years but what I would do when it doesn't want to start-
Have a new plug to hand and try it in each plug cap in turn, if you have a good spark on all 4 then it's fuel/choke related.
Do that then report back.

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Ordered myself a spark tester, arriving tomorrow, will let you know the results.

jrose said:

Ordered myself a spark tester, arriving tomorrow, will let you know the results.

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whats a spark tester? does someone with long hair turn up and stuff their finger up the end of the plug lead?

kermit_rr said:

whats a spark tester? does someone with long hair turn up and stuff their finger up the end of the plug lead?

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a good spark tester is normally a family member while you turn the key. These are better than modern plug in ones,due to them having audio which cannot be turned off if there is a spark

kermit_rr said:

whats a spark tester? does someone with long hair turn up and stuff their finger up the end of the plug lead?

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It is a kind of neon light that you plug in between the HT lead and the plug, which lights up if you have good current going to the plug.

It doesn't really improve on the old method of holding a plug against the head while cranking the engine.
In fact, it is probably less effective, as I don't think it tests the plug itself.

You do not get a light in the tester if the plug is not sparking. Used one quite a lot whilst repairing petrol driven grass cutters chainsaws etc.