Serious Backfire (help!!)

[Wingnut]

Have I got a problem. I decided today was a beautiful day to start my project car. After making sure all wires were in the right place I hooked up a battery and turned the key to give it a couple of tries. Since she was a non-runner when I bought her I wasn't expecting her to pur after two tries but I wasn't expecting a couple of puffs and a huge bang either. To me it sounds just like having the order of the ignition leads mixed up. I did that once on my R9 so I made sure I avoided that this time round. The engine is a 845cc B1B07/07. Ideas, anyone?

 

[Simon.AU]

What was the state of the project car that led it to being acquired as a non-runner? Just wondering if it has been played with in the past and the distributor incorrectly fitted, say 180 degrees out or timed to fire off No.1 and the PO has misread which is No.1. It sounds like the timing may be out if the plug leads are OK, or possibly a stuck valve if it has been a long time standing......

 

[Wingnut]

She had been sitting for 2 years according to the previous owner, but she hasn't had an mot since '98 and she didn't have any euro's laying around on the dash so she hasn't run since 2002. The main reason for it being left to rot was a broken key of the tank cap, I think. Since she looked decent and did turn over after a fresh battery had been hooked up I felt there should be no reason she shouldn't run again. There was some evidence of a blown radiator and some tinkering with the carb but the distributer seems to be part of the original equipment. I changed the radiator for that reason.
I'll take another look at the timing.

 

[malcolm]

I've had a few R4s start first time after 6 or more years standing. One of them is still running on the old petrol too (it smells bad). The distributor points needed to be removed, cleaned, and the gap set before they would work.

I think the 850 might turn the opposite way from the 1108. You can check the rotation direction by turning the engine with the distributor cap removed.

 

[Wingnut]

First thing I did was replace the ignition cables, distributercap, sparkplugs, points and condenser. I'll crack on with the timing first. Clementine, did you find those R4's in a barn or were they left outside? Mine was left outside and when I went to see her she had 2 decayed tires and bits of vegitation sticking out here and there. Very little corrosion under the bonnet and all in the visinity of the radiator. A few new bits have improved the look immensely. My mom thought it looked nice and new.

 

[Wingnut]

The timing appears to have been a bit off. She hasn't started yet but nearly did once or twice. I have to recharge the battery. I'll add some fresh fuel since the tank is almost dry.

 

[cees r4AT]

hoi,i'll replay in dutch..sorry
heb je heel de verdeelkap eraf gehaald?? dus heel het metalen ding zegmaar?
dan kan het zijn dat je hem er verkeerd om in hebt gedaan..heb ik met de AT ook gehad. je kan dit zien doordat ie dan erg gaat wiebelen bij het rond draaien.
anders verdenk ik toch de volgorde van de kabels.

suc6
greetz

cees(cees en jantine op r4 forum..haha)

 

[malcolm]

Non Dutch speakers don't worry - here's a translation:

"Have you found the metal thing? Perhaps you might have found it in the garden... although I might have eaten it. You can see me wobbling and twisting, but it's possible that was due to eating some worms."

I had to fill in a few gaps - how close did I get?

All of mine were stored in a barn. I have had two cars with starting problems recently - one of them a Renault 4. In both cases there was water in the carburettor float chamber. Might be worth a check.

 

[cees r4AT]

not really close:
hoi,i'll replay in dutch..sorry

heb je heel de verdeelkap eraf gehaald??
-did you remove the entire distribution unit??

dus heel het metalen ding zegmaar?
-also the metal part?

dan kan het zijn dat je hem er verkeerd om in hebt gedaan..
-then it is possible you put it the wrong way around

heb ik met de AT ook gehad.
-i also had that with tha AT(gordini turbo)

je kan dit zien doordat ie dan erg gaat wiebelen bij het rond draaien.
-when it it put back wrong it is all wobbly when it is turning around

anders verdenk ik toch de volgorde van de kabels.
-else i suspect the cables to be in the wrong order

and with this we finish todays dutch lessons.

 

[Wingnut]

Well I must say that was pretty entertaining, Clem. :-) That'll put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
So far I've had no reason to remove the entire distributer. I've just replaced the bits that tend to corrode. After messing with the timing I haven't gotten the car started but the good news is the nasty backfire is gone. The order of the cables is 1-3-4-2 which is correct according to Haynes. I have replaced the coil because I thought the one that was in the car when I bought it was a bit iffy. Does anyone know how much I might need to compensate for modern unleaded fuel when setting the timing?
Before messing with the engine at all I did check whether I had fuelflow and I cleaned the carb, so that should be cool. And it helps that I did mechanical engineering for 2 years some 18 years ago. Keeps you from removing bits for no good reason.I just haven't had a car with points before and that tends to make you a bit lazy. I find that with points there is a lot more fine tuning to be done.