Starts, but finicky about it......need advice

[JC]

Just swapped in a 200 and it has some start up issues. If I hold the gas pedal down, it cranks but will not start. If I crank with no pedal, it will not start. Sometimes, it acts like it's going to start, but it actually spins backwards and shoots a puff of smoke up through the carb.

HOWEVER, I've found that if I crank and give the pedal a slight pump as I let off the starter, it will start up. It's a bit tricky, but I've been able to get it to start consistently by doing this. Once started, it runs great.

Could this be a timing issue?

 

[JackFish]

If it will start with just a couple of pumps on the accelerator I wouldn't worry about it.
The A/F mix has quite a ways to travel down the ol' log on a cold morning.
In the dead of winter up here I would often pump the gas 6 times before starting and it's never flooded.

 

[66 Fastback]

Proper starting procedure on a carburated car is to pump the acclerator fully to the floor and then let off. Doing this re-sets the choke plate. The old owners manuals had this information.

If you don't reset the choke on a cold engine, the mixture will be lean and it could cause a backfire. You could also have an "over advanced" timing issue if it back fires and spins backwards on start up.
Doug

 

[fordconvert]

What carb? Auto choke or manual? If auto is it exhaust heat? Water? Electric? Sounds like a combo of wrong settings on choke and fast idle or maybe some sort of leak in the bowl. Some models are more prone to leaking problems.

 

[fmartin_gila]

Keep doing what you need to do to get it started. You have run across one of the so called "problems" that modern vehicles have taught the younger generations. The "problem" is that the automakers have made the vehicles think for you(some of these things have been mandated by the gov), so with the modern vehicles, you no longer have to think to drive, just point and heard. Just consider it a theft deterant, the moder car thief won't be able to get it started.
Sorry this kind of turned into sort of a rant.
Fred

 

[woodbutcher]

Sounds like the old joke from the LBJ era.
Two guys talking cars.One turns to the other and says:
Hey,did you hear about the latest from the President on cars?
His buddy says no.What is going on?
The POTUS has declared that ALL standard shift trannys will be banned.
His buddy says WTF?
Yeah his buddy says,the POTUS don`t want ANYBODY"shifting"for themselves.Hehehehehehe.
Leo

 

[ludwig]

Sounds like the old joke from the LBJ era.

He he he.

LBJ and Hubert Humphrey were riding along an arroyo on the Perdenales Ranch. POTUS on an arabian and V-POTUS on a little pony just behind him. The pony breaks wind smartly as the two climb a little ridge.
"Hubert, did ah hear you f*rt?"
"N-n-n-no sir. ... Was I supposed to?"

 

[CoupeBoy]

Possibly bad wiring from the ignition or starter solenoid? You would need a second person to test this. When you are cranking the motor over is there any power going to the coil? Could be that you are flooding it when you hold it down (throttle) and it does not have enough gas when you are not pressing it down but is just right at the moment you release the key, the coil gets power as the ignition goes from 'start' to 'run'.

just a thought,
-ron

 

[ludwig]

Are you getting fire while the starter is turning? Need to check this out. Also timing with a light. If it IS the ignition switch, they are only about $25 dollars and easy to install. Ditto for the starter solenoid if this is an issue.

 

[JC]

Possibly bad wiring from the ignition or starter solenoid? You would need a second person to test this. When you are cranking the motor over is there any power going to the coil? Could be that you are flooding it when you hold it down (throttle) and it does not have enough gas when you are not pressing it down but is just right at the moment you release the key, the coil gets power as the ignition goes from 'start' to 'run'.

just a thought,
-ron

Coupeboy, I don't know the answers to those questions, so that looks like a good place to start. It does seem that if i give it a little pump just as I release the key, then that is when it catches and starts. so maybe I've got something messed up with the wiring and as you say, the coil is getting power when it goes from start to run.

 

[fmartin_gila]

I missed the "as I let off the starter" part, Sorry. Do you have full votlage from the battery? It is possible that while cranking, the voltage is pulled down low enough to not fire.
Fred

 

[woodbutcher]

Had a similiar problem when I converted my 74 F100 to DS2.
Mis wired it.Checked on the wiring that was hooked to the ign switch and found the problem.
Leo

 

[JC]

Got the problem straightened out. Some of the reading on Duraspark setups indicated that there was no need to use the white wire, so I didn't. I decided to try it with the white connected to the starter relay........VIOLA!

Thanks for all the feedback. It's starting and running great now! 8)