Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[liltroy]

ok so this is the second time this has happened. car was running ok...sat for two days then wouldnt start. i pulled fuel line from filter to check that it was getting fuel, it was. i replaced the line...did nothing else and it fired right up?? second time it has done this in the last week? any suggestions? Also it caant seem to decide if it wants to idle at 2000rpms or 500, lol. this is by far the most troublesome vehicle i have ever messed with. starting to feel bad about getting it for my daughter.

[Rocketman]

When it won't start, does the tachometer needle bounce? If not, it points to a bad/failing ignitor. They tend to be intermittent at first and get progressively worse over time when they fail.

The idle sounds like a vacuum leak, sticky throttle/cable - if it's idling high try to close the throttle by hand

[liltroy]

ignition was first thing i thought of too but both times this has happened, the car starts after removing fuel line?? im thinking maybe there is some kind of vapor lock or reversion going on but dont know what would be causing it. i sent my daughter to walmart to have fuel system cleaned and im going to clean the throttle body,iac, and adjust throttle cable and lube them when she gets back. its just a really odd problem and i think it may be fuel related because both times, the only thing I have done was rmove the fuel line to check for flow and it fixed it both times. Matter of fact Im better I replaced the fuel pump last week for nothing. Thank you for all the help and suggestions btw, the car is really frustrating me and I think its a really cute car for her but I dont wantt my daughter to be stranded. Today is her first day driving by herself and I've got enough to worry about,lol. Matter of fact I added road side assistance to her insurance policy just because Im worried about the car breaking down!

[blueamber]

Maybe there is a slim link between your idle issue and sometimes no-start.  If the VAF connector was intermittent/dirty, idle would suffer because of bad sensor data to the PCM, and maybe the fuel pump switch part of that connector was intermittent also ( the fuel pump only starts up if the VAF detects air going into the engine).  Just a long shot, disconnect and reconnect that connector about a dozen times to clean the pins.  If it helps idle, then cross your fingers for no-start being cured.

If the car doesn't start again, first try jumpering the fuel pump test leads to force the pump on, bypassing the VAF switch.  Short the yellow connector, passenger side firewall, the black wire to the green with white stripe wire.  If car starts then you may have a VAF issue.

If no start, go to the trunk and make sure the red button on the fuel pump safety switch is fully depressed.  Driving over a pot hole can turn on this switch, and maybe your's is right on the edge of turning off???  It's under the spare tire cover, on the left.  (Long shot here!!)

If no start look at the tach while cranking.  If the needle is moving, then you are getting spark.

If you need to pull the fuel line to see if that trick works, observe if the fuel is under pressure when the line is 1st pulled, before cranking.  If it is, then you have no spark or no injector operation.  If no pressure, then ? I don't know...

[liltroy]

wow, lotsa info thanks!!! im actually going to systematically take apart and clean every connection under the hood this weekend with contact cleaner, then coat everything with dielectric grease.

[mitch1204]

All good advice. Another thing I would do is visually check the inside of the tank. The age of these cars and many doing some sitting the gas tanks are destined to rust.

These cars are easy to get to the fuel pump. If I remember correctly you pull forward and up on the rear seat bottom to remove it. Under there is the fuel pump access door. Remove it and check the tank for rust. It will clog the pump filter. Mine was in horrible shape from sitting.

If that's the case there is a good replacement available. There is another thread about buying a tank.
www.techcapri.home.comcast.net has an online Capri manual where you can see a diagram to take the rear seat out or anything related to a Capri.

[liltroy]

tank was in good shape. I checked it out when i installed the new pump and sock. the car only does this if you let it sit for a few days. daughter has been driving it everyday and no problems. matter of fact i cant get her to park it long enough for me to clean all those connections, lol.

[mitch1204]

I would try what Blueamber said about jumping the fuel pump test leads on the passenger firewall. Do it when the car has been sitting awhile and prone to no start like you said.

The funny thing about this car is the fuel pump only runs in the start or run condition. It doesn't prime the system like most cars with only the key on. That said with time the fuel system could be leaking down like leaking injectors or a bad fuel regulator.

I know when I had leaky injectors it would start easy when it was cold and even warm if it didn't sit more than a couple minutes. But go in a store and come out it was hard to get started because it was flooded. It did do like you said and the idle would fast idle, then drop to about 500 and then fast idle again. ECMs will try to correct problems which could explain the erratic idle. If your system is draining down when sitting then it's relying solely on start condition to prime the system back.

It takes an inline fuel tester but you might pull the fuel line off at the filter and run the pump by jumping the test leads and see how dry the system is. It should squirt a little gas the second you pull the line off the filter. You could even have a bad check valve in that new pump. I got a bad new pump off eBay when I was rebuilding my fuel system. I bought the cheapest one I could find and got what I paid for. Just a few thoughts. The online manual has good diagnostic procedures. It's worth a read.

[010sambo]

Well i have the same issue with my 93,i just bought it knowing it only runs if you spray fuel in the throttle body so i do know im getting spark, I also checked the safety switch in the trunk. It was unplugged so I guess someone tried to bypass it.  thanks for all the trobleshooting advise as well. i also didn't know about the rear seat trick though, maybe ill check the fuel pump when I get a chance.
Do these cars have an inline fuel filter , or is it in the fuel tank?
I guess I need to find where the fuel line comes in to the throttle body.

[Rocketman]

There's a sock filter right on the bottom of the pump, and an inline filter in the engine bay mounted to the firewall, just above and to the left of the brake booster.

[010sambo]

Thanks rocket man . I would really like to get it running instead of parting it out since its a full car.
Question, If I remove the fuel line from the firewall filter (assuming the fuel pump is working) would fuel come out as I cranked the engine over? Probably a dumb question but worth asking, Troubleshooting these cars are a bit more complicated than I thought.

[Rabbit-Rabbit]

Perhaps the ECT Sensor. That will cause your problem as well.