Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes but
not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes catches
and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it starts.

TIA for any ideas

Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes but
not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes catches
and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it starts.

TIA for any ideas

Is that fool injected? or carburated?

Typically if the temp sensor (injected) or auto choke (carburated) is
naff, you will only be able to start at one temperature..

I am assuming even T reg is well beyond points on a contact breaker.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes
but not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes
catches and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and
leads the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.

TIA for any ideas

Is that fool injected? or carburated?

Typically if the temp sensor (injected) or auto choke (carburated) is
naff, you will only be able to start at one temperature..

I am assuming even T reg is well beyond points on a contact breaker.

I think cats came in at about H reg and they needed electronic ignition
and fuel injection?
I kept a few old bangers on the road in the seventies. One died on me on
the M1. Fortunately I found the heel on the contact breaker had almost
broken to the point that it was flapping about. Still giving a weak
spark but at all the wrong times. Found an old set of points in the
toolbag and drove off without incurring the recovery charge I could not
possibly have paid.
I guess its:
See if it starts
See if it starts with jump leads
Clean and gap plugs
Clean and spray leads
Check for sparks
If then won't start
Check for fuel
Check all leads from sensors
Give up cos I'm very cold by then.

Invisible Man gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

I think cats came in at about H reg and they needed electronic ignition
and fuel injection?

Cats started to come in through the late '80s, but were compulsory from
the start of K-reg, with a few exceptions (old stock, mainly).

I doubt you'll find points on anything much later than about the mid
'80s, but carbs hung about into the cat era - a few oddities from
manufacturers who couldn't really afford the development to do it
properly stuck electronic control onto carbs.

Adrian wrote:
Invisible Man gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

I think cats came in at about H reg and they needed electronic ignition
and fuel injection?

Cats started to come in through the late '80s, but were compulsory from
the start of K-reg, with a few exceptions (old stock, mainly).

I doubt you'll find points on anything much later than about the mid
'80s, but carbs hung about into the cat era - a few oddities from
manufacturers who couldn't really afford the development to do it
properly stuck electronic control onto carbs.

Thanks Adrian

Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes
but not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes
catches and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and
leads the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.
TIA for any ideas

Starter motor, fairly easy to change on an Escort, 2nd hand one from scrappy
may cost you a tenner though.

When someone is trying to start it and it's just turning over and over, give
the starter motor a crack with a hammer, sometimes (quite often) this will
free up any sticky mechanisms inside and it will fire up.
If it does start this way, it's a sure sign that you need a new SM

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

Phil L wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes
but not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes
catches and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and
leads the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.
TIA for any ideas

Starter motor, fairly easy to change on an Escort, 2nd hand one from scrappy
may cost you a tenner though.

When someone is trying to start it and it's just turning over and over, give
the starter motor a crack with a hammer, sometimes (quite often) this will
free up any sticky mechanisms inside and it will fire up.
If it does start this way, it's a sure sign that you need a new SM

If it turns over, its not the starter motor.

Plugs will give you uneasy firing - iregeluar.

Sensor issues will give you too weak or too rich a mixture. Low power,
high fuel consumption and may be hard to start when hot, or cold,
depending which sensor has gone.

Fuel filter is a classic. Engine just dies on you, then mysteriously
restarts later.

Change plugs and fuel filter as first priority. Cheap and easy.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote

If it turns over, its not the starter motor.

That may be true of pre-engaged starters, but IIRC some starters (going back
donkies) had a worm gear on the end which engaged via inertia.
In this case, if the gear on the starter had stuck, it could spin over
merrily but never actually crank the engine.

Phil

TheScullster wrote:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote

If it turns over, its not the starter motor.

That may be true of pre-engaged starters, but IIRC some starters (going back
donkies) had a worm gear on the end which engaged via inertia.
In this case, if the gear on the starter had stuck, it could spin over
merrily but never actually crank the engine.


well yes, but you could hear and know that. A squirt of WD40 through the
bell housing...before unpacking the angle grinder..

Phil

On Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:17:27 +0000, TheScullster wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote

If it turns over, its not the starter motor.

That may be true of pre-engaged starters, but IIRC some starters (going back
donkies) had a worm gear on the end which engaged via inertia.

They were certainly popular with Ford, and I'm not sure when they stopped
- I think some of their vehicles well into the 80s were still using them,
long after everyone else was using the pre-engaged type.

I've seen some vehicles where a worn starter can turn the engine over,
just not fast enough for it to fire up - but the OP should be looking at
battery, plugs, leads etc. before worrying about stuff like that, I
think...

cheers

Jules

"Jules" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:17:27 +0000, TheScullster wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote

If it turns over, its not the starter motor.

That may be true of pre-engaged starters, but IIRC some starters (going
back
donkies) had a worm gear on the end which engaged via inertia.

They were certainly popular with Ford, and I'm not sure when they stopped
- I think some of their vehicles well into the 80s were still using them,
long after everyone else was using the pre-engaged type.

