It was running so smoothly...

[mb4tim]

Truly a "ran when parked". Me and the boy went for a ride a couple weeks back, in fact 4 rides, we parked it and that was it. No more running

I have spark, the injectors or tickin, so I'm guessing that stagnant old gas tank needs pulled, flushed, cleaned, and sealed. We must have bounced it around pretty good to loosen up 10-12 years of storage gunk in the tank. I'll pull the fuel filter soon to see what it looks like. I did replace that.

How bad of a job is pulling the fuel tank?

-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[John Clancy]

Assuming you don't have fuel injection (and if you do ignore this post completly) bypass the fuel tank by running a jerry can into the fuel pump using a length of petrol pipe. If the car runs then you know for sure it's the tank.

<center><b>[url="http://www.triumphtr7.com/documents/sales/codenamebullet.asp"]Buy the story of the Triumph TR7/8 on DVD here[/url]</b></center>

[mb4tim]

lucky for me, I have fuel injection...

-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[ggreen]

A bit more information would be good.

Can not imagine it has anything to do with the tank ? Injectors clicking dont realy mean a lot. A good way of checking to see if you have fuel is switch the ignition on and then slightly open the flap on the airflow meter with a pencil/screw driver. As no fuel is being consumed it will all be returned to the tank from the pressure regulator on the fuel rail. This can be felt or visually seen by the deflection on the rubber hose from the pressure regulator to the return hose on the bulk head.

If you have fuel check the contection on the cold start injector and also the coolant temperature sensor. The coolant temp sensor is important because it creats an earth return path for the ecu and will kill a tr7 PI dead if disconnected when it is running. It also informs the ecu to lengthen the main injector time when cold and controls the heater element in the Aux air device during warm up.

[FI Spyder]

Also check to make sure the aux air valve hoses haven't come off. It won't syart if one has. The front of the aux air valve is tapered and the hose tends to slip off. I put some file marks on mine to give the rubber hose something to grip.

[mb4tim]

cool - I'll check the air valve hose. I have it clamped on - what a terrible design!

I'm concerned that the car sat for at least a decade and lots of crud has broken down from the short trips I was taking and clogged.

I was being too lazy to pull the airbox covers off to open the flap to feel for fuel.

The cold start injector is fine - it's brand new, and worked like a champ when I put it on. Rolled over 2-3 times then started.

I'm gonna check that temp sensor. That sounds fishy to me. Why would it drive fine when I pulled it into the garage, then go on strike after that? Is it the big one by the thermostat cover?

Which is it in this picture - under or next to the disconnected temperature sensor? (jclay - nice wide field of focus on this close up, no?)


-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Si! Well done!



Have fun, drive fast & safe, be kewl,

jclay

[mb4tim]

well, I opened up the air box, pushed the screw driver in to open the air flap, went around and flipped the key, no noise.

Off and on with the key a couple times, I did hear the relays click, but no fuel pump, then it kicked on, and fired up.

Made sure all the FI connections were tight, went in and had dinner. Went back out, fired it up, and it ran smooth as glass.

Run it up to the park and back. Ran it 10-15 minutes. Pull back in the drive way, shut it off, and tried to start it again...would barely crank over-ended up pushing it back into the garage. The battery is relatively new. I put the charger on it. I just went out and she fired right up.

So, the alternator is an issue. I also think the starter might have issues too. However, I think if I get under there and check out the wires, I'll find some funky stuff going on.

So, was my air flap stuck? Was the fuel pump stuck? Who knows. It runs now. but, that's not what I'd consider reliable.

I think I'll try to check that flap in the air box for corrosion to make sure it really moves freely, and check out the wires at the starter. Maybe some of the strands are shot at the starter

I mean, I melted the positive cable end at the battery form cranking it so hard to start it before I put in the new cold start injector.

strange...strange...strange. But, thanks for all the ideas. I checked them all!


-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[FI Spyder]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by mb4tim</i>

I also think the starter might have issues too. However, I think if I get under there and check out the wires, I'll find some funky stuff going on.

I think I'll try to check that flap in the air box for corrosion to make sure it really moves freely, and check out the wires at the starter. Maybe some of the strands are shot at the starter

I mean, I melted the positive cable end at the battery form cranking it so hard to start it before I put in the new cold start injector.



-Tim

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Check those wires at the starter solenoid. Because of the hard work the starter was put through when initially trying to start it you may have done some damage to starter like burning brushes/brush wires/commutator or melted insulation on stator so it partially is shorted out and not turning with full force. I would pull it out and check/clean those things. (maybe a good time to go to high torque starter if you're so inclined.)

Batteries are funny things. They can appear to but fine one minute and not work the next. I have a relatively unused battery that shows 13.6 volts but one cell has almost specific gravity of water while the rest are good. In other words put a volt meter acrossed it and it looks good but don't try to put any load acrossed it.

[ggreen]

I agree with FI Spyder. I would sort out the starter motor motor/charging issue before you play around with the fuel injection anymore.

To answer you questions :- the coolant temp sensor is the bottom left in the picture. Top left is temperature gauge sender and top right is thermo time switch. It is not just a case of checking to see if the are connected it is more of a case of :-pins not backed out /good connection of pins to sensors and no corrosion in pins. I created myself a little tester for these connectors using a TR7 insrument bulb holder and bulb. Soldered a cut down paper clip on each side and hey presto you have a tester. You can buy the real thing off e bay for $16 I think.

I cannot imagine the airflow meter flap is stuck as it is closed by a spring and opened by engine vacuum. The test was to varify that the electrical pump curcuit worked off cranking( ie engine running )

Breifly the way it work is that the pump gets a feed through the start motor curcuit(sounds familiar) during cranking. when the engine fires the starter motor feed is disengaged and the connection through the aiflow meter recognizing air movement and keeps the pump running. This is all controled by the combination replay.

[mb4tim]

well, it's either the charging system or the battery. I'm going to try my truck battery today, and see what happens.

The connections to all the sensors are good, and the pins aren't backed out. I have one of those test noids, too. I found that one of my injector plugs had a terminal that liked to back out.



-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com

[mb4tim]

It was the alternator. Had it tested and it failed. There's an alternator repair shop I'm gonna call tomorrow. If they want more than $50, I'll go the Saturn route and have them swap the pulley for me.

I have an exhaust coming, a fresh air plenum. Look like I better get to replacing that back window. Maybe I can get this thing on the road by Christmas!

-Tim
http://www.morSpeedPerformance.com