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Vitesse Mk2 Saloon - difficult to start


Paul H

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Hi , after a week or so layoff my Vitesse wont start - 7 or 8 tugs no joy - then a puff of carb cleaner in the air filter extension tubes and she starts. Then she will start 1st go all the time - The following day again no issues - 1 week and she wont start . I have a fuel filter close to the carbs and noticed the level drops after a few days so think this is the issue - Is there such a thing as a one way valve stopping the fuel running back - I can see no obvious leaks and there is no petrol small - the carbs arent leaking either - Any thoughts would be appreciated .

The starter motor seems a bit lazy which could be the issue - It was new when I bought the car & the battery is new + ive added a  direct earth from the starter to the battery and the battery is on permanent charge using a CTEK charger . The pump has had a new diaphragm + valves and the primer works though after a week I prime though cant get enough fuel through to start which sounds strange . Incidentally the fuel filter level in the pic indicates the car will start on first tug 

Paul 

carb-cleaner.jpg

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the pump valves should !! stop drain back.

are you sure the choke is getting full travel and working correctly to enrich the cold start mixture ??

make sure the small hose on top of the tank is sound and tight 

and the primer will only work if off the back of the cam , if its on cam the hand primer.... wont 

pete

 

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I get drain back even with a relatively new diaphragm, didn't know that about the primer, explains a lot.

This could of course be the dread "slivers", little shavings of rubber tube scrapped of by the pipe work, they swirl about sometimes blocking the valves sometimes not. Sometimes needs two or three removals and re-fits to get rid. A good idea is to replace the entire run from the pump to the carbs with one piece of rubber, thereby reducing the chances of slivers.

Pete Lewis told me that!

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2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

the pump valves should !! stop drain back.

are you sure the choke is getting full travel and working correctly to enrich the cold start mixture ??

make sure the small hose on top of the tank is sound and tight 

and the primer will only work if off the back of the cam , if its on cam the hand primer.... wont 

pete

 

Hi Pete - thanks for info , didnt twig about primer and cam position - Ive changed all tubing to R9 and top hose to tank is secure - Ive got the T Shirt for Slivers so have filters after the fuel tank after the pump and before the carbs and when she fires up were fine - I think it will be the pump valves which I replaced and possibly they are not set properly and leaking - The replacement valves went in  easily and might be leaking so I will go down the route of a one way valve which will be fitted after the pump - thanks for the link 

NB Choke is getting full travel 

Paul 

 

On 10/16/2017 at 10:24 PM, classiclife said:

 

 

 

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Hi guys

Sorry to say but I have a filter in the same position but mine  includes a one way valve and i still get this problem 

I have changed to a hi torque starter. The problem is still there but the speed of the hi torque compensates so it's just a longer hold on running the starter for a few more seconds 

 

Aidan

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Hi all , thanks for informative replies - Checked my Vitesse this morning and the inline filter by the carbs was 3/4 full which theoretically means she will fire - Air temp- was 7 degrees C so pretty cold - 3 turns no joy so added a squirt of carb cleaner in both rubber air extension tubes and next click she was away . So thinking now its the lazy starter which might be overcome by buying a HiTorque starter which from reports ive seen have a design fault with water ingress so not going down this route - For the time being will add a NRV before the pump ( thanks Pete ) I dont expect this to improve matters though for the cost Id like to be proved wrong. So added Carb Cleaner to my list of tools carried 

Paul  

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My brother just bought a Spitfire starter motor from a breakers, £20. Tested it on his modern's battery, runs like a bandit! All it needs is painting. There's a lot of crud gets into the bell housing and the starter may just need cleaning up, easily done. Worth a try, but don't grease the shaft, graphite is the stuff to use. Grease just attracts more dirt.

And as Pete says, NRV before the pump, after all, it's the pump diaphragm that's leaking.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update - found part of the problem with starting - I thought it could be the non return valve in the petrol pump as the petrol filter wasnt always full .

No it was a pesky sliver of R9 tubing which  was restricting the petrol flow . The sliver has just found its way into the Fuel Filter situated close to the carbs - Check the pic and its toward the front of the viewing glass - Starting is easier though not as I would like but an improvement 

Paul 

petrol-filter.jpg

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