Hard starter

[Jack W.]

[Edward D.]

Re: Hard starter

Jack,
Had a similar problem with my 66. Turned out the front fuel bowl was slowly emptying out due to bad gasket on power valve in metering block. No fuel in bowl means you have to crank it a while for fuel pump to refill bowl. Check to see if you have fuel in the bowl after it sits for awhile. Also, check that the accelerator pump diaphragm is not leaking out fuel and emptying bowl. This will show up as puddles of what appear to be oil (it isn't, its actually what's left after evaporation) in the depressions on the intake on either side and in front of the carb. I replaced the power valve and the accelerator pump diaphragm and problem resolved, starts easily now after sitting for weeks.

[Joe L.]

Re: Hard starter

Jack,
Had a similar problem with my 66. Turned out the front fuel bowl was slowly emptying out due to bad gasket on power valve in metering block. No fuel in bowl means you have to crank it a while for fuel pump to refill bowl. Check to see if you have fuel in the bowl after it sits for awhile. Also, check that the accelerator pump diaphragm is not leaking out fuel and emptying bowl. This will show up as puddles of what appear to be oil (it isn't, its actually what's left after evaporation) in the depressions on the intake on either side and in front of the carb. I replaced the power valve and the accelerator pump diaphragm and problem resolved, starts easily now after sitting for weeks.

Jack and Edward------


I totally agree. Starting problems with the symptomatology described are almost always caused by emptying of carb fuel bowls due to leak down.

Unfortunately, Holley carbs often require a rebuild with at least new gaskets more often than every 10 years.

[Jack W.]

Re: Hard starter

Jack and Edward------


I totally agree. Starting problems with the symptomatology described are almost always caused by emptying of carb fuel bowls due to leak down.

Unfortunately, Holley carbs often require a rebuild with at least new gaskets more often than every 10 years.

[Mark E.]

Re: Hard starter

If no external leak, then it's draining into the intake or back down the fuel line.

Draining to the intake will flood the engine until it all evaporates (days). Rough start, black smoke, fuel smells.

For longer shut down periods, the engine won't start until the the bowl refills while cranking.

Does it start normally if you fill the bowl before cranking? Avoid using starter fluid or ether- too dangerous and unnecessary.

The Holley Forum has a few threads about this. One cause is a defective or porus metering block.

[Jack W.]

Re: Hard starter

Mark,
Choice B.
Once started, restarts and runs fine. No smoke, no smell.

Jack

[Edward J.]

[Jack W.]

[Mark E.]

Re: Hard starter

Jack The ethanol fuel does evaporate after sitting.i know it’s common on my 63/72 after sitting a few weeks.

Edward brings up a good point. My Quadrajet's bowl will evaporate dry in 5-6 days, depending on the weather. Holley's have a larger bowl, so evaporation times should be even longer. In your original post, you say "if allowed to remain idle for a day or more it will again be very hard to start." That's quicker than typical fuel evaporation.

If it's a slow internal leak, the engine may not seem flooded even though fuel is leaking into the manifold.

You might begin by checking the fuel level in the bowl after a couple of days to confirm that an empty bowl is the problem.

[Michael M.]

Re: Hard starter

Reading your initial post and seeing that rebuilding the carb ten years ago didn't solve the problem, made me think it might be electrical. You might try measuring the voltage at the + terminal of the coil when cranking the engine. It should be 12v (battery voltage) as the ballast resistor is out of the circuit when cranking. If your not seeing battery voltage, the problem could be in the solenoid or wire from the R terminal of the solenoid to the + terminal of the coil. It's a quick measurement.

[Jack W.]

[Mark E.]

Re: Hard starter

Reading your initial post and seeing that rebuilding the carb ten years ago didn't solve the problem, made me think it might be electrical. You might try measuring the voltage at the + terminal of the coil when cranking the engine. It should be 12v (battery voltage) as the ballast resistor is out of the circuit when cranking. If your not seeing battery voltage, the problem could be in the solenoid or wire from the R terminal of the solenoid to the + terminal of the coil. It's a quick measurement.

But it starts normally if off less than a day. Low voltage at the coil would be a consistent start issue.

[Jack W.]

[Mark E.]

Re: Hard starter

As Joe said, after 10 years it's time to clean and put a kit into the carb. Hopefully this takes care of it. But it may not be obvious during tear down if the problem is a defective metering block or other internal issue.

[Jack W.]

Re: Hard starter

As Joe said, after 10 years it's time to clean and put a kit into the carb. Hopefully this takes care of it. But it may not be obvious during tear down if the problem is a defective metering block or other internal issue.