After a few days or weeks rest I have problem to start the engine. The engine turns but doesn’t start, even if i insist. Then I come back twenty-thirty minutes after, try again and then it starts (not immediately).
Starter and fuel pump work coorectly. I also checked automatic starter and it seems ok.
No problem when the engine is hot and when I restart after a few hours.
Can someone help me ?
Kind of a big question. First thing I would do is try and determine if it’s spark or a fuel issue. To check for spark I use and old fashioned strobe light that I can put in series with any of the spark plugs. Fuel checks can start with float level, take the dash pots off and see where the level is etc. all of this has been covered numerous times and you should find many posts if you use the search facility.
As part of the fuel checks you need to be absolutely sure the choke/starting carburettor solenoid is operating properly.
I, a screwdriver in place of the centre lead, close to a ground. If it jumps .5cm it’s good.
Maybe fuel. If it doesn’t start check a plug. Wet = drowned.
If my car has been idle for a few months I turn the key on and wait till I hear the fuel pump stop clicking then turn the key off and wait for 2-4 minutes and then attempt to start the car. The alcohol additive has a short shelf life so I have a can of starter fluid at hand in case.
Assuming that this approach works for you, and that omitting the 2-4 minute wait doesn’t, do you have any explanation for why the wait is beneficial?
I also don’t see how waiting after the float bowls have filled would do anything. Maybe the battery can recover 0.01V.
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Fouled plugs, maybe. Take them out, take a look. Clean them up or replace them, Try again.
noeljm, Phil.Dobson is correct, either fuel or primary/secondary ignition If you have the individual “pancake” style air filters and an assistant simply dribble a SMALL amount of gasoline in the mesh of one of the filters while you or your assistant presses the starter button. If the engine starts you have a fuel supply issue. I would then take a closer look at the AED (automatic enrichment device). If the AED is not working or misadjusted the engine may stall and or run poorly until it has warmed up sufficiently. Use all necessary safety procedures while conducting this test and have a fire extinguisher on hand.
From the original poster’s description, I would first suspect the automatic starting carburetor is connected to the Otter thermal switch in the normal manner, but is not switching on.
I would connect a jumper wire with alligator clips from the Otter switch to ground.
Clip on the brass nut and any other nut close by it.
See if that makes a difference.
Disconnect the jumper wire after the engine starts.
Many of us have disconnected the Otter switch and rigged up a manual switch under the dashboard to operate the starting carb.
I use a solid state 35C switch adapted to the original Otter switch assembly (100% original in appearance) with an 8mm orifice in the intake pipe, starts instantly, runs @850 rpm, switches off @35C (obviously) where the rpm is @1000 drops down to ~600 and then fully warm idles@ 800rpm. Has not differed in over 10 years of use. No need for a cutoff switch or a hole in the under dash panel.
Hello.
Maybe you can expound on this recommendation. I am interested. I would like to see just what you did. Maybe a sketch or pictures. And if you don’t mind explaining in plain English; that would be great! (I have no idea as to what a 35C is.) And what how, huh is the 8mm used attached etc.
Thanks much.
Tim
Easy. 35°C is about a 6th of the temperature you bake a turkey with and 8mm is about the thickness of a small hamburger patty.
Is the solid state just laying in the housing or should it be connected to it with something thermally conductive? I imagine it should just sit in there freely as the bimetal does? Sounds good, I have one spare otter switch left and the original is going to die soon and unfixably. A new switch in the old housing sounds good to me.
I too would like to see an explanation of the 8 mm. The description about the small hamburger patty does not clarify it for me. Exactly where is the 8 mm orifice. Edit.
I have a similar problem in a couple of cars with the AED in that the solenoid engages (audible click) on the manual switch, but the AED doesn’t flow fuel until the engine starts and I can blip the throttle. At that point the rpms increase and my air/fuel meter shows enrichment. I asked Joe Curto about this, and he told me that the solenoids get weak over time and may not be strong enough to pull the plunger up until getting a little vacuum help from the engine. This could be your problem even if you verify that the solenoid is engaged. You can take the plunger out of the solenoid and reinstall it to see if it solves the problem.
That is a valid question.
Tim,
It’s not “a 35C” but a switch that acts at 35 degree Celsius, a temperature unit nowadays used in the entire world, except the USA. 
By the way: it’s still possible to use the original Otter Switch at its original position. Mine works perfectly and switches off the starting carb within 1 to 2 minutes (depending on the outdoor temperature).
Bob K.
Let me clarify my last post, the 35C should have been 35C or 35 degrees Celsius = to 95F or 95 degrees Fahrenheit. 8mm = 5/16” or .315”. The solid state description was not entirely accurate what I actually used is a snap disc limit switch commonly found on all sorts of appliances to prevent overheating etc. My final selection as it turns out (it was 10 years ago) was a 40C or 104F N/C (normally closed) snap disc limit switch which makes contact when cold (to provide a ground to the solenoid) and up to 40C or 104F at which point it opens the circuit to shut off the solenoid. The Otter switch consists of an aluminum cover and a copper cup which actually sits in the coolant and they are peened together but are separable so you can access the original failed bimetallic strip and solder in your desired snap disc. The 8mm, 5/16” .315” orifice is mildly press fit into the pipe at the bottom of the AED accessible simply by removing the solenoid and plunger. It rests against a shoulder in the pipe so it cannot be drawn into the pipe.The 8mm diameter was selected after larger and smaller sizes did not achieve the desired outcome. Depending on the condition of the engine ie vacuum available smaller than 8mm will not provide enough vacuum to operate the AED. Results may vary depending on the condition and tune of your engine and what type of climate you reside in. I was not the first person to use a snap disc in place of the bimetallic strip on an Otter switch but the high idle induced me to look into a way to reduce the idle speed and in that I have been successful for my car in the climate which I live.
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The program apparently omits the asterisk which I used as a degree symbol despite it being there when I posted it.
I did the same modification, using a 35° C thermoswitch which might be fine under other circumstances, but I had a stop sign exactly one mile from my house. The switch would shut off about 100 yards before the stop sign, and the car would invariably die when I came to a stop, necessitating that I put on the parking brake and restart the car while pressing the accelerator in order for the car to keep running. I found that by using a 60° thermoswitch the hisser stayed on for another 30 seconds. That way it would shut off before the traffic light a half-mile further down the road, but by that time the engine was able to idle on its own. If that stop sign wasn’t there and I was driving the car directly to the traffic light I may never have experienced this problem, since my foot would have been on the gas the whole time.
Wait, just 30 seconds between 35 and 60°?
Thank you both. I‘ll try that when the replacement otter goes south!
@XK140MCOTS , the program makes anything between two asterisks * italic, anything between ~~ strikethrough etc. so it got confused trying to help.