Hi guys,

Right, on my striker with 1300 xflow....
I didn't have any spark which turned out to be the coil and the dizzy cap, both now replaced and have got spark on all 4 plugs, all tested on the ends of the ht leads indiviually while cranking.

HOWEVER, i still can't get the bloody thing to start!!!

I am getting fuel as i've had the fuel hose disconnected while fixing the spark and have been having fuel dribbling out.
The only thing i would say is that it's not flooding out, more of a gentle trickle really, was wondering if the fuel pump (mechanical) is on it's way out.

Anyway, regardless, i'm smelling fuel from the carb but the engine's not even spluttering or pretending to sound like it's trying to start. Could this be as simple as a flooded engine or am i doing something seriously wrong?

The arrow below shows where i've put my fuel pipe into the carb.
Also have the dizzy set at 1-2-4-3 firing order.



Please help!

Thanks,
Andy

shouldn't the firing order be even 1342? never had a cross flow but the pinto was 1342

quote:

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Originally posted by ashg
shouldn't the firing order be even 1342? never had a cross flow but the pinto was 1342

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Presuming the engine ran before you fitted it...If unknown check with a compression tester.

Check the plugs or swap for some known good ones, if they have become flooded in the past they might be causing a very week spark when fitted and under compression. While they are out crank the engine with the throttle open and if flooded to the point of not running excess fuel should get blown out.

To be honest it does sound spark related, make sure your firing order is correct and that you are not out by one cycle, for example number 1 sparking on exhaust stroke. If all checked correct, check again as easy to miss something simple.

Next step is to check the timing for advance/retard, easy to set static. Other trick if you are unsure is loosen the dizzy and give it a turn while cranking the engine to see if you can get it to at least fire.

If you think fuel related how about spraying some fuel into the carb while cranking...but be very careful! If it shows any signs of life then it's the carb.

Good luck!

I always have a can of Easystart in my toolbox for fault finding! A quick squirt and if it fires, then you have a fuel fault! Also, have you got the firing order the right way round? I mean, have you cheked which way the rotor arm is spinning?

You havent got the distributor upside down / 180 degrees out? A common problem.

Don't know the 1300 xflow but every 4 pot engine I've ever worked on went 1,3,4,2.

Ah, just checked on Wiki and the Ford Kent engine is 1,2,4,3. Is your engine a Kent?

Also if you've taken the dizzy out, you haven't put it back 180 degrees out have you?

I thought carbs were meant to run at about 3psi.

thanks for the replies,
to be completely honest i'm not entirely sure about the timing, but i was expecting it to at least misfire maybe once, but nothing at all!
if the engine is flooded, how do you unflood it?

Have you tried easistart?

Have you timed the leads on the dizzy cap 180 degrees out?? easy mistake to make.

Andy,

If that's the carb you got from me then that is where you connect the fuel pipe!

If you think it's flooded then try the following:

1. Close off the choke.
2. Push down the accelerator pedal SLOWLY to the floor. The carb has an acceleration pump that squirts in fuel every time you open the throttle sharply, and you don't want that at this point!
3. Crank the engine, and be ready to lift the throttle if/when it fires.

If it's REALLY flooded, just take the plugs out and crank the engine a few times. As there's a risk of petrol flying around it's probably best to disconnect the coil while you do this...

HTH
David

BTW: If you do have you plugs connected in the traditional order, instead of as Ford intended, the engine will fire up - but cough, fart, splutter, and generally sound unhappy. Guess how I know this...

UPDATE: I see that you haven't connected the choke cable in the photo - was it on for your tests? I always needed some choke when the engine was stone cold, even though it came off pretty quickly.

[Edited on 31/3/11 by David Jenkins]

Take the plugs out and whizz it over then put them back in and pour a spot of petrol straight down the carburettor. Turn it over and if there's a decent spark it should at least backfire to let you know something is happening.

Checking plug lead order -

1. Remove the rocker cover and the dizzy cap
   
2. Turn the engine over until #4 cylinder is "on the rock" i.e. the exhaust valve closes immediately followed by the inlet opening - you are trying to stop exactly where they swap over or both are open the same amount *notewhich way the dizzy turns for normalengine rotation
   
3. The engine should now be sitting with #1 piston at TDC on the firing stroke - you can use a long screwdriver down the plug hole to set to TDC if you want but it should be close enough
   
4. Remove the dizzy cap and note which lead the rotor arm is pointing to - this is #1 plug lead
   
5. Fit plug leads in correct order starting with #1
   

You guys are heros!

Easistart sorted me out! The BEAST LIVES!!!!!!
Still misfiring a bit so will look at the timing later.

Thanks for the tip davie, i'll check that out, i wasn't 100% sure which lead should go where on the dizzy, only knew the firing order so that helps a lot!

I'll try and get a cheeky vid later