Stratos to no va conversion

[chris.richard]

Drove the car out of the garage.
Pressure washed the front & rear compartments to remove all the dust from rubbing down during the painting process.
Drove back into garage.
A few days later started engine to assess tacho instability issues. Engine ran for a few minutes, then started missing and stalling Restarted on less than 6 cylinders, coughed, farted for a minute, then died. (The engine, not me) Won't go at all now. Fuel pump running, have cleaned and checked fuses and relays. Added petrol to tank. I'm running out of ideas now -surely it must be a fuelling problem, two ignition packs or six coils wouldn't all go simultaneously? :confused:
My fuel pump is mounted about half way up the tank - is there a problem about lift capacity on the pump when the tank gets empty?

[Bernard]

Hi Chris
for what is worth i would put the pump as low as possible
have you taken a plug out to see if you are getting a spark ?
with all that pressure washing damp could have got in somewhere ?
have you also taken a injector out to see if its fuelling ok ?
Just a few suggestions
Good luck
Bernard

[strat6v]

Chris,

Check that the coil on plugs are dry and any other connections the same. Diconnect them all and dry em out with a hair dryer perhaps. The coil on plugs can arc around their body causing a misfire. Look this up on the alfa bulletin board.

As Bernard says,mount the fuel pump as low as possible.

Engine steady bar just arrived, thanks. Chq posted.

John.

[catswhiskers]

Chris,
May not be of use but I had similar problems a while back. Checked all my relays etc. but it turned out that some of the terminals had pushed out of the back of the relay mount block. Might be worth a quick look. :)

Mick

[chris.richard]

Thanks guys! :)
It's looking like a fuel pump problem. There's a plentiful supply of petrol at its inlet (it pished everywhere when I loosened it!) but none comes out of the business end inspite of it making a busy whizzing noise. Ah well! :(

[strat6v]

Carp in the pipes? :D .Can you back flush it and try it mounted lower?

[Swamprat33]

Carp in the pipes, surely the fuel pipes are not that big. More chance of it being a stickleback or minnow :D :p

[Sando]

Glad you found out what it was Chris. A carp filter (Keep net) before the pump might also be useful, very partial to a bit of Carp these pumps :)
Bobster

[strat6v]

didn't want to swear just in case i was blacklisted by the powers that be then cut of from the forums over christmas :D :D

[chris.richard]

I've got two fish filters -one from each tank before the filter, plus a big one (big filter, not a filter for big...oh never mind :D ) after it. So there shouldn't be any tishe in the pump, but I can't see why it won't prime itself other than being reggubed.
This is getting a bit surreal - I think they'll come and take us away before Christmas John, never mind ban us from the forum!! :p

[strat6v]

Could you self certify? :D :D

[Chris J]

I see you're all way ahead of me...

[SUSIT]

:D Fantastic bril LMAO in teenage speak, New cartoon story for a future news letter :D :D

[chris.richard]

Nice one CJ! :D

[chris.richard]

LMAO

:confused: :confused: I'm going to have to get into this - the oldest is now 12. Put me out of my misery1

[strat6v]

Nice one CJ!!

[rutthenut]

:confused: Put me out of my misery1

Laughed My Assets Off, or something like that...

[rutthenut]

As for fuel pump position, I used to have my pump in exactly that position, part-way up the diagonal chassis rail. Easy to plumb, easy to reach. Worked fine.

Well, it did for some time. Can't remember when, but it started making much more noise with high-pitched whine and engine didn't want to run under load - exhaust colour showed it was running lean too.

So I moved it down to a horizontal position between the two chassis rails at the base of the bulkead area. Pretty safe location, but pipework a bit tighter that way from tank to pump and pump to filter. Don't have a pre-filter either, but a good idea if you work one in to the plumbing. A petrol valve between tank and pump would be sensible too. I have valves at each end of the balance pipe, which is useful, but have often wished I had another before the pump.

I remember changing the fuel pump in the pouring rain at Goodwood, just after Lord March had laid some nice new tarmac in tha paddock (prior to first Revival meeting). Petrol phishing down my arms as I worked from under the car wasn't good. Worse still, the tarmac/bitumen tended to melt somehow and I my arms got covered with that gack too...

[SUSIT]

:confused: :confused: I'm going to have to get into this - the oldest is now 12. Put me out of my misery1


:D Laugh my ass off, :D close Mr rutter

[rutthenut]

:D Laugh my ass off, :D close Mr rutter

And there was me trying to avoid certain words...

