'87 BIS not starting

[Da Londo]

Hi there,

I've got a 126 BIS around with following problem, the engine will not start when the ignition key is used, the engine will turn over properly but engine start will not follow, upon push starting the car it will start easily but then you have to wait a minute or so without touching the throttle or it will choke, once the car has started and warmed for a minute the car runs as intended, then when it is started again with key there will be no problem, it starts as it should, but leave the car standing for approx 3 hours then the whole thing starts over. I am thinking it is an electrical issue but I cannot pinpoint the problem.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

[thepuddlejumper]

I had a similar problem with an old ford it turned out to be the battery not holding enough charge, it also would start OK after a run biut if left I had to push it again, a new battery sorted my problem out.  Check the battery out to see if it is keeping a good charge. One of my dads friends said it was a greedy starter??

[Da Londo]

I had a similar problem with an old ford it turned out to be the battery not holding enough charge, it also would start OK after a run biut if left I had to push it again, a new battery sorted my problem out.  Check the battery out to see if it is keeping a good charge. One of my dads friends said it was a greedy starter??

I was thinking of that as a possibility but did go no further with it as the car has a battery just a few months old, but after your post we went to check the voltage and this was at 11.5V. After running the car a bit it is at 12.2V, we got rid of the radio in the car so that it wont consume overnight and we will test this further. Tnx

[Rusty's Uncle]

Check the tension on your fan belt also 

[K666STW]

Check the earth strap too. Mines was goosed and I had starting issues. Also welded my clutch cable to the sleeve lol.

[landyman]

some radios develope some thing called parasitic drain had this on my last discovery with a sony head unit if you disconect the radio the car would start but you lost radio memory each time but if left connected would drain battery below starting voltage, sometimes overnight.try testing drain when everything off.

[Da Londo]

So, the problem is fixed for over a few weeks now so I tought I'd better report the findings.

The radio did in fact drain the battery quite a bit but there was also a second problem, the condensor on the ignition sat a bit loose and the ignition itself too, fastened everything and problems are gone.