Hey all!

A long time since I posted about my cars, so I hope someone is still out there.

And for the first time, this is about the BG!

After 18mo sitting on the drive we needed to move it, and with a fresh battery it started first time, roared into life as usual.

After moving it we left it parked for a few days, and now the engine won't turn over.

Battery was reading fine
Spark is fine
We put more fuel in yesterday (it was VERY low)
No warning lights on except the normal you get when trying to start
Doesn't seem to be an alarm issue (alarm disables ignition), I re-armed then disarmed again to be sure

It's a totally unmodded car, nobody's ever fecked with the wiring, and in any case it started fine last week. Am I missing some peculiar quirk on the BG? (As I'm used to the BAs).

The only thing that's different since last startup is the new fuel. We left it overnight, without starting it, to let any debris settle. But maybe something got into the fuel filter?

Anyway, thanks for any pointers / shared experience.

S

Hello Serena,
When you say it won't turn over, does it give any signs of life at all, apart from the ignition (and warning lights). Is the gear selector in "P" (or "N")? It could be the inhibitor switch if it's doing nothing.

Whilst operating the key, try moving the lever from P to L and back to P.

If it's spinning on the starter then it may be the ignition. i.e. Coil or module (in the distributor). I had both new coil and module on mine.

Howdy!

Phew, I was hoping you were still around!

It's a manual, not auto. If it's relevant, it's a GLXi Aug 1994 reg, so a late build, one of the last registered new as the BA came in. There's plenty of spark (we used a coil/plug tester thing) and plenty of battery, the engine is valiantly chug-chugging away as it tries to start, but not turning over. It's not even trying to catch, it's like complete fuel starvation, but there's at least 5l of good fuel in there from an emergency can.

It's not even rough, like there was a bit of crap from the bottom of the tank ... there's just nothing at all. A complete surprise, as since I've had it it's always started on cue, and started no problem after 18 months the other day. Also, it's only done 32k miles and has mostly been garaged, so nobody's been hooning it around and wearing out parts.

Hence me thinking I might be missing something BG-obvious.

S

Hello Serena,
So it's a fuel injection model with manual gears, sorry I thought it was auto for some reason!
(For reference, mine was a pre-injection carb auto, so my info might not all be relevant!)
The fuel system can suffer from starvation if it went almost empty.
The fuel filter (on mine) was on the bulkhead, is it full of fuel?
Have you taken out the spark plugs to check if they smell of fuel?
Is the fuel system pressurised?

Hi Serena (and jingles) very glad to hear it started when you first tried. An easy check is the cambelt/timing belt - maybe it busted after being stood so long then put into service again. A quick look at the camshafts (through the oil filler hole) will tell you if the belt is still turning it. If not, the engine will merrily spin but obviously no valves etc will operate. You can also check compression - if there's any pistons with none it could indicate busted cambelt.

Ah but I just remembered you ARE getting sparks, so distributor is turning, so camshafts are turning, so cam belt probably ok.

So then, sparks ok, it ran so compression ok, just needs fuel/air - maybe you dragged sludge into the pipes/filter/injectors...

I got a V6 that had been stood for 12 years to fire by squirting carb cleaner into the air inlet side of the carb, while turning over with the key (remove the cold air intake pipe). That engine didn't run properly but it did make it go for 30 seconds or so. In your case that could indicate fuel starvation

Did you get any luck with getting the BG running again, Serena?

If the fuel filter is changed and plenty in the tank and it's still not happy...try tapping the injectors (or next to if you want to be careful ) to make sure something didn't get stuck in them from the bottom of the tank. Sounds silly, but worked for me after Poppy sat with low fuel over a winter!

I have always found Poppy gets harder and hesitant to start with low fuel, but the filter removed was pretty much immaculate when taken apart...they want to drink!