Twice now after long absence, car won't start.

[jobin]

I drive an old Opel, 5 speed, made in Germany.  Works fine day to day.  But when i go away for 6 weeks and return to start the car, failure.  Battery good, cranks strongly and plenty of petrol.This car has fuel injectors and i'm so old that i grew on cars with carburetors, so i'm kind of ignorant on troubleshooting this thing.  

Pump the gas pedal?  Don't pump?  If pump a few times, can smell the gas. Tries to start but won't get on.  Spark plugs and injectors good, serviced recently. Seems some kind of air/fuel mixture not right.  

But due to idleness?  Any help welcome.

[pgrahmm]

Chances are what fuel was in it when you shut her down bled back down the system......

Some designs have a hand priming pump right over the fuel filter - either a plunger or lever that lets you prime the injectors; then it should start pretty easily when cranked for 5-20 seconds.....

Usually pumping the gas pedal is a bad idea on injected vehicles & you could end up with fuel fouled spark plugs.....As it's old you probably have mechanical injectors so no assist from a control module.....

If you flooded it, it could take overnight or a day or two to clear out for another try.....Once the plugs are fuel fouled it takes a long time to dry out unless removed & dried....

 

If it has any kind of a manual choke I wouldn't engage it fully - maybe half on retarts after sitting.....But you should know it's normal day to day tendencies.....

Once started , warm it up & give it a good run down the road for 15-20+ klicks before turning the engine off .......

[ClutchClark]

It should have an electric fuel pump which means what you turn the ignition key on but prior to turning it far enough to engage the starter, the fuel pump should kick on and pressurize the system.

 

I don't know Opels but I was not aware of any fuel injected petrol engines with a manual choke. 

 

Are you certain your battery voltage is actually 12.6 or higher? Just because there is some power left in the battery does not mean it is fully charged. Newer cars often require a minimum voltage to initiate the various electronics but maybe not with an old Opel.

[kartman]

Fuel pump in the tank easy to get to under the rear seat large plastic grommet, unbolt it maybe crudded up or return pipe blocked.

[ClutchClark]

6 hours ago, kartman said:

Fuel pump in the tank easy to get to under the rear seat large plastic grommet, unbolt it maybe crudded up or return pipe blocked.

 

If it were a blocked fuel line then wouldn't the issue be even worse once it is running and throttled up?

 

Not saying an old car probably has some debris in the fuel tank but I don't know if that is where I would start since it apparently runs well once it is running?

[ClutchClark]

Jobin,

 

Do you live near the ocean?

 

When was the last time you changed spark plug wires?

 

How did you finally get it started the past two times it has happened?

 

i am still leaning towards something electrical since you can smell fuel.

[transam]

Simple stuff first, get the battery charged and tested for amps....

[Gibbs2]

Do you run it on Gasahol or Benzine?, if Gasahol drain tank etc etc and refill with benzine, no more problems?

[Kwasaki]

What have you done before when this happens. ?

 

You say it's old,  how old Is it and what fuel will it accommodate. ?

 

Sometimes spraying a little WD40 into the air-take helps.

 

You say serviced recently plugs still good etc how about the auto electrical connections say from ECU and other wiring connections etc.

 

Sounds to me your problem is because when you say you smell gas !!!  you may have a minor leak or fault in one of your fuel injectors which will create a strong petrol  (gas) smell,  an injector leak will also cause the rail to lose pressure while the vehicle is sitting a long time resulting in a longer than normal crank time because the rail will need extra time to pressurize.

 

 

 

[Ace of Pop]

Why don't you call GM Dealer n fix it Never read so many stupid help Drain the Fuel Tank?.Jeez ever tried it yourself Took Ford All day


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[Kwasaki]

7 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Why don't you call GM Dealer n fix it Never read so many stupid help Drain the Fuel Tank?.Jeez ever tried it yourself Took Ford All day


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Draining a fuel tank is easy just stab it with a screw driver. 

 

[Ace of Pop]

I Kin did that on a RS.But if you have Realy done it stupid like me,it's full of foamy wooly stuff and drips out slowly..Ford then tell you anew tanks needed !!.so I bought the Mrs A Volvo Estate A real Tank I loved it


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[transam]

3 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

I Kin did that on a RS.But if you have Realy done it stupid like me,it's full of foamy wooly stuff and drips out slowly..Ford then tell you anew tanks needed !!.so I bought the Mrs A Volvo Estate A real Tank I loved it


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[Ace of Pop]

Same but in Silvery Blue Metallic and SUE 2 no plate. Fools And Their Money and Ego.


