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E Type problem

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davidtinker

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It was a nice dry day here in Wales so I took my car for a 30 mile blowout. On the return journey I stopped to get a paper and she would not restart.

I waited for a while for it to cool down and almost ran the battery flat trying to start it again. No success so as it was almost dark and I had not brought my spectacles with me had to resort to calling out the AA.

After 30 mins the man came and attached his battery boost and away she went.

I have not failed to start her before( 15 yrs ) so I would be interested if anyone else has had this problem on restarting when hot and how they dealt with it. My initial thoughts are to fit an electronic ignition kit as the extra battery boost restarted it immediately, although it had also had time to cool a little.

Your experience greatly appreciated.
mad.gif
 
you didnt mention what year your e-type is.
whether it has the 3.8, or 4.2 xk engine, or if its a V12. either way, can vapor lock be an issue
here with fuel delivery? i had that same symptom
with my 4.2 xk engine. i insulated all fuel lines
from the tank all the way to the engine. no problems since. vapor lock is caused when the cool fuel enters a hot engine.
emanuel
 
I wouldn't discount the fuel problem but generally vapor lock occurs with mechanical fuel pumps which suck the fuel to the engine where the e-types push fuel from the tank to the engine. I think you should consider the electrical problem; the electronic ignition and new coil are cheap fixes to a heat problem. You could carry a can of starter fluid and next time it happens crank the engine and spray some fluid if it starts its a fuel delivery problem if it doesn't......... you know one more thing not to think about. Paul.
patriot.gif
 
I,m sure you already checked it , but just in case, have you checked the battery? If you have a bad cell you might not have enough juice to fire it up while cranking the starter. Also the starter might be drawing more amperage than it's supposed to.
 
Sorry I should have said my car was a 66 SI 4.2 2+2. I do not think it was a fuel vapourisation problem as I am well versed in this with my 51 MGTD and 54 MGTF.

I tend to lean towards a battery/ weak spark, particularly as it started instantly with a battery booster.

Thanks for your interest and advice.
 
well then, how about the ign coil? battery?
 
Made a start on attempting to cure the non starting problem this week. Tuned & balanced the carbs twice with no improvement. At the third attempt I noticed a pool of fuel around the jet bridge and when investigated further found the centre fuel bowl float sitting on the bottom full of fuel!!

A couple of drain holes drilled in and touch of solder made it float whilst making a mental note to invest in a new set. It is running sweeter but in setting the idle revs noticed the rev counter misbehaving.

Another unscheduled repair with a quick strip of the tacho drive to find a broken wire from the internal coil. Unwound a turn from the coil to give enough for a new connection, re-solder and reseal the end cap with a touch of epoxy. Fired her up and all is good as new. A test drive will prove otherwise!!
 
Re: Your non start problem. Have you thought of the starter relay which has an auxilary contact to provide full battery voltage to the ignition coil during crank but upon release, returns voltage feed to coil through the ballast resistor. Had a similar problem with my SIII E-type. Good luck.
 
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