help starting engine
Turbo Mini Forums

hi i was wondering if any any of you kind gentlemen could help me been trying all day to get newly fitted metro turbo engine started in my mini i have good spark but its orange with a little blue should it not be all blue have fitted ignition wire to coil as other was ballasted my plugs are getting wet with sparks to all plugs starter motor which i know is good seems to be taking lots out of battery and is only willing to turn engine over for 10-15 sec battery was good when last used in mini approx 1 month ago also had good 4x4 battery connected by jump leads to battery its not trying to start i have tried petrol in back of carb still not trying i have my plenum off i get the occational puff of out of rear of carb timing was ok in car it was in but engine been stood for approx 2 years should it still be ok? this is my first build and im a little clueless any help would be greatly appreciated thanks

Sounds like engine is tight to turn over if you only get 10-15 seconds turning over from a "good" battery.

Was it the same (ie, only 10-15 seconds) when you had the jump battery on ???

2 years standing can do a lot of damage to an engine if it hasn't been stored right.

EDIT - have you tried turning it by hand, pulling on the fanbelt or a socket on the pully bolt ??? If so, how tight ???

Edited by Rod S on 22nd Oct, 2008.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

hi turned it over by hand before putting in car ive been reading on this site that someone had same problem and it turned out to be a bolt on clutch bracket to long will check that tomorow as ive changed them metro was cable ive swapped the little arms over for mini hydroliks engine was stored in damp garage under tarpalin

Check your ignition leeds. I have fitted countless engines and changed dizzy's and could have sworn blind that the leads were on correct. but a re-check of what I knew was right found it was wrong

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check you have tdc and the rotory arm is point at 1pm

Try a systematic check -points gap if there are points -plug leads and caps in right sequence -ignition timing - plugs clean and gapped right - fresh fuel (less than 2 weeks old)- compression on all cylinders.If really desperate after all that try Easystart spray and or a towstart.Often an engine that has stood for a long time will have little or no compression (or suctio on the carb) due to stuck rings or valves or corrosion on either - a tow start may get it going and free them off, but it wont be a good long term prospect.Good luck !

thanks for advice turned engine over by hand without plugs connected 2 jumplead earths from engine to body and car is a lot more willing to start getting puffs of smoke out the rear of my carb is this normal tried swapping plugleads 1&4and2&3 and see no diference at all in trying to fire up starter motor turns over for 10 secs then just before it seems to be going to start starter clicks suspect 6 month old halfords battery not to good i need to start keeping bloody reciepts

Get a decent battery and then slacken the clamp bolt for the dizzy. With someone cranking it for you now try slowly swinging the dizzy one way and another, if its going to start you will hear it getting more promising dependant on where the dizzy is. Good luck it sounds like you are not far off.

If all this fails the next thing would be to try a compression test but hopefully you will not need to do this.

As above and yesterday - get your high current electrics sorted first.

You need a battery/lead combination that will spin the engine at proper starting speed for more than 15 seconds before you can track down any other problems.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

your getting smoke out of the carb? so its back fireing out of the carb then? if so doesnt that mean the dizzy is set so now its fiering the wrong way or somet?

Edited by Paul R on 23rd Oct, 2008.

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thanks to all at turbominis for help without this site id be totaly f***ed

Have you got a good earth from engine to body?

yes mate have 1 proper earth strap on top of engine and 2 jumpleads from block to body as tempory measure i have noticed earthstrap in boot getting a little warm and not sure to trust battery seems to go flat quick but just borrowed good battery and another pair of jumpleads and feeling confident of starting tomorow it was nearly there today feel as though theres somthing simple im doing wrong i bet someone who knew what they were doing would get it going sharpish if still no joy tomorow think i pay mechanic to look at it

Dizzy drive 180 degrees out?

Wheree do you live if your anywhere near ill come round and help you sort it

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thanks for your help finaly got it started today convinced myself plugleads were ok as they hadnt been touched and i wasnt sure how to set them turns out i was wrong started nice and easy after about 5 sec im going to get everything plumbed in and working correct then gonna do stripdown of engine and car i currently have no gauges is it safe to have a sensible drive to see what its like if so what should i look out for thanks for your offer of help mr joshua

Oil pressure! and oil leeks, tapping. The list is as long as your arm. If it dont feel right then it most probably is'nt.

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