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[transam]

13 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Same but in Silvery Blue Metallic and SUE 2 no plate. Fools And Their Money and Ego.


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But a great ride...Handling was impressive...Adjust-a-ride was impressive considering there was no compressor......I loved that car....

[Ace of Pop]

Must have been a posh one. Hers was about 13 K GBP about 28 Years ago GlE or something like No adj ride


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[transam]

23 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

Must have been a posh one. Hers was about 13 K GBP about 28 Years ago GlE or something like No adj ride


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Mine was an '88 V6 estate....I think at the time it was 27K...........and NO airbags, not that it needed them....

[ClutchClark]

This thread seems to have evolved into something new.

 

Any word from the OP on how he finally got his car to start the first two times?

 

Thanks

[Ace of Pop]

Mine was an '88 V6 estate....I think at the time it was 27K...........and NO airbags, not that it needed them....

No Hers was 4 Cyl.It felt so easy after my fancy stuff .No injection ,but this poster wants to take it off.Strange idea to me


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[manfredtillmann]

On 9/7/2016 at 10:16 AM, transam said:

Simple stuff first, get the battery charged and tested for amps....

if the engine cranks over???

 

 

op, six weeks i no time frame. she should just kick in...

do you have mechanical fuel injection?! go check your electricals as #6 suggested. renew spark plugs and leads.

when was the last time you checked / changed your points and the distributor cap?

if still good, remove, clean, check gap on points.

when was the last time you had your injectors checked / cleaned?

if it appears to just be a temporary thing and you have managed to start your car every time before - use 'aerostart' or a squirt of pure alcohol into the air - cleaner.

 

[transam]

Just now, manfredtillmann said:

if the engine cranks over???

 

 

op, six weeks i no time frame. she should just kick in...

do you have mechanical fuel injection?! go check your electricals as #6 suggested. renew spark plugs and leads.

when was the last time you checked / changed your points and the distributor cap?

if still good, remove, clean, check gap on points.

when was the last time you had your injectors checked / cleaned?

if it appears to just be a temporary thing and you have managed to start your car every time before - use 'aerostart' or a squirt of pure alcohol into the air - cleaner.

 

Well yes..........

 

Most load on a battery is cranking, mega amps are needed to do that and take care of other demands...With an injection ride it needs amps to power pumps etc....If you ain't got the amps you may be in trouble...

[Rimmer]

A sarcastic flame has been removed

[manfredtillmann]

2 hours ago, transam said:

Well yes..........

 

Most load on a battery is cranking, mega amps are needed to do that and take care of other demands...With an injection ride it needs amps to power pumps etc....If you ain't got the amps you may be in trouble...

mechanical fuel injection does not need amps.just rev's.

your 64' pontiac (just guessing) has electronic injection? probably not!

the old opel should do ok with good electrics and a bit of 'spirit'!

 

i have an isuzu dual cab tipper that 'rests' for 9 months every year in my storage yard - and it just kicks over without fail every time i awaken her from her 'winter hibernation'.

[transam]

14 hours ago, manfredtillmann said:

mechanical fuel injection does not need amps.just rev's.

your 64' pontiac (just guessing) has electronic injection? probably not!

the old opel should do ok with good electrics and a bit of 'spirit'!

 

i have an isuzu dual cab tipper that 'rests' for 9 months every year in my storage yard - and it just kicks over without fail every time i awaken her from her 'winter hibernation'.

1976, It had electronic ignition..

[Kwasaki]

On 9/8/2016 at 4:35 PM, manfredtillmann said:

if the engine cranks over???

 

 

op, six weeks i no time frame. she should just kick in...

do you have mechanical fuel injection?! go check your electricals as #6 suggested. renew spark plugs and leads.

when was the last time you checked / changed your points and the distributor cap?

if still good, remove, clean, check gap on points.

when was the last time you had your injectors checked / cleaned?

if it appears to just be a temporary thing and you have managed to start your car every time before - use 'aerostart' or a squirt of pure alcohol into the air - cleaner.

 

 

You bring up some good points no pun intended l'm not familiar with old Opel's but the OP hasn't come back on questions l asked, l just commented on what he posted.