Thoughts please on the following ('81 2000 Coupe):
Symptoms
Car runs for around 10 miles (m'ways & 'B' roads) then coughs and dies on me, left for a minute or so it re-starts only to run for a quarter mile and do the same again (& again & again). The last time this happened (yesterday) was with a full tank of petrol.
Treatment
So far I've had the following done:
new fuel pump
carb overhauled & set up (mixture, choke operation etc.) inc. all new hoses
timing re-set
replacement ignition switch
replacement electronic ignition control unit
One thing the garage did point out was that fuel delivery through the in-line filter was in intermittent 'spurts' i.e. not a constant flow, which looked a bit unusual.
Is the new fuel pump faulty or have I got some other problem?
Help please, my wife is getting a bit tired of towing the car around
Iain
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Dont want to point out the obvious, but have you changed the filter?...Had
exactly the same symptoms on one of mine
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Yep - it could be loose dirt in the fuel lines or filter and / or inside the carb
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Assuming the fuel filter has been replaced; If you go the electric pump way you do not want the I.E pump, this has too high a pressure rating. The required pressure for the carburetter is aproximately 7.5 psi depending on what carb you are running on. A slightly higher pressure pump may be considered as this will supply enough fuel should you wish to change to twin carburetter set-up. There are many aftermarket universal pumps readily available.
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Sorry! Did I say 7.5 psi? That should be 2.5 psi.
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Don't forget to check the small filter built into the carbie and the one in the fuel pump (however this one should be ok).
I'm not sure of the beta setup but my fiat suffered from large amounts of rust from the tank clogging these up. Maybe cleaning out your tank should also be considered by removing it and shaking around some small nuts and bolts with a little petrol.
Besides a possible fuel delivery problem, the fault does sound heat dependant, that is it occurs once the car reaches a certain temperature and fails, but once allowed to cool down a little, will work a short time???
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Hi Ian
Replace the in-line filter if you haven't already. Which series car is it?
If it's a series three, check the fuel relay and fuse for bad contacts.
Find them in front of the left hand strut next to the fan relay and fuse.
Sorry, if it's not a series three I don't know where you'll find the relay.
Regards
Pete
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Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, I should have pointed out that the fuel filter is new as well.
The carb is a Weber 34 DATR. If I was to go down the twin 40s route in the future (something I've been considering) what kind of pressure rating for the electric pump would I need to accomodate both set-ups?
Would inadequate fuel supply explain why the problem only manifests itself after a few miles rather than immediately?
Iain
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I have 2 x 42DCNF and I run original 1977 FACET fuel pump.
It still pumps petrol nicely and is LITTLE bit noisy, at least I'll know
when it stops working.
I tried aftermarket pump designed for AUS 6 cilinder car, but it could not
keep up with my havy right foot demand.
So I pulled thing out and give it to friend with Alfa 33.
I am planning to buy decent replacement with pressure regulator.
Peter
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Same symptoms as my volumex that will be broken (sorry to anyone awaiting pics - delay). On the vx its due to a slightly nadgered block connector on the base of the fusebox. Once the heat of the exhaust downpipe gets to it a bit it shorts out and cuts power to the fuel pump. Having to run the fuel pump of the feed to one of the leccy windows instead.
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Fuel requirements for 40 idf;s and dcnf's on the 1800 and 2 liter lancia engines is very small. I run my Scorpion 2 liter with 10.8 compresion and dual 40 dcnf;s at 2 lbs fuel pressure with out any problems. My 1800 spiders with dual 40 idfr's have settings at about 2-3 lbs,,actually more that they need. This is for street not track but I dont have to keep replaceing need valves anymore and I do drive aggressivly sometimes
have a good day
Allen
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I've had a look at fuel pumps on the web. The Facet solid state pump (which Guy Croft recommends in his book) comes in the following guises:
1.5 - 2.5 psi
2.5 - 3.0 psi
I'd appreciate any views on which would be most appropriate, as previously mentioned the car currently has the stock Weber 34 DATR carb but I'd like to upgrade to twin 40s at some point in the future.
Thanks
Iain
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Hi,
Many VX get this problem with age (probably IE too). That is bad electric feed to the pump. Probably caused by bad state of relays and/or relays bases and/or cables.
regards,
Ruben
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get the higher pressure pump and use a fuel pressure regulator.
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Hi Iain. I had much the same problem with my HPE VX for years esp. when it was hot. We finally diagnosed it as the ignition pick-up coil unit in the distributor, fitted a Fiat Uno part and no problems since.
Cheers,
Guy
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Hi Iain,
some late thought on your running problem. In short from what you've described it sounds like you've got a fuel supply problem so with that in mind (and given that you've got a new pump/filter) some thngs you might consider:
1. Have you run the car empty lately? If so you may have picked up some crud from the very bottom in the tank that is now blocking the fuel pick up.
2. As a few people have already indicated check the fuse, relay and earths associated fuel pump.
Good luck.
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