I started my 74 CSi about 3 weeks ago, after a month or so of storage. The car started right up and I left it idling for about 10 minutes. When I came back to the car it had shut off, but it immediately restarted. I shut the car off and when I came back to it about 2 hours later it would not start. Since then I drained the gas, and installed new spark plugs (old ones pretty fouled). Car turns over and runs rough for a couple seconds and then dies. If I leave it sit a couple minutes will run a few seconds and the dies. Any suggestions where to start? I have disconnected the fuel line beyond the filter and there is gas flowing. Appreciate any other suggestions.
Suddenly Can't Get My '74 3.0 CSi to Start
- Thread starter ejad619
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Plug is securely connected and no signs of fouling on trigger points. I read somewhere online the other day the TS2 sensor going bad on Bosch K Tronic fuel injection would cause similar symptoms. Anyone know where this TS2 is located and how do I test it?
MMercury
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Intuitively, you may be on the right track for a car that's been sitting (bad gas or something gummed up) but a month in storage is common and should not be a problem. A month in storage in a wet garage or near salt water, is something entirely different. The condition and age of your car probably has as much to do with the car's problems as much as jellied petrol or a dead battery from sitting only a month. But you know that.
Strange things can happen to any car. There are plenty of new cars in the service bays. It doesn't take that much time for a tiny spider to spin a web between a set of ignition points. Same with insects and relays (that are supposed to be sealed from the elements). Some of these relays might control something as vital as an electric fuel pump. And a pressure sending unit dependent on mechanical bellows holding a vacuum don't last forever; they can develop a leak or hang up due to wear - without any warning. ALL of this is pure speculation.
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Moving to your second post, the answers to most of your inquiries are really at your finger tips. Since you mention cs"i", I am presupposing you are referring to DJetronic. A primer on this system can be found here: http://www.cscoupe.org/tech/dljet/dljet.html
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If you are referring to "K"jetronic, it is a different animal that is not ordinarily is found on an E9 platform. (Sure there are similarities, but some argue there are similarities between a 1970 Buick GS455 and a 1970 Opel GT too, since both are equipped with 4 wheels and a steering wheel.) If your "K" is a typo, and you really mean "D" there are two sensors that are somewhat hidden around the auxiliary air valve. (Look forward from the starter and below the intake manifolding.) I suppose that if the most forward sensor (TS2?) is nonfunctioning or unconnected, the system defaults and curtails triggering any lengthy discharge from the cold start valve (top of intake manifold) left side. Testing it is with an ohmmeter as described elsewhere. Yet, as I understand its function, this merely makes starting difficult and will not prevent the engine from eventually catching fire on all cylinders (unless you live north or the arctic circle or have emperor penguins as your nearest neighbors.)
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If you have not already solved your problem, go back to the basics. Were/are the spark plugs covered with gas or are they dry? Are you getting a spark from the coil? Spark to the plugs? Loose wires to the coil, condenser, points, or anything involving the ignition system could produce erratic operation. I will not touch the subject of a funky starter switch and associated wiring.
Then there is fuel delivery.
If your engine relies upon injection, the fuel needs to be pressurized in order for the system to function. Do you know for a fact that the fuel pump is working? If so, does it produce 30 lbs./in2 pressure of fuel? You mentioned that gas is flowing from the fuel line aft of the filter, but it has to be under the correct pressure to have the engine fire consistently. Not just any pressure or residual pressure from a pump that works "most" of the time. It is equally possible that a loose wire is the culprit. Still, are you looking for a wire servicing the ignition or fuel delivery?
Find the Coolant overflow tank. Nearby (almost between the overflow tank and down toward the starter and the power brake booster) you may notice the baseball sized "pressure sending unit" tethered by a vacuum hose to the intake manifold. That device is attached to a plate that also has two relays on it. Try gently connecting and reconnecting the electrical connection there. Next, try gently pulling and reconnecting the connections that plug in from below each relay to hopefully break through any unnoticed corrosion that may deter the flow of electrons. You may find, as I have, that the connections look to be solid but may not be.
There are other relays that control the fuel pump and other functions that are worth checking, especially on an older car. I used the relays near the coolant overflow as but one easily overlooked example.
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Look more carefully through this forum for discussions on similar topics. Your problem may be as simple as a loose wire OR a pressure sending unit or an ECU or the wires connecting them - showing its/their respective age. For starters: http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2879&page=2 and http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4781 and http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3445
Good luck.