We were getting a spark at the plugs and the engine ran, so the coil should be ok. If you've swapped the throttle body we really need to test if the TPS on that body is really working properly. We got a test output from it but maybe its not good. If you've got a multimeter and can get to the back of the wires inside the connector, here are the test details...

Have you changed the spark plugs? When I first got mine, I thought it had the wrong plugs (from the number) bought new quality ones for a 2l Pinto, put them in and had similar problems, put the old ones back in and it was fine after that. If you are low on fuel, could be something floating around in the tank and blocking the outlet, but it sounds like you have filled it. Back in my Triumph car days, I am sure I had similar problems when coils aged and broke down.

On 3/9/2025 at 9:43 AM, Jonty Wild said:

Have you changed the spark plugs? When I first got mine, I thought it had the wrong plugs (from the number) bought new quality ones for a 2l Pinto, put them in and had similar problems, put the old ones back in and it was fine after that. If you are low on fuel, could be something floating around in the tank and blocking the outlet, but it sounds like you have filled it. Back in my Triumph car days, I am sure I had similar problems when coils aged and broke down.

Just tried brand new sparks to no avail sadly.

Can anyone advise if the below image of cams looks correct?

On the left cog, the blue mark is just before one marked “exhaust”. The second cog has a blue mark just before “in”.

I don’t think the blue marks have any significance. The correct cam alignment when the crankshaft has been rotated to 90 deg BTDC is:

left hand inlet cam sprocket should have the In mark pointing to 3 o’clock position

right hand exhaust cam sprocket should have the Exhaust mark pointing to 9 o’clock

ie both marks should be aligned facing the centre.  You can get a locking wedge to hold them in place when working on the engine.

. 

33 minutes ago, AndyW said:

I don’t think the blue marks have any significance. The correct cam alignment when the crankshaft has been rotated to 90 deg BTDC is:

left hand inlet cam sprocket should have the In mark pointing to 3 o’clock position

right hand exhaust cam sprocket should have the Exhaust mark pointing to 9 o’clock

ie both marks should be aligned facing the centre.  You can get a locking wedge to hold them in place when working on the engine.

. 

Thanks. I have confirmed all is in correct alignment

Are you doing this alone or is somebody with you, only asking as a quick spray of Ezistart (other brands are available) when being cranked, if it fires, it's likely to be a fueling issue, if it doesn't it's likely to be an ignition issue, that is assuming it's not a compression issue.

47 minutes ago, phaeton said:

Are you doing this alone or is somebody with you, only asking as a quick spray of Ezistart (other brands are available) when being cranked, if it fires, it's likely to be a fueling issue, if it doesn't it's likely to be an ignition issue, that is assuming it's not a compression issue.

I sprayed some EZ start last night and it fired for a split second then died. That seems to point to fueling?

I could buy a new pump unit. Getting expensive trying various things. 

Well as an update, I have now tried:

- Different battery

- Different coil

- New spark plugs

- New throttle body

and today I tried a

- New Fuel Pump.

 

The new pump does seem far better, it's louder when priming and I can hear more pressure near the engine which I never heard before.

 

However I still can't get it to start. Jumping it off another car it did try and fire once each time I tried to start, so it's close.

 

My only 2 theories left are:

- ECU not working properly in terms of delivering the right amount of fuel/air mixture at the right time

- A blockage somewhere between the pump and injectors which the new more powerful pump is almost getting past but not quite enough.

 

However given we did get it started once with @alanrichey and @AndyW (I have no idea how we managed that!), neither theory seems to make sense!

 

(ChatGPT tells me it could be a Crankshaft sensor, but we checked that!)

Edited March 15, 20251 yr by wazcov

2 hours ago, wazcov said:

However given we did get it started once with @alanrichey and @AndyW (I have no idea how we managed that!)

If you remember, I made sure the plugs were perfectly clean (you could even try putting them in the oven for a bit).  And I had my battery booster plugged into the battery to make sure there was plenty of power.  But I remember even then that the cranking speed was very slow, so maybe we were just lucky it caught.  I know you jumped it with another battery, but what were the jump leads like ?  The cheap and cheerful ones you can get won’t help much, you need some proper industrial ones (or a battery booster 😀).   I still stand by my original diagnosis that it’s not cranking fast enough and not enough power is getting to the plugs.

Leads are new heavy duty ones, had it on a running 2.5ltr diesel pushing 14v through 

Yes in fairness the jump leads were heavy duty so no problem there. But even with another battery connected it doesn’t mean the voltage is getting through, if there are wiring problems. It would be worth putting a voltmeter on the coil and checking that it is getting 12v or more when turning over the starter. If it’s not that would indicate a voltage drop somewhere in the system. 

Have you tried a push start?

I am kicking myself as we should have thought of us when there were 3 of us there.   That would have confirmed if the problem was battery related.  

Just to add to the story, when we ran my analysis program it correctly identified the lambda sensor was not working and the TPS was not working but also showed the MAP sensor (Manifold Air Pressure?) was not working.   At the time we ignored it, as the ECU manual does not list the MAP sensor as one that can generate a fault code and the readout on the one occasion we started the engine showed it was working correctly.  Also the sensor is inside the ECU so it isn't one that can be replaced.  Finally I can see no way why a faulty MAP sensor would prevent the engine from starting.    We have seen another Superspec where the owner forgot to attach the vaccum tube to the ECU and the symptom was just very poor running, it didn't affect the starting.

Very frustating.

Very frustrating indeed. Tried again this morning to no avail.

We see sparks. We see the plugs getting wet. So there's fuel and spark. CKPS was fine on the analysis program.

I'm pretty much at the point of having lost hope of it ever starting and am considering what to do with it as I have to move house soon.

Sorry to sound like a broken record but to me everything still points to a very weak spark.   As Ian said, a pushstart would prove it one way or another. 

I'm afraid Andy and I have run out of ideas.   You will probably have to get your breakdown service to take it to a local garage and let them try.