Engine idle/cut out problem

Fordy

Ex. Club Member
check the battery earth strap on the gearbox undo it and rub it clean with sand paper then clean around the bolt hole in the gearbox where it came out of and try that
 
Too low = the bowl may run dry under full throttle, stalling on idle, bad or no starting

Too high = carburetors may leak fuel through overflo under conditions of sudden flow change.

Empty = no chance of much happening at all and pretty much rules out an electrical fault (unless you have more that one fault), but could point to anything in the inwards fueling system:

carb (sticky valve)
floats (stuck, split, punctured or porous)
carb leaking
float height adjustment mechanism moved or broken
worn or damaged fuel pump
blocked / restricted fuel filter or other restriction
 
Hi All,

I've been following this thread with interest as I've had problems getting my 988 K10 to run smoothly. In particular, it would misfire randomly and intermittently pulling from low revs with part throttle and occasionally just cruising. After checking plugs, tappets, sundry ignition items and several squirts of carb cleaner, I noticed the fuel level in the float bowl was about 3mm too high. With the float adjusted so the fuel is spot on the middle of the window (the float height as quoted in Haynes lowered the level too far) the car now runs smoothly. This is not something I've had to do on any other car I've owned, but one lives and learns

Richard
 
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Ferret

Guest
Car is fine now, engaging reverse turning around at my mates house seemed to fix it. lol.

Ferret
 
Oh the adjustment requires the carb to be opened and this is definately a 5-spanner rating...lol

You need all the tools, time and a CLEAN working area

Fuel makes the job a fire hazard and the internals of the carb are delicate

also drain coolant required and multiple new gaskets fitted on re-assembly

its your call but if its only 2-3mm high I would be tempted to leave it unles it was causing some greif

Somone more experienced needs to comment on this also I think
 
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Ferret

Guest
Right i drove to market rasen no probs, left it 10 - 15 mins, went to drive and it started stuttering again either full throttle or nothing, not fun going through the town centre like a kangaroo with peeps watching, anyways got to to where i was going, left it most of the day, drove home no probs, so possible problem when warm?

Ferret
 
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Ferret

Guest
no, though i reckon too much fuel is going in, it's drinking fuel like no tomorrow

Ferret
 

Arnold

www.alanarnold.co.uk
Moderator
Site Supporter
Give up Sammo! :p

I'd personally just change the carb. Drinking fuel, running crap, when mine did that, a nice low milage one sorted me out.
 

Arnold

www.alanarnold.co.uk
Moderator
Site Supporter
Mine started going wrong about the 85-90000 Mile mark, so replaced it with one that had only done 20000. No probs since
 

Turtle

Ex. Club Member
Well the Mongolia car is doing this to me now. Arrg. So annoying. I'll start a new thread for it in a bit, gonna renew all the ignition parts first.
 

CALI

Buy & Sell Member
hmm mine cuts out now at a junction but starts again..when engines' warmed up then it's fine, it doesn't cut out.. just does it when i first start it.. or leave it parked for a few hours.

I've changed dizzy cap and leads + spark plugs. Any thoughts?

By the way, Sammo my float level seems fine (before you ask) ;)
 
J

Justin182

Guest
Hi Guys,

New on here and have been reading this thread carefully. Ive just bought a 86 K10 micra for this years Mongol Rally (hey Turtle !) as i thought they would be the most reliable cars to buy within the conditions.

My problem is similar... starts fine when its cold and sits ticking over no probs with auto choke. Its drives fine until i approach junctions etc then depress the clutch and its tries to cut out..... and does cut out sometimes if i dont catch it.

The car has done 56k and the spark plugs, leads & distributor look brand new. Fuel filter and alternator look like it could do with changing though.

Also, when i turn on the lights or the fan kicks in the engine dies so i was thinking that could be the alternator ?

Other then that the car seems to be well looked after with no rust etc...

Anyone able to help ?

Thanks
 
If it does this only while not warmed up then I would say autochoke not comming on too

if it does it when warm too then check float level (as described earlier)
 
J

Justin182

Guest
Thanks mate, will have a look at that. Do you think a new alternator is needed though if it cuts out when electrics are used ?

