Ford Forums banner

poor starter

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  lowy 
G
#1 ·
I run a 302 on gas with a 425 (?) impco mixer. Timing set to 10 init and about 34 all in at 3 thou.
The problem is that some mornings it wont start on gas no mater what i do.
To get her to start I have to go to petrol, let her warm up and then go back to gas.
Other mornings it fires first thing.

Is its idle too rich or too lean?
Is it posible the electric dizzy is giving greaf?
Is my spark plug gap to big (about .040)?

thanks in advance.
choco
 
G
#3 ·
XTREME said:
have you checked the gap compared to the specs in the manual?
Nah couldn't find anything about recommended gap so went by some previous advise.
Started at .03 and moved up to .04. Everything seemed to check out ok so I left it at the .04 as i got lazy and didn't want to keep fishing.

The dizzy is a ACCEL, no vacuum advance, i think the 41000 series.

choco
 
#4 ·
A friend of mine recently put a 351 cleveland into an XF ute. He is running it purley on gas and had the same problems as you. Initially, the engine was not getting enough gas so he took it to a dyno and it helped slightly but it still had the same problem but to a lesser extent.

He knew he had to go for a twin throttle body (single was not supplying enough gas) but before he could afford to do this he got an MSD going cheap. Guess what - no more problems!! Car starts every time and now he has the twin throttle body on it goes extremely well.

What he was saying that with the standard ignition you get one shot, and as gas does not have an as quick moving flame front, you do not get full combustion on start up. However, with the MSD you get a lot of sparks (8 I think, will stand corrected) and the problem is now solved!!

ps remember to use a slightly hotter plug.
 
#5 ·
Do you have any gas leaks around the gas convertor or gas lock off valves???

Gas motors should start pretty easy if the convertor is full of gas, next time you have time, turn the ignition on, and wait about 20 seconds and then try to start it, this will give the convertor a chance to fill with gas if it is empty.

Also, if it doesnt start then, get a bucket of hot water out of your tap and tip the hot water over the gas convertor.

Let me know how you go.

Jim

p/s My clevo has a 425 straight gas carby and starts good in any weather.
 
G
#6 ·
Hot water

EXECJIM said:
Do you have any gas leaks around the gas convertor or gas lock off valves???

Gas motors should start pretty easy if the convertor is full of gas, next time you have time, turn the ignition on, and wait about 20 seconds and then try to start it, this will give the convertor a chance to fill with gas if it is empty.

Also, if it doesnt start then, get a bucket of hot water out of your tap and tip the hot water over the gas convertor.
Will give it a try this weekend if the weather comes good.
You have me thinking about leaks, could explain some other problems.
Will let you know what i find.
Thanks

Choco
 
G
#7 ·
paull said:
ps remember to use a slightly hotter plug.
Thanks will try a slightly hotter spark am due for new sparks soon anyway.

I was hoping that the accel would provide enough spark. Although i haven't upgraded too a good box yet.
Probably will go for a Crane Hi-6.

Cheers
Lachlan
 
#8 ·
I've run a few six cyl xe falcons on gas and had some
nightmare starting problems at times. When it did eventually start you'd have to not use any throttle at all,
otherwise it would stall - just let it chugg away for a few minutes untill it 'warmed up'. Turns out the converter was full of residue.
Once cleaned out started like a dream. Present xe has
starting problems and this time have been advised to replace the converter (fairly ancient model)

Wazza
 
G
#9 ·
OK didn't get much chance this weekend but i tried waiting for 20 seconds and it seemed to of worked. I am guessing then that i have a leak between the tank and the engine somewhere.

I will also clean the condensor anyway and see if that helps also.

Cheers
choco
 
#10 ·
Choco said:
OK didn't get much chance this weekend but i tried waiting for 20 seconds and it seemed to of worked. I am guessing then that i have a leak between the tank and the engine somewhere.

I will also clean the condensor anyway and see if that helps also.

Cheers
choco
OK, now to test for leaks, start the motor on gas, and spray around all the gas pipe fittings and joiners with something like "windex" or another type of "dish washing detergent" that will bubble when the gas try's to escape.

Hope this helps??

Jim
 
#11 ·
I have a clevo in my xf ute, it has a 425 setup on it so it has to start on gas!
I ran a solenoid to the high pressure side of the convertor, with a 8mm hose running from it to the mixer (can also use a baseplate vacuum outlet) and wired it up to my solenoid signal wire, so when I crank it is shooting a bit of high pressure LPG straight into the intake, starts first revolution of the engine every single time I hit the key..
You may have to put a restrictor in the 8mm hose as it could flood up. Hope this helps..
Tim
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top