Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

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VillanOfAston
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Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:57 pm
MGF Register Region: Midlands

Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

Post by VillanOfAston » Sun Jul 23, 2017 8:33 pm

Hi all Darrell here,

Well where to start!

After losing faith in new &nearly new cars, losing thousands of pounds on these vehicles I decided that maybe I should think about buying something that will not haemorrhage money any more. I don't need to buy the latest Audi or BMW - it really doesn't bother me if I am not seen in the latest motor.

I then started to reminisce about some of the cars I owned over the years - Escort RS Turbo MK4, Astra GTE convertible, XR2i, Cavalier SRI 130, XR3i convertible and the list goes on........

I know that these were the old typical 'Boy Racer' cars. But these cars were easy to maintain, good old Distributor cap, points, leads and plugs were the ignition system. The fuel system was just as easy. As was the rest of the car. They didn't go into 'Limp Mode' just because the car computer diagnosed and issue with the airflow meter!

I started to look at obtaining one of these old vehicles which I previously owned and to my horror - They were fetching between £5K -£10K in decent condition!

Anyway to cut a long story short I always wanted an MGF, so when my Megane Convertible died due to the slave cylinder inside the gearbox collapsed leaving me a bill of £600 just for a clutch repair, I finally decided to go classic.

I impulse purchased a 1996 MGF, which to it's credit had all of the refurb work done in the last year- Head Gasket, pipes, brakes, tyres etc. It was OK for the money - £700 including the hardtop which was available for an extra £150. So the car cost £550!

Engine ran fine but the bodywork had been played with - really bad respray on one wing. Very little rust, however it drove like a tank every little pepple on the road caused the car to shake. OK, I thought maybe this is what they are supposed to feel like. So I continued to look into restoring this little gem and started to look for all of the nice bits to improve it - Found a doner car in Leeds with the leather seats, mint roof and all bits nice!

Collected the doner from leeds and brought it home to Brum for the embarresing sum of £120 as a non starter! - On inspection when I got it back, it was much better in every single aspect than the car it was going to donate its parts to! The bodywork was mint, the wheels were perfect (Reconditioned), the interior was plush, etc......

The only issue was that it would not start. The engine had only covered 66,000 from new and upon researching this vehicle I found that it had been entered into many competitions in the past.

After finding this out I decided that there was no way I was in no way going to strip this car for as a doner for my other MGF, it had ABS, Power steering which mine did not, and was in fact far superior that the purchase I made 2 weeks earlier. The previous owner was obviously not a mechanic and could not be bothered into spending any more money on it.

So what was wrong? It would not start - so the diagnosis began:

Initial thoughts:
Of course the head gasket must be gone - eventually discovered that the head gasket was perfect
Ignition was not sparking - All parts checked and spark is getting to plugs in correct timing
Fuel, there must be an issue here - indeed we found this was the issue. However this was discovered by accident!

Actual reason for me posting:
Open the car with central locking fob, insert key and turn to ignite - there is no noise coming from the fuel tank.
Changed fuel pump & sender unit and it primed when doing the above.

Now what is happening is that you open the vehicle with the remote and try to start, sometimes the fuel pump primes. Try turning the car over, but will not start. Give the fuel cut off switch a knock, make it cut out, reset it and try to start again - eventually it will start!

My question is - What needs replacing for my car to start every time?
Is it the fuel relay?
Is there an issue with the immobilisor?
Is there an issue with the ECU?

Sorry for the Ronnie Corbet way of telling my tale by the way! Any help appreciated

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Tipper
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MGF Register Region: Devon & Cornwall
Model of Car: RV8 + ZS180
Location: Exeter, Devon, UK

Re: Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

Post by Tipper » Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:53 am

Give the switch pack at the back of the ignition/steering lock a waggle and see if it is a bad connection or failed switch pack. These wear out over time and are often missed as a non-starting issue.

VillanOfAston
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:57 pm
MGF Register Region: Midlands

Re: Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

Post by VillanOfAston » Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:44 pm

Sorry for the long delay in my response.

Well, sent the car for a MOT, on the day car would not start, so garage collected it from home for me.

Told them I thought the Dizzy cap and points might be suspect - they agreed! They replaced both and guess what - the car started and ran like a dream!

£120 for the car, £60 to bring it home, £45 for the mot and finally £35 for the Dizzy and points, supplied and fitted.

£260 for a show quality MGF'S.

RESULT!+

Fourbears
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Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:50 pm
MGF Register Region: East Anglia

Re: Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

Post by Fourbears » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:18 pm

I had a similar thing with my TF. I needed a front bumper which go for about £250. Found a spares/repairs TF with a good front bumper which I bought for £320. It was in far better nick than my other one and only needed an alternator and fob battery. Went straight through the MOT so I kept it and sold the other one. So £320 for the car, £30 for an alternator, £1.50 for the fob battery and £55 for the MOT so just over £400 for a fully working car. Bargain! Thing is the previous owner had already taken off the old alternator so they were halfway there! I'm not complaining though!

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talkingcars
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Model of Car: mk1 VVC
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Re: Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

Post by talkingcars » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:34 am

VillanOfAston wrote:Hi all Darrell here,

Well where to start!
Hi and welcome to the forum.

James
Home to black Alfa 159 3.2 V6 Q4, blue MGZR160, green MGF VVC and grey MGF 1.8i, and red MG Maestro T16.

MGF chatting on the Register and at http://www.the-t-bar.com

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RobboMC
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Model of Car: 1999 Mpi

Re: Starting issues - fuel delivery\immobilisor Issues?

Post by RobboMC » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:11 am

Going back to the original starting issue; you have discovered something many of us have come across.

These fantastic little cars need a very good dissie cap and rotor to run properly.
When I did my rebuilt engine install I looked at the dissie cap and thought, " new rings, new bearings, need a new dissie cap"
so I took that issue out completely.

As well as this, there are lots of Chinese low quality parts in the system. The general advice is to go Genuine for these parts.
If you have fitted a Chinese cap and rotor, don't despair. If it starts running rough in 9 months time will know what to replace;
and it's easily accessible. ( prob the only accessible service item in and MGF. LOL!)

Enjoy the pleasure of driving it.

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