Hey guys/girls

I'm having a few issues starting Mylo, and any help would be appreciated.

It was fairly early this morning when I tried to start him. The first time he turned over and eventually started but died out immediately. I then tried various ways to start him, no choke and foot to the floor, Half choke, full choke. Slowly pressing my foot to the floor, Pumping the accelerator pedal to get him to start ( which is what I normally do - and he normally starts). But it then got to the point where the battery started dying - So I stopped.

Andy/(Gay)Joe gave me some super advice over facebook, - I took my HT leads out and dried them out with a hair-dryer, and put them back in. Mylo then started fine again but cut out as soon as it started. The any further attempts to start him just resulted in him turning over but not actually firing up. I've left him for an hour went back to start him, he started but cut out (again) and then again when I tryed to start for 2nd/3rd time the battery just kept dying as it was turning over 'slower.'

I'm an absolute novice when it comes to cars, and I have to admit that I rarely work on my own car. However a wake up call this year has made me realise I need to. I'm willing to listen to and take on board ANY advice from you experts and get my hands dirty giving it a go.

So guys, Any help would be appreciated SO much!

Thankyouuuuu
KTx

P.s He normally takes awhile to start in the cold, but he gets there eventually and that's normally when I haven't driven him for awhile. But he took me from Cardiff to Bedford - about 4 hours driving yesterday... so it's not even like he hasn't been started in awhile.

Also, he has got petrol in him.... ( Not alot) and he's started on lesss before.

I think his battery is nearly dead now - so I need to get it jumped now. But I'm not overly sure what caused the problem in the first place/what I could do to prevent it from happening again

Thaaanks

winter and 2CV's. it can be fun

Seriously, when this wet, damp, cold sets in 2CV's need a bit o' care.

Its sounding like you flooded it, (when the carb puts too much fuel into the cylinders) and the gap when you dried the HT leads probabbly let it dry enough to fire a bit before flooding again.

If this happens again, change plugs and try again (with a fully cherged battery that is)

this is my idea of a checklist.....

Points, correctly adjusted and gapped.

Timing set correctly.

Most important to my mind is HT leads and coil. New HT leads, every start of winter, they cost so little why not. Coil, is it in good condition? or is it caked in crud and a bit old and manky?

A-series DO start perfectly well in winter, but they suffer from neglect to simple items like any other.

Hope that of some help and doesnt just sound baffling or condecending.

Has it got any petrol in it?

Yea it has My friend jump started it awhile ago and it took awhile but it started eventually. They tested me alternator which was fine, so they think i might need a new starter motor!

Thanks for the help matt! I think i am probably going to buy some new leads and what not!

KTx

The starter motor isn't the most likely culprit, especially if the engine was turning over ok when the battery was fully charged. So don't run out and buy a new one based on your friends opinion, unless they're a mechanic.

Start with the cheap service items, HT leads, spark plugs, clean the outside of the coil, make sure the wires are all on tight, check the points/timing(but you'll need some help with that).

When they're working right 2cvs shouldn't need you to pump the throttle to start, so maybe it's not been quite right for a while, perhaps a check over of the fuel system(carburettor and fuel pump)might be a good idea sometime.

Joolz, whilst Kt was on the phone with me earlier, she was cranking away and nothing... he would fire occasionally and immediately cut out, but when cranking you could hear it getting slower and slower (which i thought was the battery) but then half hour later, when left for abit, he would turn over and attempt to start again... if the battery is drained 1st time round hes not going to start turning over as normal 2nd time round? i thought it may have been her starter on its way out, drawing too much current and slowing as it warms up from the cranking? could be totally wrong as he started on cables, but i doubt after a long drive back the battery would be undercharged... unless katies got a duff regulator! katie... they said your alternator was charging... but did they say what its charging at? although im sure your friend would have known if he was overcharging?

ps- forgot my avatar is me in the lovely troublesome mylo himself!

The battery may not have been undercharged after driving back, but unless it's in top condition it wouldn't take too much cranking to flatten it. They will recover slightly if left for a while (I'm sure somebody cleverer than me can explain why ).

KT, if you've recently taken over looking after the car yourself, and are wanting to learn more about it, it might be worth arming yourself with a Haynes manual, a few parts and tools, and spending the weekend giving it a fairly thorough service? As others have mentioned, it's probably worth concentrating on the ignition side of things first, so new points, condensor, spark plugs, HT leads, etc. After that, I'd think it's probably worth checking and adjusting the valve clearances. When I was a bit greener, my 2CV refused to start one morning, after a fairly long run the night before. It turned out that the valves had got so tight there was barely any compression.

Hopefully those two things should see him running sweetly again, but if you do the rest of the jobs scheduled in a service as well, you'll know where you're up to with Mylo's maintenance, and hopefully a bit more understanding of how it all works!

Oh, and if you've got access to a battery charger, it would be worth charging your battery back up, rather than just jump-starting it. Jump leads are wonderful in an emergency, but they're not incredibly efficient.

not likley to be starter, a garage diagnosed a failure to start to a lazy srarter and a poor battery, it was the oil that was like treacle. once the oil was chanfed for 10w/40 spins like a good un.

new leads, gap the plugs

check or get someone else to check the timing

check or get someone to check both the choke and the mixture as well as the choke pull off device if its fitted

its the fact that it starts and then dies that is confusing, follow the handbook starting guidelines to avoid flooding.

If the engine is cold

* Fully depress the accelerator twice in succession, then release the pedal.
* Pull the choke fully out and release it:it will return automaticallyto the intermediate position.
* Operate the starter untill the engine runs
* Let the engine idle in neutral for a while without racing it.


Note whe the temperature is below -5c (32*f)

* Pull the choke controll fully out and keep it there.
* Switch on the ignition
* Operate the starter untill the engine turns.
* Release the the choke controll: it will automatically retun to th eintermediate position.
* Let the engine idle in neutral for a while without racing it.

For temperatures below 0c starting will be made easier by declutching while the starter motor is operating. When the engine has started, wait a few moments before progressivley releasing the cluch.

Sean

Ummm
in cold weather, such as we've had this week, the symptom of an engine firing but almost immediately cutting out is consistent with the choke not working properly.
Even though the choke cable may be functioning fine, if that tiny spring which operates the strangler flap has broken or fallen off, the choke won't be working correctly.
If the battery is not in the best of health, too many failed attempts at starting may then reduce the available voltage to the point where the HT spark isn't strong enough...

ken.