I have had this beauty for almost two years now… I fitted electronic ignition hoping this may help the slow start issue… yes this is better when the engine is warm, but still takes several tries from cold,about three…Of course I set the choke full on when cold, … I am wondering if the strombergs may bneed a clean or something… I have tuned them in with a piece of hose… and when warm the engine sounds good… but this cold cranking time seems a bit unacceptable to me… or is this why they are called stranglebergs !!! or am I just too expectant of this olden golden. Best Wishes… Art Dickenson
How do your plugs look? Did you change them after ditching the points?
Mine takes some cranking before it fires. Usually one time (rrr,rrr,rrr), pause, then a second (rrr,rrr,vroom). Seems reasonable to me - I considered it a pre-lube feature.
My TR3 on the other hand fires off immediately, but then I sometimes start it with a hand crank and with that you get, at best, 2 compression strokes to get it started.
I just rebuilt my Strombergs, new diaphragm,and other parts from the kit plus I adjusted the floats. Now it takes 2 or 3 times to start.It doesn’t conk out like it used to at about 5 to 6 tries.Check your choke and your fuel pump. I still have points and condenser so I wouldn’t know about the electronic ignition. Also during the summer in hot weather the car started right up.
Obvious but have you confirmed that your battery ground connection is clean
and free of corrosion, etc ? cable attached to clean metal…
HI , how is it your e mail response has Jerry Mouton listed as the sender ???I met Jerry several years ago and I know he passed away on the oil leak tour… Best Wishes… Art and yes the plugs look fine, set to 25 thou I believe…
yes battery is good, cables are same… turns over pretty quick, the car did sit for many moons before I bought it… so I am wondering about rhe carb jets and any peculiarities they may have ??? Art
Perhaps Jerry is beaming me answers for you. He gave me a great many of them over the years.
Have you ever done a compression test? I think diminished compression can lead to harder cold starts.
I won’t be much helps with carbs as I only know SUs.
I have triple SU’s. She’s a bit hornery after a fortnight in the garage - three longer cranks. Every other start that weekend is instantaneous. Paul
You may have a vacuum leak. I had a similar problem with my triumph re-fitted new intake and carb gaskets with some gasket gump problem solved.
Art,
My S2 with Strombergs will usually start first time even after a few months in a cold garage, though I may have to crank it for close to 10 seconds. Are you sure your choke cable is adjusted to fully activate the choke on both carbs? On mine, to do a true “cold start”, I pull out the choke lever as far as it will go, and then reposition my hand with my thumb under the end of the lever and first two fingers on top of the dash, and push upward with my thumb, with my two fingers pushing down - kind of a scissor action. I get significantly more movement of the lever that way, and I suspect that with my setup, that is what it takes to fully operate the choke. I could probably adjust the linkage to make it easier, but it works, so I’ve never got around to it.
-David
I have to use a clothes pin to hold the choke lever in the absolute maximum position (required in the coldest weather).
Had to read that twice to be sure what you meant.
Turns out that hornery is a word (of sorts):
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My error. But does work - she’s been short of attention for two weeks. Paul
I’ve had my '68 for 22 years and it has always taken a (relatively) long time to start when cold, maybe 10 secounds +/-. Always fires up though. I have been assuming that the long crossover passage of the mixture contributes to the slow start. But I’m intrigued to try and see if I can get more choke as suggested by David and George.
Paul
Might trying playing with the static timing to see if that makes a difference. It an easy thing to try by advancing and retarding the timing. I learned on my first cars that timing can make a big difference on how quickly an engine catches when cold.
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I was beginning to think my '66 was taking too long. After reading this thread I’m having second thoughts. 3 SU’s, I can see the choke mechanism move on all 3. Idle sets at 1/2, secondary moves after that. They appear to be set correctly.
A 2 second shot of starting fluid into the air cleaner kicks things along much faster. (Reminder - never spray into a running engine.)
I don’t remember my '64 (in '74-'80) needing so much crank time.
Does the engine eventually fire when you take your finger off the starter button? I have this problem and suspect it is due to voltage drop while cranking…the electronic ignition doesn’t work below a certain voltage. Just a thought.
Hi Colin,my car has a key, but no this is not apparent… I am thinking it is a fuel issue… perhaps I will try a shot of easy start next time and see if this makes any difference…possibly there is a vacum leak and this is why the engine does not fire right away, esp when sitting for days…Thx for your suggestion as everyone else… the more the merrier… esp at Christmas…
Hi Paul,
thank you, it is somewhat comforting to know I am not alone in this aspect of Jaguar ownership, Merry Christmas. Art,…
My '68 with ZS carbs and Pertronix just about always fires right up using the choke. Only times it has not is when I had vacuum leak, or sticking float needle or a failing ignition rotor. If you check for vacuum leak make sure to also check around the gaskets where the cross over pipe mounts to each manifold. The one at the exhaust manifold was leaking on mine several years ago.
Pretty soon after I bought my car I removed the secondary butterflies. That was so long ago that I do not remember if that also helped with quicker starting but seems like it might since fuel mixture does not have to go thru the crossover pipe to reach the cylinders. Just some thoughts
David
68 E-type FHC