I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Preparation steps to be taken prior to starting the engine after about 18 months.
I’ve picked up engine flush and new oil and filters, the battery is in tip top condition with a maintenance charger, but the old girl has been standing for some time.
I’ve seen comments round and about on getting the engine to crank a few times without letting it start to help give it an easier start.
Am I alright just to crack on and crank it over, or am I better pulling a fuse or two so it turns without firing?
Anyone able to give me some pointers on what I should consider?
Easy to over think it.
Drop the Flush…
New oil & filter
Assuming (?) plugs, coolant, brakes (!!) & PSIs etc. are OK?
Start & drive off immediately…to the fuel station.
Fill up with some 98 RON.
Keep it below 3/3.5k rpm till fully warmed and brakes have had a decent dab or 3.
Then, give it the Italian Tune-Up of it’s life for around 20 miles if possible.
Same car as you really…had I been talking V12 Fezza Daytona…but all we have is old school basic stuff. Thankfully…
Err…if it’s only the first start in 18 months the only road trip would have to be to a pre-booked MOT test?
But new fuel would be a good idea as unleaded goes off a bit. All fluids could do with changing especially things like brake fluid which may not have been very fresh before the car was laid up.
Personally I would just change the oil normally twice rather than use flushing oil.
If you’re thinking to turn it over without firing you could take the plugs out, then the engine can turn over, move some oil through the oil ways and into bearings whilst nothing is under load.
Yeah, it’s currently SORN and I want to get it back to running condition in anticipation of a future MOT.
In terms of the suggestion to remove the sparkplugs, could I just unplug the wiring to that rail, or are there bits of the ECU which gets unhappy if I do that?
If you’re going to pull the plugs, then leave them connected to the leads and laid on the head.
It’s more important really to stop the injectors firing as they’ll just be filling cylinders up with fuel whilst you’re cranking. Unplugging them is probably the easiest way.
I now know from previous discussions and threads and humble pie that on the NC you don’t have to remove/disconnect any leads or plugs.
You just put the accelerator to the floor and crank it over and it does not fire up.
Any NB owners know whether its the same?
TBH I don’t know that one.
Never the less, when I fired my 93 Mk1 up after 2 years of zero use to take it for resto on the back of a low loader I put a fresh battery in it…it had a full tank of 98 RON btw,and it fired up after 3/4 turns!
It’s run perfectly since…after a full service.
Thanks for the reply.
It cropped up a while ago when someone asked the same question.
I tried it and the information was spot on and correct. I believe the ECU treats it “like a flooded” engine and prevents fuel being injected and sparking.
Yep, just taxed mine and took it out after 4 months and just fired it up! (forgot about just cranking it).
you don’t have to disconnect anything to get it to crank without starting. Simply floor the throttle while you turn the key. No fuel will be introduced so the engine can get some oil around it before it starts. Give it 5 or so seconds on the starter with your foot planted. Release the key and then start it normally. This is usually used to clear a flooded engine.
Mine did the same after a long spell going steadily green on my drive. It just fired up once fuel had made it down the lines and settled down after five mins.
The bodywork issues on mine have been epic but the engine and drive train is ( famous last words) indestructible
If you do that, you should run it for a good 15-20 minutes to get the engine good and warm or even hot.
Failing to get it properly warm will not only fail to get rid of condensation in the engine, it will add to it.
Put the heater and blower on full at the same time and even switch on the air con in order to dry out the cabin.
Imho, of course…
Final results: I took the combined advice from this thread, floored the throttle for a few seconds so it cranked without firing, then released the throttle and it started fine–but didn’t run well.
I sat in it for a few minutes holding some throttle so the revs didn’t bog down and it die. I figured it wasn’t terrible, given that it hadn’t run for a long time, but I was a bit disappointed. Nonetheless, as it wasn’t terrible, I ran it up to temperature.
I plugged in my OBD2 reader to see what details it could give me and found two codes:
P0102 - MAF sensor, circuit low
P0113 - IAT sensor, high input
Well, that explained the lumpy running and I set to thinking what might have caused that and realised that I’m a bit of a dunce…
When replacing the air filter, I hadn’t been sure how much I’d need to take things apart, so had unplugged two inline clips on top of the airbox: the MAF and the IAT.
After plugging those in and clearing the codes, it ran like a dream and lo! The codes didn’t return! Who would have thought?
In conclusion, then, having checked first that you’ve put everything back together properly, just turn the key.
