Willy Wont start

[Smudger]

Hi guys drove the Willy back from the station after work yesterday and all was fine.

I go out to it this morning and it would start.

Power seems to be fine,
Fuel pump is priming,
engine is turning over fine,

It tried to start but its like its not getting a good enoguh spart.

I kept trying it managed to start but sounded like it was only running on 2 cylinders, after 10secs it ran on all four but then died shortly after and wont start again.

Quckly had a look in the spark plug holes and there seems to be a bit of oil in number 1 and 4. Could this be the reason for not starting??

I have ordered a new rocker cover gasket today which i hope will fix the oil leaking and some new plugs but is there anything else that anyone can think might be causing this.

Just want to highlight as many options as possible before i try to sort it tomorrow

[white16valver]

It's definitely got petrol in? lol

[Smudger]

yes i put £20 in it tuesday and its only done about 40miles if that

the petrol gauge goes up to almost half way with the ignition on

[Smudger]

right a lil update.

I replaced the rocker cover gasket friday along with the plugs (plugs 1 and 4 where covered in oil thanks to the old gasket being shagged) and the car finally started and ran but was lumpy a slightly missing when cold.

Once the car was warm it ran fine and felt allot better than before.

car did a few hundred miles this weekend and once warm it was great but when starting from cold its really struggling to start/run

The battery is fine, the starter is turning fine and the fuel pump is priming but the car just struggles to start and even when it does it wants to stall untill its warmed up a bit. Even if i hold the rev's at about 3k it will try and die.

Ive ordered some new leads and distributor for this weekend but im also thinking maybe Lamba sensor aswell.

Any other options?

[drsmith1979]

try the coolant temp sensor... its the little white plug which is just under the dizzy and its actually in the thermostat housing... it tells the ecu how hot the engine is and thus adjusts the fueling to suit... just like a manual choke would when cold starting..... thing they are around 30GBP..

A good way to check if its this without diagnostics, start the car with the white plug unplugged and see how it goes... then try with it connected, if there is no difference then the sensor is definitely out... if there is a difference then maksure its all clean and secure... i had a similar problem so changed the lambda, it was simply a loose connection.. all sorted with a clean.

Hope it goes well!

[BRUN]

id try the coolant temp sensor aswell

[Smudger]

cheers guys, ill give that a go and let you know what happens

[kenny]

My guess is when you get your new HT leads on it will be fine, I had a power problem last weekend, it idled fine but when the pedal went down there was a lot of noise and no go, normal driving was ok though. The oil on the plugs would have got there when you unscrewed them and wouldn't have caused a sparking fault unless the level was up to the top of the spark plug. If the HT leads are breaking down with age they can cause all the problems you describe. The spark is powerful and will jump a huge gap but it has its limits, when the metals involved are cold and contracted the gaps are just too wide causing cold idling problems, when the metals expand and the spark can jump the gap again smooth running is restored but power under load will still be affected. When you fit the new ones make sure they connect with the plugs ok my willy ones were a pain.

[Smudger]

thats another thing i noticed the other day

some of the ht leads sound like they click onto the plugs and some dont

hmmm so many options and things to check

[kenny]

That's what as happening with my new ones, the adjustment wasn't quite right so as per instructions I used long nosed pliers to pull the plug connector further down the extension and promptly pulled the fitting off the end before discovering that the rubber elements of the extension are two separete pieces and the top sealing part can be slid along the lead with the aid of some wd40, the long extension part can then be easily adjusted for length.

[white16valver]

Reading the OP again, I was going to suggest that it sounds like cold start injector/fuelling issues, which I guess would be picked up when you check the coolant temperature sensor :)

[Smudger]

Dropped the car at my mate's dad's garage wed night and got a call this morning.

they ordered and replaced the coolant temp sensor this morning and it now starts fine from cold :D

picking her up tonight so was only without the car for a day or so.

The other plus is that its only gonna cost me £13!!!!

Get in!!!

[Clio-Girl]

i think this has diagnosed my problem aswell cheers guys!!

[Smudger]

i think this has diagnosed my problem aswell cheers guys!!

good stuff :D

[kenny]

So much for my theory :roll: , I'm gonna get one of them for a rainy day.

[Smudger]

So much for my theory :roll: , I'm gonna get one of them for a rainy day.

im glad its not the leads tho as i wanted to get a set off the group buy.

didnt wanna buy buy sets of leads lol

[drsmith1979]

good stuff Smudger!

see it pays to be a member of the best owners club on the planet! 8)

Kenny, all theories are good and informative so dont worry, no one will chastise you for giving your opinion on here.

It did have classive CTS symptoms however, it can and often is something completely different!

[kenny]

I don't worry doc, if I did I wouldn't post, the huge number of posts and ideas is testament to the popularity of the club. but thanks anyway. :)

[Smudger]

thanks to everyone that replied, just drove it home and its all sorted now

althought feels a bit flat power wise

just another quicky....would putting the wrong grade oil in the williams make it feel a bit tight and sluggish??

also oil temp seems to be higher. sits about 100 now normal driving and go up pretty quickly to 120 then foot down where as it used to sit at 90ish normal driving and just under 110 when pushed??

[BRUN]

whats in it ?