Now that my Low Fuel Light is back to annoy me, I'll just move on to something that happened today: I have the car for the weekend again, and while I was turning it on, the car took much longer to crank than it normally does. Moving on, the Low Coolant light was on for much longer on the journey home than was usual as well; Normally, that light goes out 15-60 seconds after starting the car, then goes away and may occasionally come back. On the trip to my house, that light stayed on almost the entire trip, going out for about 20 seconds on the way then coming back on, and upon pulling into the garage, there was just a light puff of light-gray smoke from the front of the car.
Would the battery have anything to do with the slow start, or could it be something else? (As a reference, the car cranks usually 3-4 seconds before starting after being left for at least a couple of hours and will start in under 2 seconds after recent use, but this attempt took 10 seconds) I know I should check the coolant tank right now, since the engine is cool enough now, but the wisp of smoke concerns me enough to post about it. (No overheating indicators on the dash)
Every time I take the car for the weekend, it seems like another thing needs checking-on.
Just realized that the Low Coolant light could have always been triggered by the new cooling system, which is converted for R-134a. Could that be the reason for at least the warning light?
Also, I've just read in my auto-repair Dummies book that older engines occasionally overheat. Is not driving the car for two weeks enough of an excuse for having this happen?
I'm still a little concerned about the startup issue, so I might decide to run to the auto store to get a D/C plug charger to keep the electronics from falling apart before trying to start it up again.
The low coolant light has absolutely nothing to do with the air conditioning refrigerant. The low coolant light is for the engine coolant(antifreeze + water mix). Have you opened the radiator cap to confirm that it's full(do this when the car is cold only!)? If not, the low coolant light could be on due to a leak somewhere...or it could just be full of crud after all of these years and that is causing the light(pretty common). The sensor itself is located on the passenger side end tank of the radiator.
Are you just assuming that the car is overheating because the book you read states that "older engines occasionally overheat" or do you actually have an overheating issue?
As for the slow starts, that sounds a lot like you have leaking factory injectors. If this is the case, the car should smell very strongly of gasoline out the exhaust once you get it fired up after it's sat a while.
Quote from: mfewtrail on October 22, 2010, 09:00:33 PM
The low coolant light has absolutely nothing to do with the air conditioning refrigerant. The low coolant light is for the engine coolant(antifreeze + water mix). Have you opened the radiator cap to confirm that it's full(do this when the car is cold only!)? If not, the low coolant light could be on due to a leak somewhere...or it could just be full of crud after all of these years and that is causing the light(pretty common). The sensor itself is located on the passenger side end tank of the radiator.
Dunno how I got those two confused, but oh well. I'll check in the radiator cap tomorrow morning, especially since I can't even see where the coolant reaches in the reserve tank. If you could take a couple of pictures of the sensor and the bits around it, that would help a ton.
Quote from: mfewtrail on October 22, 2010, 09:00:33 PMAre you just assuming that the car is overheating because the book you read states that "older engines occasionally overheat" or do you actually have an overheating issue?
(Edited because I misread the response) I just noticed that puff of smoke, recognized a sorta-sweet smell from it, and thought, "that's likely to be the coolant." If sweet-smelling, light-colored smoke doesn't come from an overheating engine, correct me.
Quote from: mfewtrail on October 22, 2010, 09:00:33 PMAs for the slow starts, that sounds a lot like you have leaking factory injectors. If this is the case, the car should smell very strongly of gasoline out the exhaust once you get it fired up after it's sat a while.
Huzzah! I noticed the eggs after staying still for a while. Thanks for pointing this out.
What does your OIL on the dipstick look like before and after running?
Quote from: GPChief on October 23, 2010, 12:23:49 AM
What does your OIL on the dipstick look like before and after running?
Oil is a nice yellow-brown hot and cold. However, the sticker says that the last oil change was 5k miles ago, not 2k, because I thought it read "last service mileage" instead of "next service mileage," the number being about 70k. I'll ask the owner.
Also, when I took the car out today (my mother told me about a British car show; even though I knew I would have no idea what half the cars presented were [the Midgets making up the half I did know], I went anyway), it started up in a split second, then when I left the show, cranking took 1 1/2 seconds about. I also noticed the gasoline smell again (Though, that could've been the Triumph in front of me...). No other smells/smoke today.
FPR could be bad.
Pull the vac line to it and see if fuel is present.
Quote from: TGed on October 24, 2010, 12:21:56 PM
FPR could be bad.
Pull the vac line to it and see if fuel is present.
(http://verydemotivational.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/129209619067142367.jpg)
FPR = fuel pressure regulator. See this vacuum line diagram for the location of it + the vacuum line to it.
(http://home.windstream.net/mfewtrail/images/vacdiagram.jpg)
/\ that