My Fiat 126 Bis won't start

[jumpinjacks]

I tried starting my Fiat 126 Bis today and it didn't want to know, It was working yesterday. I took the spark plugs out and cleaned them ( which I will say was a bugger of a job to get out on the Bis compared to the air cooled that was on my buggy ) got a friend to turn the engine over and there wasn't any spark, There was also a very strong smell of petrol, Which I thought meant that it is just flooded.
So I thought that it must be the coil, distributor or something. I have got a Work shop manual on cd for it. I found the coil and distributor ( which once again were alot harder to find and completely different set up than the air cooled model )
I was hoping that someone on here might be able to give me some advice on what tests to do to find out what part has failed and then with a bit of luck dajwid would you be able to get the part that has failed for me from a Bis over your way? Obviously I don't want to buy a part that I don't need so any ways to test the parts would be welcome.
Also my choke is out of order due to a little circle plastic bit that connects the little hook to the choke from the throttle cable. ( I think when you pull the choke it pulls the hook that pulls the throttle cable a bit for ease of starting ) If anyone know's what this is called or if dajwid could find me one then let me know.
Any advice would be greatly received.
Many Thanks,
Adam.
Jumpinjacks.

[Chris Lakin]

could be the carb, if its over fueling i had the that problem, it was the float, it had a leak. the fuel was flooding the engine so it wouldnt turn over. Check the float maybe see if it is sinking.

Chris

[Chris Lakin]

to see if its not an electrical problem, take the spark plug out and turn ignition see if the plug is sparking. Be very carefull!!!!

Chris

[maxlee]

as criss said check for a spark, hold the thred of the spark plug to a earth (bolt on the engine or some tine) moke sure to hold the lead with a cloth or some thing as you do get shocked (wont kill you but u will no about it)

take the distributor cap of and make sure in there is clean if you dont have a spark, check there is power to the coil
(can do this by using a light one wire to earth and other wire on the + wire that gose to the coil)

[jumpinjacks]

As posted in my first message. I have already checked for spark and there isn't one. Does anyone know how to check if the dizzy has packed up and also where to find secondhand parts?

[Chris Lakin]

dnt get a second hand part, buy new. or the problem will never be solved, try ricambio.

[jumpinjacks]

Today I checked if there was electric getting to the coil like you suggested MaxLee. I hope I did it right. I pulled off the cap on the top right of the coil and put my positive wire to that, And the light worked. I also tried on the top left one but I suppose thats negative. I know the bottom two are the HT leads.
I took the distributor cap off and it was spotless. I got a friend to try and start the engine to see if I could see a spark in the points but I couldn't see any.
I don't really know what to do now. Do I need a new distributor or a new coil?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Adam.
Jumpinjacks.

[Chris Lakin]

The thing is you know its going to be either one of those, it sounds like it is the coil, but why not replace both, if you have the spare cash.

Chris

[ChrisRLewis]

Not to sure on the bis ignition setup?
if you have two low tension leads on the coil check with a multimeter that you have power on one of them, this is with the ignition on!
The other lead should run to the distributor, which provides power for the points.
This is if its a conventional ignition setup?

[BILL126]

Hi was this problem ever resolved i.e. BIS won't start; was it the coil, the distributor or carb  float ?? as I now seem to have the same issue and symptoms

[Amateb8]

I had the exact symptom. Replace the coil.

[Marcus]

Apologise for restarting an old thread but thought it best than to start one on a similar topic.

Trying to get my Fiat 126 Bis ready for summer (whenever it may be) however having some trouble with getting it started.

I last used it August of last year and it was running fine but it has been in storage since then. Gave it a service, oil and coolant change and now it is failing to start.

There is a spark at the spark plug and i have been using easy start to try and get it turning over but to no sucess.

Ignition coil, condenser and spark plugs have been replaced. Any ideas?

[Guldbergdk]

Could the timing be off?

[ChrisRLewis]

Perhaps the petrol has gone off especially if it was running ok before you laid the car up..

[Marcus]

Managed to get it working by adjusting the timing, thank you Guidbergk.

As it worked last time i thought it should be fine. Must have moved somehow.