My car wont start :eek:

[Janeter.P]

You see, my car wont start and after a few spot checks I am still baffled. My father is a mechanic but he never has a free moment.

It turns but won’t start. There is a spark, I’ve checked the HT leads, distributor cap, and there are no shorts or disconnections. The carburettor is fine and the choke works as it always has. At this point you might wonder if I’ve overlooked something simple but I assure you there is petrol in the tank and it isn’t leaking.

This last thing reminds me. I narrowed my problem down to the fuel not reaching the carburettor because when I pour fuel onto the carb its runs for a second or two depending on the amount of fuel I use but eventually dies. Now I replaced the mechanical fuel pump and it started!

I drove all over Cape Town and felt the wind in my hair. The next day it didn’t start again.

My Opel Kadett Cub ‘81 –‘ 85 (not 100% sure) would appreciate it if anyone could help!

Regards

JaneterP

 

[HapticSimian]

Stuffed petrol pump or clogged fuel filter would be my guess...

 

[Janeter.P]

I've checked and replaced both of them and still nothing

 

[HapticSimian]

Have you checked that the pump is actually DOING anything - perhaps a loose connection...?

 

[Janeter.P]

Define doing. I've manually checked and it does suck. PS im not a mechanic so some of my Q's might sound dumb.

 

[HapticSimian]

Well, yeah... 'sucking'...

Logic would just lead me to assume that, if the filter is new and the pump is actually doing what it's supposed to, there's a clog somewhere in the fuel line...

Have you tried pulling the fuel line off the carb to check whether the fuel is actually reaching it? If it does, the carb itself might be clogged...

 

[ponder]

Not a vacuum in the petrol tank? Sometimes the little breather hole on the petrol cap gets clogged resulting in a vacuum so fuel does not reach the pump.

 

[Fazda]

The pump on the Cub runs off a cam which can and sometimes does break.....same thing happened to one of my tenants, and although the pump appeared to be fine, it wasn't pumping. She had to replace the entire thing including the little cam gear that operates it.

 

[mooey1232003]

Maybe the petrol pump is faulty?

 

[xrapidx]

Empty fuel tank?

 

[werner]

Not a vacuum in the petrol tank? Sometimes the little breather hole on the petrol cap gets clogged resulting in a vacuum so fuel does not reach the pump.

more common than people realise, and an easy fix, simple to eliminate. and it matches the OP's car's symptoms

 

[ponder]

more common than people realise, and an easy fix,

Removing the dirt with a pin/needle usually does the job. Happened on a mates bakkie (think it was a bantam) years ago and the problem floored a lot of people.

 

[woelig]

Have you checked that the pump is actually DOING anything - perhaps a loose connection...?

that used to be my problem. loose connection from pump to reservoir.
please also note if your pipe is not perished or punctured somewhere. that definitely decreases the pressure.
does the car die down when you hit the clutch?

 

[woelig]

there's a copper head on the rotor in the distributor. try giving it slight sanding down, it helped me some time back.

 

[Palimino]

You see, my car wont start....

Try wiping the HT leads (the ones to the plugs and to the distributer) with a cloth. They sometimes get a conductive film of muck on them (shorts them out). This would cause the engine to fart and backfire, however.

 

[Gnome]

The car starts when you pour petrol into the carburetor so it's a fueling problem, considering the last thing you replaced was the fuel pump I'm more inclined to think that it may still be the problem.

Go to Goldwagen and get a replacement ELECTRIC pump (Walbro), they should also be able to tell you how to replace the current mechanical pump. It's much less hassle running the electric pump than mechanical.

 

[upup]

My cambelt broke once, in a parking lot. Would not start, but turning engine. got a mechanic out. cambelt was kaput.

 

[Fazda]

The car starts when you pour petrol into the carburetor so it's a fueling problem, considering the last thing you replaced was the fuel pump I'm more inclined to think that it may still be the problem.

Go to Goldwagen and get a replacement ELECTRIC pump (Walbro), they should also be able to tell you how to replace the current mechanical pump. It's much less hassle running the electric pump than mechanical.

Excellent idea! The chance of the mechanical pump having broken are very high, as I said originally...makes sense to replace with an electric unit.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

My cambelt broke once, in a parking lot. Would not start, but turning engine. got a mechanic out. cambelt was kaput.

You're extremely lucky not to have a mechanically damaged engine...

It is advisable to replace cambelts regularly, do check your service manual for the recommended intervals.

 

[Gnome]

My cambelt broke once, in a parking lot. Would not start, but turning engine. got a mechanic out. cambelt was kaput.

Yeah but in this case the cam belt would have snapped while the engine was actually turning. Also that engine is of the interference type so it'll bend valves if the cam belt snaps. If that did happen the engine will sound different from before, basically it won't have that suction sound anymore because compression is essentially 0.

Also it wouldn't start even if your pour petrol into the carb.

You're extremely lucky not to have a mechanically damaged engine...

It is advisable to replace cambelts regularly, do check your service manual for the recommended intervals.

Depends on the engine, some engines are freewheeling so if the cam belt snaps the car won't start but mechanical damage is highly unlikely whereas interference type the valves will catch on the piston.