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-   -   esteem engine starting trouble leaves me baffled!!! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/25100-esteem-engine-starting-trouble-leaves-me-baffled.html)

I have a 95 carbed esteem which has been giving starting issues recently.

It has happened twice till now and both the times the sequence of events was similar.

The engine starts for a couple of 5 to 10 mins and then just refuses to start on cranking up.

I checked the fuel supply by pulling out the fuel nozzle from the carburettor and the fuel reaches there the moment the ignition key is switched on just before cranking up ( so there is no fuel supply issue I guess) . The last time the car refused to start, I had to directly feed the petrol into the carburettor by removing the top cover and air filter and after doing that, the engine started without any problems.

I dismissed it thinking this must a one off issue till the problem repeated itself yesterday noon again when dad wanted to take the car out. Again in the evening the car started with the first crank as if there was no problem at all.

I am unable to understand this erratic behaviour and so is my mechanic. Any help to explain this behaviour would be more than welcome.

Cheers

~A

Could be the Battery and Alternator- Had a similar issue in our UNO D, It had a weak alternator and New Amaron, after some time- The battery used to discharge and start after 4- 5 hours.

Fuel line block is what comes to my mind. Try driving with a can of petrol directly reaching the carb to eliminate this. Your mechanic could be asked to do this.

if fuel supply is ok, its time to check ignition components, most probable being a pitted CB point.

take to a competent workshop & let them service the ignition system.

Thanks guys for the quick responses, however, since the car is cranking up and the petrol is reaching the carburettor, I don't think it is a battery / fuel supply problem.

Ignition system could be the culprit...however I'm wondering how could the car start when i directly poured the fuel in the carburettor the first time it happened ? could this have to do with some issue in the carburettor itself ?

~A

There could be blocks in your fuel line which interrupt the flow.

Suzuki cars and bikes suffer from vapor lock issues, from the first all imported Maruti 800 to their latest products, specially when the temps hit upper 40s, you get starting issues.

Check out the ignition coil.Ignition coils work properly when they are in cold condition and fail when they heat up.
Next time ur car does not start after running for sometime place a cloth with water on the igntion coil for sometime.If it starts up properly after that its definately the ignition coil.

the same issue for my 1997 zen,couldnt understand it,it used to start vibrate and used to go off,then used to pump fuel and put on carb,i checked all the possiblities,figured out changed the fuel pump and the problem was solved,,,so please get your fuel pump checked,it becomes weak and stops pumping fuel sometimes,especially when we start in the mornings

Arun, Gurkha and humyum, I don't think vapour lock or ignition coil is the issue because in both the cases when this happened the car was started after lying idle for more than 2-3 hrs and the ambient temparture was also around 25 degress C.

Perhaps esteem lover and ramie2400 are right !!!

After a little thinking , I guess I have found the answer. The car initially starts because of the excess petrol which is left in the carburettor from the previous run and the moment the fresh flow of fuel stops ( due to clogged fuel filter / blocks in the fuel line ) the engine stalls .

Will take to a garage on the weekend and check up.

Thanks for your suggestions as always.

~A

check fuel filter first, but also strip your carb and clean it throughly, ensure both your primary and secondary butterfly are working proper, clean the idle circuit also.

check the diaphragm of your accelerator pump, check the carb solenoid (if i remember carb esteems had one), check and see if your float pin assembly is fine.

you will be amazed what the car can do with a clean carb :D

Sometimes dirt in fuel clogs the carburettor jets. Cleaning should help sort out the problem. Secondly, it maybe time to replace your fuel filter.

Jaggu,

I just dread at the thought of getting the carb serviced, had done it before a long trip last year in Aug and the local garage had spent hours reassembling it together and correcting a minor petrol leak ( where the floater pin assembly box is fitted) which had developed in reassembling it back. Most of the parts including the diaphragm etc were changed / serviced at this time so i guess there should not be any issues pertaining to them so soon.

~A

float pin getting stuck cannot be ruled out if its fuel related, anyways do a step by step check

This is defn a clogged fuel filter or a wire to the fuel pump being grounded.