• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

35 minutes at the post office...

Share this page

jaybird

jaybird

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
...dead. Took Emma out tonight, dinner at the Thai restaurant, then ran to the post office. She started fine, ran fine, died dead in her tracks at the 'drive thru' lane at the post office. Boy, talk about a bunch of cranky people behind me! I finally pushed her to the parking lot and sat.

She's done this before occasionally. I don't know what the heck is going on. Normally she starts up again after 5 or 10 minutes. Not this time. Couldn't get ahold of anyone to run me home, and I wasn't looking forward to the 4 mile walk without a coat. Finally called my mom (who was in her jammies) to come pick me up, threatened Emma with a 'for sale' sign and wallah - she finally started.

I checked the battery connections, junk under the hood (wiggled everything I could)

Could it be my fuel pump? When I was sitting, I turned the key 'on,' and the pump was not clicking, but making some sort of odd noises. When she finally started, the pump was clicking.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR. This is annoying. It NEVER happens when dahubby is driving her, but hey, he so rarely drives her.

I blamed it on a vapor lock before, but I don't think that's it.
 
I think I would clean up all the fuel pump electrical connections before I did anything else.
 
Janel - its in the ignition system somewhere...

..one of my cars did that once...ran fine then just died...after it cooled off, it ran fine then died when it got warm...I finally replaced the condensor (that was all that was in the glove box) & it started right up & never gave me any more problems

..check your ignition switch wiring...maybe replace the condensor & look the points over (if you have them)..in no ponts you might have a coil going out

...but I'm not much of an electrical guy
 
Did she just die outright or was there any sputtering or backfiring prior to Emma quitting on you? Also after she died would the starter still crank but not turn over?

I had a similar problem where my heater valve was leaking coolant right onto the dizzy. Like you I'd let it sit for a bit and she'd kick over. Happened to me a couple of times before I figured out what was happing.

Pop off the distributor cap and check for moisture? If there is any in there the heater valve might be the problem.

Good luck?
 
New condenser and points, just a couple months ago.
 
Condensors go bad right out of the box

...but Bret's post brings us back to your leaky heater valve - did you fix it?
 
No. Maybe.

So first check the connections, then the condenser. And I need to go look to see if she's spewing green still. BRB.
 
Wouldn't start popping the clutch either...
 
Wouldn't start rolling forward fast enough to pop clutch in 2nd?

I stil say 'ignition'
 
Tony's and/or my suggestions are ignition issues and popping the clutch won't help. If you have a leaky heater valve - My money is on coolant in the dizzy. Don't take much and your dead in the water (or drive throu) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Nope, I tried. Pushed, got her rolling, hopped in and tried, but nope.

Oh wait, she wasn't in 2nd. Doh.
 
I'm going out and pulling the dizzy. Back in a bit.
 
Condensors usually die completely by shorting out....and don't come back to life.
Fuel pump sounding different sounds ominous but, if that was the problem, it usually won't just up and quit without sputtering first...just like when you run out of gas - since that's what's happening. And, if when it started, it started right up normally, it's probably not the fuel pump....it would take is several seconds to get fuel back in the float bowls.

A wet dizzy, though, sounds most likely. That'll kill it in a hurry...and, once the moisture dries out, it'll restart as if nothing happened....
 
JB, As impressed as I am that you can (and are willing to) push Emma yourself in an attempt pop the clutch. Please find someone with a set of jumper cables will ya?
 
I have cables in my boot Bret!

I can't get the dizzy off, what am I doing wrong?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have cables in my boot Bret!

[/ QUOTE ]
Well for the love of Lucas - find someone to give you a jump and quit pushing Emma up & down the street will ya? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]

I can't get the dizzy off, what am I doing wrong?

[/ QUOTE ]

Should be two clips on each side. I can normally open mine with my fingers but some folks use a med-screwdriver to pop them off.
 
I tried with my fingers, couldn't get them, I'll get a screwdriver.

I like pushing my car. Wasn't like any of the FOUR men behind me in the drive thru lane were going to bother to ask if I needed help. Two watched me push and honked after I got out of their way.
 
Don't know why you haven't figured this out yet. Emma is jealous of Binabox and is afraid of being replaced. Emma is just acting out like a little kid, pouting because of all the attention being given to her sibling. Reassure her, talk nice, give her a love tap, and if that doesn't work slap her up the side of her head. Well, maybe, just kick a tire or two. That and drying out the distributer, and she should be as good as new.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I tried with my fingers, couldn't get them, I'll get a screwdriver.

I like pushing my car. Wasn't like any of the FOUR men behind me in the drive thru lane were going to bother to ask if I needed help. Two watched me push and honked after I got out of their way.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL! JB, maybe they weren't really men? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
In my book they weren't.

Dizzy pics coming right up.
 
Back
Top