[chris.richard]

Nova to Vavoom! :) :)

Seemed to be a pump priming problem, possibly because the fuel got too low for the high mounting. Now back running normally, but with the worry that it might be a fuel pump about to pack up :rolleyes:

[Martin K]

If what you find in a fuel filter is CARP
then
LMAO = Laughing My ASRE Off

[chris.richard]

Now, I thought that was my Eblow :confused:

Martin, since you're here, how high can you expect an electric fuel pump to suck to prime itself?

[Sando]

Well I don't know what LMAO officially means but I did anyway!
:D :D :D :D :D

Love the cartoons Chris, keep them coming and send some in to Chris S.

Bobster :cool:

[Chris J]

Well I don't know what LMAO officially means but I did anyway!
:D :D :D :D :D

Love the cartoons Chris, keep them coming and send some in to Chris S.

Bobster :cool:

Rob

I used to do a few cartoons for the Opel GT UK club and NL club newsletter, but I took a bit longer over them. I could to do some exclusive ones for the newsletter I suppose??

[David May]

Mr J - the cartoon was great - now that winter is here I suggest you abandon the spanners for the pencils.
On the thread starter - you should not expect modern fuel pumps to prime at all - they are almost always mounted low (under pressure). Even if they will prime upwards, as soon as the fuel gets hot (and it will in a Stratos) it will vaporise under low pressures with an effect much like the dreaded carp. I've been there!

[chris.richard]

you should not expect modern fuel pumps to prime at all - they are almost always mounted low (under pressure).

Bollox! that means moving the pump now the engine's in. I'll need the services of a midget! :(

[David May]

Yes, double-jointed midgets are hard to find these days! I suggest you just keep the tank at least half full!

[SUSIT]

Bollox! that means moving the pump now the engine's in. I'll need the services of a midget! :(


Iam happy to rent my services out Chris, Panto work all dried up this year :D

[chris.richard]

Iam happy to rent my services out Chris, Panto work all dried up this year :D

:D :D :D

[chris.richard]

Just to get back on topic, here's an interesting solution suggested in answer to my query on PH gassing station:-

When I converted my Volvo Amazon to fuel injection I didn't fancy mounting the pump under the car so I mounted it under the bonnet. The fuel feed line, after feeding the pump, carried on upwards to the inlet of an SU electric pump as fitted to many BMC carburetted vehicles; the outlet from the SU pump discharged into the fuel return line. I had a switch to run both pumps which I used to leave on while I was putting my seatbelt on. The SU pump would draw fuel up to above the level of the pressure pump and the pressure pump would then prime and I could switch the SU pump off, after which it had no effect and the system ran normally.

[strat6v]

lazy way out, more weight etc :rolleyes:

When Rutan was asked about fitting extra parts on his plans planes by builders, he said 'throw it up in the air and if it comes back down then its too heavy'

I'm on a mission to chop weight! but don't mention the diet word :eek:

Seem to remember that Colin Chapman ordered his mechanics to remove all the washers off a gp car too.

[rutthenut]

Certainly a possible solution, but seems far too complex to solve a simple problem.

Especially as the tank, high-pressure pump and engine are all really close together in the Strat. Whereas a front-engined, rear fuel tank setup needs the extra pumping.

Be a pain if you didn't switch on the pump when needed though, and may still be a problem when fuel level gets low without the 'helper pump' in operation full-time.

I'm sure you could find room at the bottom of the engine bay, around the gearbox end that is.

Cheers,
John

[SUSIT]

Just to get back on topic, here's an interesting solution suggested in answer to my query on PH gassing station:-

When I converted my Volvo Amazon to fuel injection I didn't fancy mounting the pump under the car so I mounted it under the bonnet. The fuel feed line, after feeding the pump, carried on upwards to the inlet of an SU electric pump as fitted to many BMC carburetted vehicles; the outlet from the SU pump discharged into the fuel return line. I had a switch to run both pumps which I used to leave on while I was putting my seatbelt on. The SU pump would draw fuel up to above the level of the pressure pump and the pressure pump would then prime and I could switch the SU pump off, after which it had no effect and the system ran normally.


Good Idea Chris you keep piling on the weight for Abingdon 2006 :D

On a more serious note I think I may fit a fuel swirl pot with a low pressure feed as all the fuel tank designs I have come up with may suffer fuel surge and cause feed problems.

[rutthenut]

If what you find in a fuel filter is CARP
then
LMAO = Laughing My ASRE Off

Saw a magazine in the newsagents with a title that caught my eye:

Total Carp

:)

Reminded me of the discussions in this forum...

J.R.