CMF_Tom Jenkins
» CMF Member
Folks,
I have trawled through every page in the technical section looking for an answer for my problem and some of the threads come close to describing what I have, but still come up short, basically the problem is intermittent periods of non starting, the little micra can go for weeks with no problem whatsoever, then suddenly there is a period that it will not start for love nor money, I have had it at the mechanic where it started first time every time, he seemed to think that we were flooding the engine, we changed our starting technique and everything was ok for a while, then the problems re-appeared.
The starting technique we use is to turn the key without any accelerator being applied and when she starts she does so instantly, when she does not start, there is a strong fuel smell almost as if she is flooded, I have checked for spark, there is spark (even gave myself a belt!!)
I have also taken each plug out, they were very wet, I have also cleaned out the air idle, loads of black sooty stuff everywhere and replaced the 'o' ring.
The latest fiasco has my head absolutely wrecked, it presented with the no starting issue and I thought to myself that this would be a good opportunity to finally correct the problem once and for all, proceeded to check the fuel pump, loads of fuel, checked for spark again, loads of spark, removed the air filter and checked down the throttle body with the butterfly open - clean, except for a pool of fuel lying at the base, this led me to believe the micra was flooding, so I swung over the starter with the fuel pump fuse removed, to try clear the excess fuel, she chugged a bit as if she wanted to start, I put the fuse back and away she went!!
Had her running for a while to warm up so I could see if I had found the problem, swiched it off and she would not start again, did the same fuel pump fuse thing again and she started, there I was thinking that I had found the problem and would get further clarification later, re-assembled everything and packed up. Went to the car later today to see if I could check if injectors were leaking and she started with the first swing of the engine, now I am really brain f**ked no problem now, although I know she will come up with the no starting issue soon enough.
My problem is how do I diagnose what the fault is, dont seem to have any engine management lights on this ones dash, or any place to plug in a laptop with diagnostic facilities, I am suspecting leaking injectors, but this is an intermittent problem, also seems like as if its a bad earth somewhere --- please help
Tom Jenkins
I have trawled through every page in the technical section looking for an answer for my problem and some of the threads come close to describing what I have, but still come up short, basically the problem is intermittent periods of non starting, the little micra can go for weeks with no problem whatsoever, then suddenly there is a period that it will not start for love nor money, I have had it at the mechanic where it started first time every time, he seemed to think that we were flooding the engine, we changed our starting technique and everything was ok for a while, then the problems re-appeared.
The starting technique we use is to turn the key without any accelerator being applied and when she starts she does so instantly, when she does not start, there is a strong fuel smell almost as if she is flooded, I have checked for spark, there is spark (even gave myself a belt!!)
I have also taken each plug out, they were very wet, I have also cleaned out the air idle, loads of black sooty stuff everywhere and replaced the 'o' ring.
The latest fiasco has my head absolutely wrecked, it presented with the no starting issue and I thought to myself that this would be a good opportunity to finally correct the problem once and for all, proceeded to check the fuel pump, loads of fuel, checked for spark again, loads of spark, removed the air filter and checked down the throttle body with the butterfly open - clean, except for a pool of fuel lying at the base, this led me to believe the micra was flooding, so I swung over the starter with the fuel pump fuse removed, to try clear the excess fuel, she chugged a bit as if she wanted to start, I put the fuse back and away she went!!
Had her running for a while to warm up so I could see if I had found the problem, swiched it off and she would not start again, did the same fuel pump fuse thing again and she started, there I was thinking that I had found the problem and would get further clarification later, re-assembled everything and packed up. Went to the car later today to see if I could check if injectors were leaking and she started with the first swing of the engine, now I am really brain f**ked no problem now, although I know she will come up with the no starting issue soon enough.
My problem is how do I diagnose what the fault is, dont seem to have any engine management lights on this ones dash, or any place to plug in a laptop with diagnostic facilities, I am suspecting leaking injectors, but this is an intermittent problem, also seems like as if its a bad earth somewhere --- please help
Tom Jenkins
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