Best way to pull the starter

One other thought.... A marginal coil will work well when cold , but often will cause problems when hot. Do you have one you could swap for a trial?

I have also had the float needles stick open but has usually happened after sitting for a couple of weeks. Same kind of symptoms as sinking float with flooding /running rich. Tapping the side of carbs with hammer has cleared this up.

I also had mis-fire problem once before with new spark plug wires I built up with those CHAMPION plug ends. Turns out some I bought new were from a bad batch. I put my old wires back on and ran fine. I recently bought a new built up set that only required me to install the copper contacts and screw-in distributor cap nuts

David Barnes
68 E-type FHC

I am not sure when the carbs were last rebuilt. It has been many ears. They seem to be in good shape. I don't have any fuel sitting in the intake horn. I did a year ago but with a good cleaning and more driving it resoved itself.

The car starts up on first turn of the key the past 2 days. The starter lets out a screach as soon as the engine starts though.

I tuned the carbs and reset my idle to 750rpms. I have not had a chance to drive yet but hope to today depending on the weather.

Im still going to replace my distributer cap and rotor arm since they looked questionable before cleaning it.

Was the car running well prior to all of this...has the car been sitting? What is the history?

Basic things like points, plugs, condensers, wires, rotors, caps, fuel filters, etc. are easy to replace and doing so "takes that off the table" as culprits....

If you ran the car and the plugs didn't look right that's most likely mixture/carb problems...did the front 3 look different than the rear 3? Unless you have bad wires, spark is the same for all 6...the mixture on the front 3 and the rear 3 comes from controlling carb(s)....

Do you know the history, when (or were) these carbs ever re-built...you can have a lot of problems generated form leaking (vacuum & fuel) carbs...and sometimes these problems can steer you to spark, but they are fuel born.

Are you sure the carbs are in good shape ? My experience is the floats in the Strombergs are prone to leaking and causing a very rich condition. Have had this happen 3 times in the last 10 years. Any fuel dripping out the intake throats or small hole next to them? Perhaps you are flooding or some plugs carbon fouling ? Last time a float leaked my #3 plug from the rear carbon fouled and was causing mis-fire

I have also had the fuel pump vapor lock after drives on hot days like we are starting to get this time of year but that was always accompanied by much louder clicking of the pump like it was cavitating and not pulling fuel from the tank. It would work ok after the pump cooled down for awhile.

I put the Pertronix on my car long ago but stayed with the stock screw-in distributor cap. Have never had any trouble with that set up.

David Barnes
68 E-type FHC

Edited on 2013-06-02 14:37:02

It's beginning to sound to me as though you have enough spark when the engine is cold but not after it is hot. I'm only familiar with the ignition systems of the earlier years, does this model still use distributor points? If so, I would be concerned regarding their condition and the possibiliy of a faulty ignition coil.

A friend of mine had a later model Jag (I don't recall the year) and that car ignition became intermittent after it heated up.

Do any of you guys know if the Pertronix High Performance Distrbutor cap is a "screw in" style where the plug wires are screwed into the top. I know some are "Plug in" and I need screw in.

http://www.welshent.com/product_info.php?sku=D606600K&name=Pertronix_Hig...

I ran it for about 10mins though some back roads. Once I parked it back in garage it cranked with no start. So I recheck the plugs and they were questionable. So I put in 6 new bosch plugs (same standards as Champion N12YC (38)) due to availability. It starts now but I also feel like Im getting some intermittent firing on one of the plugs since the car idles a little rough. So now I am thinking I still have issues with the distributer cab and rotor arm. So Im order a new set. I also changed the oil last night as well. Once I got done with oil change I tried to restart and she started again, let her get up to temp and then shut it off. She started this morning pretty quick after sitting all night. Still sounds a little rough.

I think the new distributer cap and rotor arm will close this case but not 100% sure. I was surprised that when I was checking the plugs and had one pulled the car fired so that makes me think even if you are missing spark on one plug it will still run.

I do keep an eye on the carb oil as well. I plan on starting it this afternoon, getting to normal temp and tuning the carbs per the manual so I can get a fresh start from baseline. I do believe I am running a little rich when looking at my plugs and the tendency for the engine to run an extra revolution or 2 once the ignition is turned off.

Is there anything I should look for when tuning these carbs to lean out my mixture?
Oh yeah, Im only going to tune the carbs if the car is running smoothly, no need to adjust it if I still have issues.

