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Ronnie the Renault and the tick over blues.

E

edwin

Enthusiast
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845
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Lichfield
Well went to collect Ronnie car at my pals place in Brive, to drive it back to mine. Turned the key and heard that classic tell tale sign......nothing! So €97 later I had a new battery in place and off it went. Drove it home, but found that it would not hold tick over. Adjusted the throttle screw, just to hold it running, but no effect. Driving it was therefore difficult and I did not have time to sort it. The car had been standing since October, so could be gone off petrol. It was 35Deg so could be temperature. Any other suggestions chaps. I am off to France again in Sept so any help with diagnosis and resolution gratefully received.
 
Sounds like the carb needs a good internal clean - the little jet holes are probably gunked up with corrosion or gel from evaporated fuel/ethanol/water.
 
Thanks Adam. Does that mean a can of spray carb clean sprayed down the throat while its running would do the trick?
 
Probably needs taking apart to properly power-jet through the tiny tiny holes and channels with carb cleaner - partly to make sure something comes out the other end, and also to clean them. Spraying down the throat means almost all the spray gets burned by the engine, which isn't the aim here ! Best get hold of a carb gasket kit (you'll need the fiddly big one that goes between the top and bottom halves at least).
 
AdamWilkes said:
Probably needs taking apart to properly power-jet through the tiny tiny holes and channels with carb cleaner - partly to make sure something comes out the other end, and also to clean them. Spraying down the throat means almost all the spray gets burned by the engine, which isn't the aim here ! Best get hold of a carb gasket kit (you'll need the fiddly big one that goes between the top and bottom halves at least).
Click to expand...
Thanks! Where is a good place to get a gasket/ohall kit?
Looks like franzose.de have a good selection.
 
I've had similar problems. Taking carb apart and giving it a good clean and changing carb gaskets helped. Recurring problems meant various other bits and pieces have also been changed.
Just as an aside, I've found my 4L doesn't much like the heat (38 degrees here this week). Runs fine, but is reluctant to restart after a stop of less than an hour. I just talk to her nicely and that usually does the trick :laughing:
 
If you want the carburettor repaired I would recommend "The Carburettor Exchange" in Leighton Buzzard, who (I think!) are the last company in the U.K. carrying out this work. They have rebuilt two carburettors for me and the transformation in the car's performance, once the carburettor was properly set up on the car, was staggering!
 
Thank you, that is very, very helpful. I'll get the carb off and clean it. If that doesn't sort it maybe its off to Leighton Buzzard.
Just a thought though, is the fuel pump prone to giving trouble?
 
Hi, can someone please tell me if this is a Zenith 28 IF carb, so I can get the right o/Haul kit? Thanks!
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Thanks! At least I can get the right bits now, although having had it apart it still runs like a bag of poo. The mixture screw seemed to have very little effect when turning it!

Mon dieu! That site is way beyond my schoolboy French! Not sure how Google translate will cope! :-)
 
I have just found a company in lichfield, called Carbcare, who are specialists in rebuilding and refurbing carburettors and also in setting them up
afterwards, in the car. One of the guys travels all over sorting carb problems out. Specialist family business. They are on the internet.
 
Good to know.

Our GTL isn't idling nicely, making it hard to measure the dwell angle. It's off the road anyway, but I'd like to get around to having it run better now I have swell meter and strobe.
 
Rustyoldjcb said:
Thanks! At least I can get the right bits now, although having had it apart it still runs like a bag of poo. The mixture screw seemed to have very little effect when turning it!

Mon dieu! That site is way beyond my schoolboy French! Not sure how Google translate will cope! :-)
Click to expand...
Google chrome will translate whole website for you
 
If the carburettor seems to be clean and good but the engine still doesn't run well, it may be worthwhile taking the inlet/exhaust manifold off and checking that the manifold face that bolts onto the cylinder head is perfectly flat. Mine had distortion (at least 0.5mm difference between adjacent inlet and exhaust tubes) and it leaked air, which made the carburettor impossible to adjust. I had it machined flat at an engineer's and was much better afterwards. Need a new gasket for that as well!
 
I was trying to think of alternatives to the carb for the problem I have. That sounds a possibility. It's got a great spark, so must be on the fuel/air side of things.
 
It's worth checking a couple of things when you've got the top off the carburettor:

There's a filter you can get to via the hole with the blue arrow - it often gets blocked up - if you turn the top of the carb upside down and fill the hole with carb cleaner a few times, you'll be able to clean the filter.

If the jet with the yellow arrow gets blocked (they often are), the car won't run well. Carb cleaner on its own sometimes isn't enough - a bit of soft wire followed by carb cleaner does the job well.20200607_150913_LI.jpg
 
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