hard to start my haflinger

[fred1141]

Good day everyone,
I have a problem starting my haflinger when the engine is cold. The only way I can start it is if I disconnect the coil wire on the distributor and jump the fire for a minute or two, after that I can reconnect it and it run fine. When the engine is hot, everything is fine.
Coil is new, brand new set of wire, new point, distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs.....very good compression.

Any idea?

Thanks!

[AustHaflinger]

and jump the fire for a minute or two,

First thing - I don't know what the above means - please explain

Ok - putting that aside - I guess you are cranking the engine with out the ignition being connected and when you reconnect the ignition it fires up.

To me this is one of two things - your choke is not enriching the mixture on start and by disconnecting the ignition and cranking you are sucking in fuel for the cold start - not needed when warm.

Second your spark is not strong enough to start when cold (coil, point gap, spark plug gap) - however, as the engine does start after some cranking with out any ignition this scenario is not likely.

So I would be looking at your cold start mixture first.

Garry

[fred1141]

OK, I'll try to explain better...
When cranking the engine, If I disconnect the coil wire from the distributor cap and hold it about half inch from the cap (so I can see the fire jumping between the wire and cap) the engine will start right away! After a minute or two, I can reconnect the wire in the cap and it will continu running. When the engine is hot, I don't need to to that.
The engine will flood if I don't do that when cold.

[heinkeljb]

Replace the spark plugs... Are you sure you have the correct grade in there? Having to make an extra gap in hte HT leads suggests you have either the wrong HT cables or faulty plugs - just because they are ne does not mean they can't be faulty.

Also as Gary has said, take your carb to pieces and clean everything. Also check your fuel pump - disconnect the pipe to the carb, turn the engine over and see it it pumps out fuel.

John

[jhon]

If I'm interpreting your post correctly that must mean that starting from cold is a two person operation - that must be inconvenient!

If it really floods from cold then it might not be your carb cold-start circuit - if the plugs are wet it's likely getting enough fuel; initially I would be inclined to check your ignition timing (points gap, dwell, state of points - check for excessive arcing, etc) - having to introduce a gap suggests that you your timing may be too advanced, the gap having the effect of temporarily retarding the timing - it'll certainly be introducing an unnatural load in your ignition circuit and may cause other problems.

Then the plugs. (As John said, check the heat-range, gap, etc). It's worth noting that if the plugs have fouled (even once) then they are unlikely ever to work properly again - I've found NGK's particularly prone to this issue and my Haf would only start and run properly consistently with Bosch plugs, going one grade hotter. Otherwise they would foul and it wouldn't start no matter how well I cleaned them. The plug would appear to spark when out of the cylinder, however when installed and under pressure the spark would not jump the gap and would track down the side of the ceramic.

Best of luck with it - let us know how you get on. (Oh, and check that your fuel is relatively 'fresh' - if it's very old it can lose some volatility)

[fred1141]

Good day,
Yes it's a two person operation the first time of the day!
I can confirm that it's not a carburator or fuel pump problem.
It may be a plug or HT cable problem even if they are new like someone said. My existing plugs are Bosch, could someone tell me the right Bosch number? and NGK cross reference number? Just to be sure I'll buy the right ones?
I'll start with the plugs and see what happens...
Thanks!

[Bigdougal]

Hi Fred,

When you said that at that point you jumped the fire a couple of times I imagined you were leaping across an open fire in some kind of weird ritual, like a scene from the Whicker Man, in hope that the spirits would start your engine for you. I now see you meant spark.

[Yakov]

Another Canadian haflinger owner, wonderful!

The NGK plugs are B7HS, easy to find at the local auto store. I went through a lot of plugs when I was having my flooding and rich-running issue.

One thing that happened to me, is that it sometimes ran on only one cylinder unless I introduced a gap between the plug wire and the plug on the cylinder that wouldn't go. Then when it warmed up, I could push the wire in all the way and it would be okay. I still don't know why that used to happen.

Concerning your problem, maybe the breaker points gap isn't correct?
Or does anyone know if that could happen if the coil is the wrong type? (Ballast vs non-ballasted)

I second the new plugs suggestion. New plugs do wonders for hard to start engines.

Hope you figure it out!

[jhon]

Hi Fred - the Bosch plugs I use are W7AC (they're one range hotter than the equivalent NGK B7HS and I found them less prone to fouling).

Here's a link to a thread that discusses plugs/problems and timing.

http://www.thehaflinger.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3097

[fred1141]

Here is a picture of my Haflinger! Canvas is dead.....

[jhon]

Wow Fred, I'm seriously impressed! - tell me more about your tracks.

They look similar to Mattracks - are they Haflinger specific, available, cost much, speed restricted, rob power, easily fitted/removed, etc?

Sorry for all the questions, but apart from a very old U-tube video this is the first chance I've had to learn about them. Lots more photos please!

A set of these are on my wish list now for sure!

[fred1141]

Good day,
Those tracks are atv tracks made by Camoplast (now camso), made in Quebec, I bought them used and paid $1000 cdn dollars. The only thing it needs to fit my haflinger is a wheel adaptor, from 4x98 to 4x4.5. I paid around $100US for those adaptor. I bought them from adapitusa.com .
Very easy to install and remove.
One thing you have to modify is the arm to attach to the body so the complete tracks won't turn around the drum....
There is no speed limit... the haflinger is around 6 inch higher with the tracks. Look at www.kijiji.ca and type tatou tracks and you will see used tracks for sale.
I will send pictures later on...
Regards,

[Czechsix]

Those tracks are interesting...but how long have you been using them? Seen any accelerated wear on bearings, gears and what not? How's the turning radius now?

[jhon]

Thanks Fred – I did some research – seems the Tatou 4S is the all-season option to go for; they are not very available in this country (UK) and are damned expensive! I found one retailer who could supply, but at a cost of almost £4000 – no second-hand kit available. You did well to get yours for $1000, that’s about £500 - at that kind of money I’d be very tempted – but not at £4k. With our fairly mild climate, there's not much need or demand for fitting tracks to vehicles in the UK.

So… for me it will remain one of these, ‘If I win the Lotto…pipedreams’.

I’m still very interested in seeing and learning more about the system you have fitted though – they look damn fine fitted to your vehicle!

Cheers,

John

[fred1141]

Good day,
Have you looked on www.kijiji.ca and type Quebec region, you'll find used one at around $1500cdn, if you're interested, I can help you for the shipping.....
regards,

[Techmogogy]

Hi Fred,
Can you post a picture of what needs to be mounted to the body and how you did it?
Did you drill holes, have to add a bracket, etc?
Thanks,
Dan

[fred1141]

Good day,
I'll post picture later on because now I'm in Montreal and my haf is not here. As soon as I get them I'll post them.
To answer your question, no I didn't drill any holes, only add brackets.

[heinkeljb]

Get the engine running properly first then worry about pictures! We cab wait....

John

[fred1141]

Good day everyone,
Thanks to all, it was an easy fix, I bought two NGK B7HS, and now it start like a new car even at -10c this morning.
Fred

[heinkeljb]

Well done,

I did think it was faulty plugs, but it is nice to know for sure. Mow you can spend your time sorting out pictures for us and driving around on those tracks of your!

John