I can quite understand it as it seems to idle fine when the choke is on, then the revs drop a bit and it idles fine again once the choke seems off, and then after a couple blips of the throttle, it dies down alot and tries to die.

As i said... Distributer, sparks and leads all look like new so it cant be these. Ive also cleaned them too. So will check this fuel level. What would need doing if thats the prob ?

Thanks
 
Thanks mate, will have a look at that. Do you think a new alternator is needed though if it cuts out when electrics are used ?
Unlikely, the battery will run the car for a while all by itself if the alternator fails...if you have a multimeter you can test the alternator by measuring the battery voltage with the car switched off (12.5 volts ish) then test with the engine running (14.5 volts ish)...is OK

I can quite understand it as it seems to idle fine when the choke is on, then the revs drop a bit and it idles fine again once the choke seems off, and then after a couple blips of the throttle, it dies down alot and tries to die.

If this is the case with no electrix switched on at all...then perhaps your idle speed is set too low too?


As i said... Distributer, sparks and leads all look like new so it cant be these. Ive also cleaned them too. So will check this fuel level. What would need doing if thats the prob ?

Thanks

Hmmm, a few things could cause this ...too much to write here at the mo but I will go into detail later if this does turn out to be the case


Do you have a haynes manual?
 
J

Justin182

Guest
Thanks for all the info..... i havnt got time yet to check the level but will be the first thing i do. I have only just bought the car and it came with the original manual. I used this to change the idle speed but it still wants to cut out even with it raised. Its like it has 3 idles speeds. 1 when the choke is on, another when it has switched off and then a 3rd after it has been rev'd a bit after its up to temp.

Im more suited to fixing clios and am on cliosport.net alot but this micra is proving a bit harder to diagnose lol.

I think i will be buying an alternator, dizzy and some other stuff anyway as spares for the rally but would ideally like to find out what i need to get it to run smoothly before i start spending money.

Will let you know what i find. Thanks.

Right, just been out and its seems that this fuel level is very high. Passed 3/4 i would say. The idle speed is set at about 800 rpm. What does this indicate then mate ? Would the mixture need changing ?
 
Oh!

I would aim for idle speed of 900 personnally

I thought that it might have been have been low (starving fuel under braking as the fuel rushes up agaist the carb wall).

Can you repeat the fault deliberately in a quiet car park somwhere? If so.....

Warm to full temp....give a few good throttle stabs then:

Heres another test that could be usefull IMMEDIATELY after cut out... (don't attempt to restart and do not attempt to keep the engine going by blipping the throttle)........just let it die:

1) Check the fuel level again on the carb window
2) Remove the air filter cover and look down the venturi....check that the choke flap on the drivers side primary venturi is completely vertical

->little or no fuel here would most likely sugest either a sticky needle valve or a fuel pump problem
-> Plenty or too much fuel could be flooding the engine causing a stall but unlikely (not enough air compaired with fuel ammont in the mixture).
-> choke flap not vertical means autochoke is not fully unwinding (could cause flooding too but unlikely)

If all this fails..refit the air filter cover and restart the engine

...listen carefully for hissing (may be you have a vacuum leak).

Do you have any way of measuring your timing?..full vacuum should give around 12 degrees before....no vacuum should be 1 degree after




Sorry for firing all these in at once let us know how you get on...

Fordy: Whats your take on this?
 
J

Justin182

Guest
Thats great Sammohung, thanks for all the info. Ill try all that out tomorrow and get back to you. I mentioned this to a friend of mine and he suggested a vacuum leak too. Had a quick check today but didnt find anything.

Thanks
 
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Ferret

Guest
Update

The cars been running like a dream, till the other day when i heard a sorta blowing noise, thought there was a tiny hole in the exhaust, wrong the whole pipe had split right near the manifold, a new front section was ordered, my bro who is a mechanic has made such a hash of fitting it that it doesn't fit anymore, hes right ****** it up, im so ******* ****** off it's unbelievable, tax is due at the end of this month, the front tyres are bald on the inside, there is an inch gap at the top of the drivers door, ughhh wish i'd never bought it.

Ferret
 
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