Car recently hard to start.

[clarkedj]

My 78 124 has all of a sudden become hard to start. Runs smooth once it gets started but starting is a pain. Jump starts nicely but there is not always a hill around when you need it. I have adjusted the carb and cleaned what I could without pulling apart. The needle valve for the carb looks good and appears to have a good seal. I pulled the solenoid and it looks good but it does not click when attached to power. Could a bad solenoid cause a problem with starting? I have checked for air leaks on the carb and disconnected the brake booster cable and plugged it in case there was a leak in the booster. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

Ed Clark
404-234-7366

[So Cal Mark]

your description is all over the map. If it jump starts, is the battery weak? Engine not turning over?

[seabeelt]

Ed, need to seperate your trouble shooting into two categories to start, electrical and fuel. I have a 78 also, are you still running the dual points? are the pionts and dwell adjusted correctly? etc. Once we have some more info we can start to help.
r/

[clarkedj]

Mark and Sea,

Thanks for the response. I was probably jumping around due to frustration. This baby has been running smooth for 2 years and all of a sudden gremlins rear their heads.

Sea, as far as the points are concerned I replaced them 2 years back with electronic ignition. I also replaced the mechanical fuel pump with electric.

Mark you may be on to something. The engine turns over very easily it either does not start or it takes a lot of cranking to get it to start. When I hook the battery to my charger and charge until it's full it starts right up. Not sure if this is due to the battery being fully charged or the car has been sitting for 2 hours. I am going to pull the battery and run it up to Advanced Auto for testing. Can a battery have enough power to crank the starter but not start the car?

I checked for air leaking into the carb by starting the car letting it run through 2 fan cycles. I then used carb cleaner around the outside of the carb and manifold to see if the car sped up by sucking in the fumes. Not sure this was a good idea but at least I did not blow myself up. Wouldn't that make the wife happy. As I mentioned I disconnected the brake booster because I heard air leaking by the brake peddle which I figured was the booster going bad. That point alone is annoying as the booster is less then 2 years old and was new. This was also about the time the gremlins started rearing their heads.


Thanks for the support guys.

Ed Clark
404-234-7366

[124JOE]

hello ED,
yes that car will turn over and not start i have the same "points out elec on"
the starter will cranck till the batt dies out completely however the elec box runs on 12v
under 10v nope.

hows your cap and rotor?wiresand plugs?
do you know how to work your choke?make sure its not stuck.
remove air cleaner and pump it once while looking down the carb.
hold it open then work the butterfly.


hope this helps

[clarkedj]

124Joe

Thanks for the response. I think I may have a failing alternator. Just drove the car and it acted fine after charging the battery and having it check at Advanced Auto ( battery good). Noticed that at lower speeds the "batt" light came on dimly. As I speed up it goes out. Car stalled as I got it in the garage and would not start. Recharging the battery now. I will take the car to Advanced and have them check the alternator I guess.

Thanks

Ed Clark
404-234-7366

[clarkedj]

Just checked the alternator for voltage and amps it looks good. I am going to replace the fuel filter next to make sure there is no fuel delivery problems.

Ed Clark
404-234-7366

[124JOE]

whats you rpm at idle?
it may be too low

[clarkedj]

Guys,

Thanks for the help.

Mark, Thanks for the direction and refocus.

It seems that I had forgotten that items such as distributor caps and rotors need to be replaced every now and then. I popped the DC and noticed the carbon contact had completely worn down so likely was not touching the rotor. I discovered this by pulling the ignition coil cable from the DC to make sure I had spark. I did. Then pulled a couple of the spark plug wires to discover no spark. Problem solved. Feel like an idiot. It's always the simple things.

Thanks

Ed Clark
404-234-7366

[124JOE]

anytime .joe