Blake, If you're still having problems, answer Bernies questions for more info for us. I suppose you have checked the level of the oil in the carb dampers. Right?

Blake,

How did you finally get it started...how long did you run it for, and after you brought it back into the garage, what happened...

Did it not crank okay, or did it crank and not start...and if it cranked and didn't start, did you then re-check for spark at the plugs?

Blake,

How did you finally get it started...how long did you run it for, and after you brought it back into the garage, what happened...

Did it not crank okay, or did it crank and not start...and if it cranked and didn't start, did you then re-check for spark at the plugs?

Blake,

How did you finally get it started...how long did you run it for, and after you brought it back into the garage, what happened...

Did it not crank okay, or did it crank and not start...and if it cranked and didn't start, did you then re-check for spark at the plugs?

No, Its pretty fresh non-ethenal with treatment added.

Old gas......?

Alright, I got it started and ran it down the road, pulled it back in garage shut the engine off then tried to restart.... and right back to where I started??

What the heck?

I very confused... agian

Hold the throttle fully open and crank it for about a minute. After all that cranking with no spark it could be flooded.

Alright, now I have spark to all six plugs and still no start.

Fuel pump is working, I can ear it and smell fuel when I try to start it a few times...

What next?

It looks like I might have other issues. Got some time today for look around and knowing that my car cranks but does not start, I started look elsewhere. Previously I check fuel and spark and were both there but now it looks like Im not getting spark. I pulled the distributer cap off and the power lead has some corrosion build up. Cleaned that up along with all the terminals on the cap. Still no spark. I do have power from the power lead into the cap. I tested the distributer with power from that lead to make sure the rotor arm is spinning and it is, just slowly. Im not sure how fast these are supposed to spin but it seemed slow.

So I may need to order a new cap and possibly a rotor arm?

Blake,

I just went thru this on my 69 series 2...(see the thread from early May--"starter problems")

My starter worked at cold temps, but as soon as engine heated, no go. It is the field coils in the starter. (I had starter rebuilt first before I knew this, put it back in, then had to remove it again because the field coils don't table test easily...in my case, to fault, the starter (via the motor) has to be hot....and that is when mine failed.,,,as it gets hot and expands, it shorts.

I am assuming your battery and other obvious things, terminals, grounds etc are checked out...

After the 2nd removal, I bought a used starter (it had some other problems but those field coils were okay) and my starter shop was able to make one good one out of the two...you need a good starter guy on the rebuild (unless you buy one of the after market starters) to figure it out.

To remove starter, front of car up on ramps, remove bottom plate from underneath the air cleaner, remove air cleaner, remove vacuum tank, drain radiator and remove the two heater hose lines by the firewall...that way you can access the top securing bolt...what no manual tells you that I could find, is that the bottom securing bolt accesses thru a port - from the interior on the passenger side...pull back the carpet on the bell and you will see it, secured by 4 sheet metal screws.

The starter is heavy (like one of the other members mentioned) and the top securing bolt take a lot of patience...after the bolts are out, the starter is still not easy to get out, depending on the wires, it is a close fit to get by the oil filter...I was able to get mine by the oil filter with a struggle, but I won't be surprised if you have to remove that too...

suggest you clean the threads on the bolts and lubricte thoroughly so it is easier going back in...saves lots of time..the top bolt is just a bit shorter than the bottom, so take note.

Yeah, im pretty sure its the starter, Im getting crank but no start and it started showing signs when hot... now its all the time. Going to check things out with a mulitmeter today.

I really want to keep the car as original as possible. Should I pick up a new one and just keep the original on he shelf?

Is there a brand of starter I shoud look for?

Blake,

When you get the starter out , I would advise you to not spend the money to rebuild the old one and put that thing back in.

Go to one of our favorite suppliers and buy a new gear drive starter. Get rid of that old ringy dingy original and you will be so satisfied when that gear drive pops that engine into life with a mere tap on the starter button!

Blake, first thing you have to do is remove the entire interior of the car, then strip the engine of everything on the starboard side.

Just kidding. You can actually do it fairly easily, the weight is the biggest hindrance. Remove First disconnect your ground wire from the battery, disconnect the wires leading to the starter at the starter. Remove the lower bolt and nut first. it helps if you have hoisted the car or put the front on ramps. have someone under the car while you loosen with a long extension on your ratchet. Oh did I mention removing the air cleaner system so you can reach in. OH forget it I have no idea what I am talking about . It is Friday night and my grand kids are driving me crazy and I have not had any single malt yet. good luck