Hey everybody

Well firstly i'll say thankyou for all the advice you've given me, i would of replied sooner, buts its been my birthday - so i've been away from my laptop for a couple of days and not been keeping up to date on this.

I guess reading everything ( the majority of it I fail to understand - but thats due to my inadequacies in understanding cars) theres just many ways to skin a cat, or however the saying goes - so lets not try and argue to much, each method maybe right in different circumstances, and i'm sure in different situations all are as valid as each others.

My dad pulled a favour with an old school friend who teaches mechanic at the local college, and actually owned an Ami when he was younger - so fingers crossed this guy will hopefully help me out. However, we've not heard form in a couple of days now so its not looking overly likely..... but fingers crossed.

Matt S, thanks for the offer of help - but the 28th was actually my birthday and I was in Cardiff. If this guy doesn't get back to me, does the offer of help remain? If i can get Joe on board to, we'll both be an extra pair of hands - ( Although Mine would probably be put to best use making the tea!). I only live in bedford so not too far away and i'll work around whenever your free etc...

The car starts when its gets jumped, even though the battery is okey, and i know its been fully charged. ( I dont know if that fact is any help) - As the for the state of the engine, the lady i bought it off got it servied regurlarly - or so she says - and im inclined to believe her, but as joe has mentioned i can't really be sure to what state my engine was in when it left Mr Laverty. (NB: I'm not blaming him, I shouldn't of been so niave, and should of done my homework regarding my car and what was best for it).

Also it worked every single day and started the majority of the time first time until it did a long drive, could the long drive be the cause of my problems now?

Anyways.. I just want to say thanks again for all the advice, in between doing the hideous essays/exam prep the uni decided to give us over christmas, I've been flicking through the 2cvgb handbook thingy giving it a read on points and timing as that seems to be what many of you are saying... but i have to be honest the whole thing seems abit confusing for me.

In conversations about mylo - people have mentioned electronic ignition... would this help my car start? Or am I getting the wrong end of the stick :/ !

Any advice again would be appreciated, as dad is already looking into buying me a corsa or somethinig equally as mundane

P.s Also just read somewhere about the oil. I'm pretty sure mylo had his oil changed at the beginning of september, and im 99% we used 10/40 oil then. Payday tomorrow means i'll invest in some new ht leads... but would another oill change be of benefit? - Sorry for all the questions

Katie
x

Don't do that!

I wouldn't even consider electronic ignition at this stage. Once you've got the car running well, it's not a bad idea if you want to make maintenance a bit simpler, but it won't magically solve anything.

If you've changed the oil for 10/40 fairly recently, I wouldn't worry about it for now.

I suspect your battery isn't as good as you think, if it needs to be jump-started. Have you got access to a known good one just to test it? Maybe next time Joe comes down to give you a hand you could try swapping briefly? (Don't flatten both of them though! )

Until you can get the fan off, might be worth trying to sort some other stuff out? Did you check the operation of the choke, as Ken suggested? If you remove the bit of rubber hose between the carburettor and the air filter, and put the choke "on" (you should be able to move the cable from the carb end), you should be able to see the flap which moves to block one of the barrels of the carb. When the choke is 'on', the flap should be completely blocking the barrel, and when it's 'off' it should be rotated so that it's as "out of the way" as possible. If the spring Ken mentioned is working as it should, then when the choke is 'on' you should be able to gently pull the flap open, but it should then spring back to block the barrel. Hopefully that makes a bit of sense!

I'd think it would be worth checking your valve clearances as well at this stage, as it's something else that can be done before you get the fan off!

As far as getting the fan off goes, it sounds to me like the best bet out of what you've got to work with, is the jack handle which fits inside the dog. Like Sean said, keep a steady pressure on the end of the bar and hit it with a hammer closer to the fan. Don't be too gentle!

Good luck with it, he just wants some love!

Aha - sounds very like an electrical issue with this description - wouldnt worry too much about the valve clearances and indeed I wouldnt mess with the carb either - most 2CV's can be started without the need of any choke anyway - a bit of application of the accelerator pedal prior to cranking usually does the trick.
If it starts OK with a jump, I would check out the battery first - what is the level of the electrolyte like? even so called sealed batteries can be opened to see the level in the cells - you just prise the top off and add distilled water if low. If it is an old battery I would probably change it as it wont go on for ever anyway.
Changing the HT leads will also help as they often discharge the spark to the wings as they route from the coil to to the spark plugs - you could try and hold them away from the wings with cable ties to check this out but dont hold them when running as it will give you a nasty shock if they are buggered.
If the battery isnt charging properly then check the alternator brushes - these again dont last forever and are quick and easy to replace - you could also check the voltage regulator - do the lights dim and flicker according to revs? - again these do not go on forever and can be replaced relatively easily and cheaply.SSD

Hello guys... Im currently sat next to Katie no wait... she's just said herself "an embarresed Katie" basically, i came round, had a look over her car, just the generals, coil connections, leads etc, then had a look at this problem prone battery... which had extremely loose connections, which i guess is from the taking it on and off, charging it etc, tightened these, up, half choke, turned the key..... fired and running! i dont think she has a problem with her points, the engine runs/feels fine, started ok too considering its been sat for the past couple of weeks! im hoping that starting problem phone calls are over for a while! but someones daddy needs to be told how to tighten up battery terminals!

SSD

Brilliant! Get that fan off and give the whole thing a proper service anyway though!

Hey guys

Have to say i'm rather embarassed... after all of this - it was loose battery connections... can't believe I overlooked something so simple... What a wally! But thanks for all the suggestions - if it ever happens again I'll know where to look...

Its had new spark plugs and air filter, and not too long ago it got a new alternator belt and oil change... And i still intend to get my points looked at soon - so hopefully it'll just run abit better

Im just chuffed it start's now

KTx

Good luck, perhaps Joe and yourself can get off down to Hayling Island, tomorrow, for the New Year's Day beach barbecue

if i'd read this yesterday... i may have not got totally wrecked and stayed up till 5am this morning! but thats what new year is all about

Mylo is still starting! i couldnt believe it (neither could Katie) when i tightened up the battery terminals and he started first time! and after a brief check... i recon the body on her car albeit needing a good polish, is much better than mine