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Engine dying after short distance

wadams
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:07 pm
Location: Pontypridd

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by wadams »

Hi
I have now done almost everything I can think of to sort out this issue but it still persists! I have rebuilt the carbs, replaced the coil, put in new plugs, checked and cleaned the petrol cap that does not have the ball bearing and pin, as well as replacing the fuel pump. The leads are all new and I have renewed the fuel lines. I am now trying to find the electronic kit for the distributor for a positive earth vehicle which I fear does not exist! My last option is to go back to standard points. Any further suggestions are welcome?
Just a quick mention that someone had used a negative earth fuel pump by refiguring the wires for the points inside. This has obviously been working for some time. However, when I replaced it with the new unit I opened the old one to find that the suppressor had melted! The car could have gone up in flames at any time!

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John-B
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:10 pm
Location: Salisbury, UK
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Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by John-B »

wadams wrote: Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:20 am Hi
I am now trying to find the electronic kit for the distributor for a positive earth vehicle which I fear does not exist! My last option is to go back to standard points.
It probably does exist. Ask BeezaDaimler (Peter) who runs DynamoRegulatorConversions as he does electronic components for lots of things.

However, I think this would be an unnecessary step; try to find the cause. It does sound like fuel or air supply lasting for a bit before a vacuum is created which gradually stops the flow. Leave the petrol cap off or very loose and then test.

Vortex O'Plinth
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Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:15 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

wadams wrote: Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:20 am Hi
.... I am now trying to find the electronic kit for the distributor for a positive earth vehicle which I fear does not exist! My last option is to go back to standard points.......
.

See here
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

timmartin
Posts: 65
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:37 pm
Location: Berkshire

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by timmartin »

When I had a rather similar problem, I eventually discovered that, during thorough refurb of the fuel system, I must have allowed a tiny bit of tissue to fall into the tank.
Eventually this was drawn into the fuel system and travelled along it until it reached the first tortuous part, where it lodged, forming a partial restriction. You seem to be aware of the symptoms that I experienced.
In my case the first tortuous part was the Solenoid valve on the SP that provides a “petrol reserve”.
Note that this partial obstruction was between the tank pick-up and the fuel pump. No wonder everything else seemed OK, including the pump itself.
I now have no sharp bends between my fuel tank pickup and an in-line fuel filter (before the pump).
Good luck.
Tim
Blue 1964 SP250 in Berkshire

tjt77
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Posts: 525
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:01 pm

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by tjt77 »

Could also be a symptom of water/other contaminents in fuel.. One way to check is to remove the float bowl covers and floats, remove carb dashpots and pistons.. soak up any fuel in the float bowls with disposable towels and look for contamination.. (there is usually some crud at the bottom) and blow compressed air through the jets back into the float bowls to clear them.. re-assemble once satisfied its all clean.. IF there are contaminants in there..consider draining and cleaning the fuel tank for a long term fix.

Flinty
Posts: 90
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:34 pm
Location: Scarborough

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by Flinty »

I had the same problem on an MGB a few years ago, I changed everything to no avail but actually I had not changed the rotor arm and that was the culprit,
A crack in the insulation opened up when hot and closed again when cold, It took me several months to find the fault.

If you have not changed the rotor arm it is worth a punt.

Steve.

TWF
Posts: 126
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 7:10 pm
Location: Liverpool

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by TWF »

Hi ,could it possibly be something floating around in the tank that is being drawn over the pickup pipe by the suction from the fuel pump ? , Regards ,Terry .

steve thomas
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon May 09, 2016 2:22 pm

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by steve thomas »

I had very similar symptoms in my Lotus Elan recently which I eventually traced to a partial fuel blockage where the petrol pipe exits the tank. Like you I had suspected a coil or ignition module failing.
Regards
Steve

Bud
Posts: 318
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:06 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: Engine dying after short distance

Post by Bud »

Is it possible to fab up a temp fuel tank/canister/bottle to connect to the fuel pump and bypass the tank altogether and determine the rest of the system is free of blockage?

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