My V-reg Mk2 Escort had a pre-engaged starter, whilst my mates W-reg Mk2
Escort had an inertia one. I think it depended on where your Escort came
from. I quite liked the sound of the inertia ones! :-)

In article ,
Invisible Man writes:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes but
not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes catches
and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

Yes. This time of year, everything gets covered in condensation.
If leads are dirty and cores going high impedance and insulation
not what it was, much of the energy will leak away (sometimes
looks quite spectacular in the dark with the bonnet up).
Clean them with a rag wetted with WD40 solvent, let it evaporate,
and then try again. Coil top and distributor cap too (inside and
outside), and possibly even rotor arm if necessary.

When I wash my car, I'll usually pop open the bonnet and give it
all a good spray. Then check it starts OK. Best to find out that
it won't when it's at home, rather than when you're miles from home
and just drove though a large puddle. Be careful not to direct the
water into the engine's air intake though.

Anything else I should be looking for?

Given the limited information you have, spark plug gaps and
general condition would be my next check. If the gaps have
all gone wide, that's another factor which will reduce the
spark in the face of old dirty ignition leads.

Gosh - ages since I used to play with this stuff.

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it starts.

It used to be summer...

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes
but not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes
catches and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and
leads the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

A new car I should think. Under serviced and built in 1978 - its 31 years
old!

Scrappage scheme?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"The Medway Handyman" gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying:

A new car I should think. Under serviced and built in 1978 - its 31
years old!

No, 10yo. T prefix.

Scrappage scheme?

A solid Mk2 (T suffix) Escort would be worth a chunk more than £2k.

On Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:42:36 +0000, Invisible Man wrote:

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

I would, whip the plugs out and be prepared to replace them. Along
with cleaning of the leads distributor gap (inside and out). Also
check for any cracked, split or disconnected hoses. As it's "under
serviced" chnage of filters and oil probably wouldn't be a bad idea,
depends how involved you want to get.

Friend came up from the deep south and said his car wasn't running
very well, started OK, idled well, just a bit lacking in "go". Took
the plugs out and every one had a little bowl of deposit around the
outer electrode (should have taken a photo) and a gap approaching 75
thou. Tried to get a new set from local garage but no luck, so
cleaned and regapped as best I could as there was a lot of errosion.
Report after journey back south was that he had trouble keeping it
below 90, it ran out of puff on the hills coming up...

Don't think this car was as old as T reg and it was injected but it
shows that the computer can keep an engine running under conditions
that would be hopeless with carb and points.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:42:36 +0000, Invisible Man wrote:

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

I would, whip the plugs out and be prepared to replace them. Along
with cleaning of the leads distributor gap (inside and out). Also
check for any cracked, split or disconnected hoses. As it's "under
serviced" chnage of filters and oil probably wouldn't be a bad idea,
depends how involved you want to get.

Friend came up from the deep south and said his car wasn't running
very well, started OK, idled well, just a bit lacking in "go". Took
the plugs out and every one had a little bowl of deposit around the
outer electrode (should have taken a photo) and a gap approaching 75
thou. Tried to get a new set from local garage but no luck, so
cleaned and regapped as best I could as there was a lot of errosion.
Report after journey back south was that he had trouble keeping it
below 90, it ran out of puff on the hills coming up...

Don't think this car was as old as T reg and it was injected but it
shows that the computer can keep an engine running under conditions
that would be hopeless with carb and points.

Less the computer than proper electronic ignition. The spark is good
irrespective of battery voltage or engine speed or any gap stuff.

I made the change to injection about 1985, and was delighted by it. So
much more reliable.

The trouble is when it goes wrong its a total bitch to diagnose.

I've had one failure that was almost certainly a blocked fuel filter.
another that was a dysfunctional water temp sensor, and another that was
a dead fuel pump.

I've also had some nasty 'stalled just after starting cold and flooded'
scenarios. The trick here is to crank with the throttle floored to
celar the excess fuel.

Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes
but not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes
catches and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and
leads the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.
TIA for any ideas

So are we gonna be left in suspense? did it start

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

On 12/12/2009 23:49, Phil L wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes
but not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes
catches and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and
leads the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.
TIA for any ideas

So are we gonna be left in suspense? did it start

Be patient. All things being equal I will get around there later today.

"Invisible Man" wrote in message
...
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes but
not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes catches
and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.

TIA for any ideas

Firstly, plug and leads. Only use the genuine motorcraft leads.

Secondly, oil. These *must* be filled with 5w-30 otherwise valve stick /
tappet jack call it what you will causes poor and non starting from cold.

Tim..

"Invisible Man" wrote in message
...
Relatives under serviced basic petrol T reg Escort starts sometimes but
not others. Not seen it yet. Apparently turns over and sometimes catches
and sometimes not.

I used to do all my car maintenance but a bit rusty now. Plugs and leads
the first place to start?

Anything else I should be looking for?

It used to run OK and apparently still does on the rare occasion it
starts.

TIA for any ideas

Ps, are we talking about 1978 or 1998 ??

If former, disregard the part about oil in my post!!

Tim.

"Tim.." gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

Ps, are we talking about 1978 or 1998 ??

Already established that it's actually a P-reg prefix, so '97ish.