honkfactory Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Hi, Right before a long deployment my alternator crapped out. I had to go before I could before replace the alternator so unfortunately it has been sitting for a while. Fast forward many months and I am back at home, have replace the alternator and charged the battery but now the engine won't start. Any thoughts? What should my next step be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Does it have an immobiliser, check for voltage at the distributor? Do you have spark? Do you have fuel to the injectors? Can you hear a fuel pump? Suggest start with the basics. Give us a clue what you've tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Condensation in the cap? Squirt of wd40 sometimes helps Don't recommend anyone to try (you decide what works for you we are all big boys and responsible )this but this is what we use to do(bush mechanic tactic). Rag with a bit of petrol on it placed over the intake before the airflow meter but after or without the air filter. And someone to crank the starter Pulls the petrol vapour into the cylinders. Once it fires remove rag Cheap alternative to easy start. Each to there own. If you're in the middle of nowhere it may help you out Like I said start with the basics before the easy start tactics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Cheap alternative to a volt meter for testing stuff was a 12v automotive lamp soldered to a length of wire then you can bridge it from stuff life distributors or starter motors or fuel pump leads to ground and if it lights you know it's got power if not then it ain't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewHorsfield Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Have you definitely put the distributor in correctly? I once put it back in with the engine on the wrong rotation. No. 1 cylinder will come to the top twice> Baffled me for ages - dohhh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honkfactory Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Does it have an immobiliser, check for voltage at the distributor? Do you have spark? Do you have fuel to the injectors? Can you hear a fuel pump? Suggest start with the basics. Give us a clue what you've tried. No immobiliser. I just checked if I had spark with a spare plug and I do. No condensation in the cap. I going to check if there is fuel to injector now. What is the right way to do this? I'll go listen for the fuel pump. The engine turns over but does not fire. No codes on the ECU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roverdrive Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Could be that the fuel has gone "off". Had a similar problem many years ago with a lightweight. Would start with a sniff of easy start, and stay running, but would not re start on the key. A fresh tank of fuel, and the problem went away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I would first listen for a pump noise then try to crack open a fuel line joint near the injector rail with the key in the normal engine run position Note this is just for a quick burst to see what we have pressure wise without resorting to gauges and filling buckets and timing stuff etc. usual disclaimers apply with petrol in an engine bay but it is a cold engine without hot exhaust manifolds so you should be fine Provided you've not done anything to the engine then if it's got fuel spark and compression it should start Old fuel can loose some of its vapour and be less volitile but that's unlikely after a few months so it may be a case of turning it over a few times and it should start It's unlikely if it worked fine before but the rotor arms can pack up and give odd spark and miss fire If you've had the distributor off or cap off its a case of making sure it goes back right and in the case of the cap clicks into the alignment grooves If you've had the plug leads off checking that 3 and 5 are in the right place (think they are more likely to mid up than 2 and 4) given they are similar length (I had an engine running with 3 &5 swapped, it ran but under load did it have a bad miss fire had me baffled for a while never again though) Did you take anything else off when changing the alternator? Only got 2 wires to the alternator has it not so can't mix them up plus it should not stop it from running if the energise feed was not connected Not on gas is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertspark Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Oh yeah what type of airflow meter do you have? Hot wire or a flapper (thought the flappers were only on the 3.5 efi ). Check no leaks in the hoses and connectors are in place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 1st check: Has it got spark? 2nd check: Is it getting fuel? ECU will not do #2 if it doesn't see any signals from #1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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