RE: Still hornswaggled

["Paul Novak" <spammit@domain.elided>]

	Could she be flooded?  If you've been cranking for a while without spark,
maybe the plugs are soaked with fuel.  Did they look wet when you pulled
them?  You might want to try with new plugs, or at least after giving the
current ones a good drying.  Depending on how bad it is, cranking a bit with
the throttle (and choke?) wide open to pump some air throught might be
enough.

	Some engines are much harder than others to un-flood.  Fuel injection tends
to be worse then carbs.  I have had two bad episodes with my wife's Volvo
960 and I have heard that Mazda rotary engines are also highly susceptible.
If you flood the engine really thoroughly, you lose compression because the
oil gets washed off of the cylinder walls (or whatever walls a rotary engine
has) and the low compression makes it harder to start.  And the loss of
lubrication doesn't do the rings any good.  You also might want to do a
compression check when you pull the plugs.  If the compression is way down,
then squirt a few tablespoons of oil into each cylinder, put the plugs back
in and try to start.  The smoke that results from the first few minutes of
operation should wipe out any downwind mosquitoes too.  AMHIK.  For some
reason, when I did this, I used ATF, don't remember why.

	If your engine has been severely flooded, you want to do an oil change ASAP
since the oil will have been diluted with fuel.

	Alternatively, maybe your spark is weak because the battery is run down
from too much cranking?  You could try swapping in a good battery or giving
the current one a good charge.

	I'm sure others will chime in with some good ideas...

	Good luck!

	Paul.
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided