73 2.0 D jettronic tempermentally won't start

jboy914 · 10-03-2001, 04:30 PM

I have a 73 2.0 D jettronic, all stock I believe,that I just bought. The car has started for me perfectly fine before, will fire up on first crank, and run perfect. But once it is up to operating temp it will not start for anybody. The car just cranks and cranks with some odor of fuel. When it has started for me it had been sitting at least overnight and started on a cool morning. I have driven the car, when it actually would start, about 15 miles and it ran perfect. Once i got home and shut it off, I tried to start it just to see and it would not fire. On one occasion I drove the car 6 miles to work in the morning - 9 AM- it started again at around noon, i ran it for about 2 minutes to go wash it. After washing it the car did not start and hasn't started since - about 4 warm days. I have tried to start it almost every morning to no avail. No water got to the distributor during the wash. Water had nothing to do with the hard starting, the car has been doing this all the time.
Weak ignition system?
Leaking injectors?
Any ideas??? Your help would greatly be appreciated. If you need more details, e-mail me jboy914@yahoo.com

[This message has been edited by jboy914 (edited 10-04-2001).]

[This message has been edited by jboy914 (edited 10-04-2001).]

JP Noonan · 10-03-2001, 07:34 PM

Maybe a bad connection to the cylinder head temp sender. Try unplugging it, clean the conectors and if there is an ilnie resistor remove it. Also check the vacuum and elelectric connections to the manifold pressure sensor.

Normally I'd say you had classic vapor lock, but if the water made a difference I'd look for a bad connector.

3D914 · 3D914's Garage

jboy914,

Two possibilities come to mind.
1)In regards to washing the car; do you have a cover for the relay board (that rectangular shaped tray hanging in the engine bay right behind the drivers seat)? If not, water can get on there and ruin your day.

2)Fuel - have you checked the fuel pump to see that it is working correctly? It is generally located in the engine bay, under the engine sheet metal on the passenger side. You should hear it pumping simply by turning the ignition on (without turning engine over).

3)Spark - check each spark plug to see if you are getting adequate spark while cranking. You'll need a friend for this. Its not a bad idea to unplug the fuel pump when doing this check - it has a single electrical plug on the underside. Just don't forget to plug it back in when done testing the plug spark.

Good luck,

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Gerard
74-914 2.0L
3D914
rodrigos6@juno.com

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

You need three things for the engine to run:

1) Some approximation of the "right" amount of fuel.
2) Air going in and getting compressed.
3) A spark occurring at somewhere near the "right" time.

You can smell fuel, so you know you have at least some of that. A compression test will tell you about the air. Check the spark, as 3D suggested.

You can unplug the whole FI system by unplugging the four-pin plug at the right-rear of the relay board.

If you have a spark, then the next possibility is too much fuel. JP's suggestion about the head temp sensor is a strong possibility. Since it's happening warm or cold, that probably rules out the cold-start system (which will cause a non-start in a warm engine, but not a cold one. Drove me nuts!!).

If you can't find it with the above, then start digging through the D-jet diagnostics. Kjell's D-jet article is still the best for that. http://www.914fan.net/djet.html

--DD

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Pelican Parts 914 Tech Support

A few pics of my car: http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/Dave_Darling

Jim Smolka · 10-04-2001, 09:11 AM

It could also be a leaky cold start valve.

If it is vapor lock (unlikely), turn the ignition off and on 20 times. Each time the fuel pump should come on for a second. This will purge the lines.

retro74 · 10-05-2001, 09:21 AM

This happened to me on my first road trip with my son for about 1 hour. Let it cool and it started right up.

I thought vapor lock for sure and turned the key on and off several times. Didn't always work and it stumbled badly at traffic lights from a dead stop. Put in a new CHT (Temp Sensor2) and it is fine now.

Loose wires are another culprit, but so is timing. I would check the dwell and timing first.

The above posts have nice clues also and I would add to that the easy check for air leaks in vacuum hoses, seals, gaskets, etc. is to spray starter fluid around the hoses, gaskets, etc. If the rpm's pick up (because starter fluid boosts the cylinder explosions), then you found a possible leak.

Also check the auxiliary air valve by putting your finger over the airbox hose to the auxiliary air valve after the engine is warmed, there should be no suction.

Good Luck
Joe

[This message has been edited by retro74 (edited 10-05-2001).]

Dave Bell · 10-05-2001, 05:42 PM

What they said CHT bad or bad connection.

With ohms to high, mixture is rich for start up when cold which may be O.K... but after it is warmed up it will flood things out.

- Dave

jboy914 · 10-16-2001, 11:18 AM

Well, 914GOD and I found the problem. The wire from the thermoswitch had fallen off and was grounding out on the case. This caused it to give the car way too much fuel and thus not start.

Anyway, hope this helps at least one person out who might have the same problem. Take your airbox off and look around for any wires that may have come loose.

Jason

RustyWa · RustyWa's Garage

I've had this warm start problem a couple of times now.

One instance was I stopped by the store while I was out driving, came back in about 20 minutes and the car wouldn't start. It would just crank and crank. I was thinking cold start valve or similar, so put the accel pedal to the floor and it'll eventually start up.

I'll have to check the TS2 and wires!

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Eric
'75 914 2.0L

914GOD · 10-16-2001, 01:19 PM

One hint....

If you suspect flooding it is a good idea to put your foot to the floor while you crank it, as sugested. BUT, turn the ignition off when you put your foot to the floor. The D-jet system fires the injectors 20 times on the way to full throttle, sort of an accelerator pump. If the ignition is off when you put your foot down it won't do this.

By the way, jboy914's car wouldn't start with your foot in it either. As he mentioned the cold start valve was grounded out so it would constantly fire as long as the ignition was on....not good.

Sean