Hi - my one owner L200 2.6 petrol has caused a bit of concern as on really cold mornings it has “only just” started up. It is in outside garage. Once the initial start I can switch off and it starts perfectly.
In March I bought new heavy duty battery ($320 on special) from Repco. I had this tested last week and it is reading higher than required so all good. New starter motor in past 12 months.
Please any suggestions? I do not skimp on this ute but before taking it to auto electricians I hoped one of you guys may help. Thanks.
muzz67,
Sep 5, 6:37am
So is it winding over at normal speed but wont fire, or winding slow?
bill-robinson,
Sep 5, 6:37am
strip and clean all the earth connections
cattleshed,
Sep 5, 6:41am
Check the auto choke / choke cable operation if carb equipped.
intrade,
Sep 5, 11:58am
1990 are you sure it dont have a lever to pull as manual choke. As they need the choke on for a minute or 2 some have 2 stages you got to make sure to remove the manual choke once it warms up its how it used to be people needed to do stuff and use the brain thingo .
intrade,
Sep 5, 12:00pm
also carburettor need maintainace carbcleaning you usually faul the sparkplugs up when you clean the carb so they are changed also after clean like once a year or every other year. not so bad if you dont use 91 catpi$$ for fuel.
barrie2,
Sep 5, 1:05pm
Thanks all. Initial start up it only just turns over, then bursts into life. I think the auto choke (defo not a manual choke) suggestion may be a lead as it has been racing for some time ie 2000revs +. Carb never been touched over several years. Plugs changed last year. Earth connections will be looked at. Thanks. I use 95 mostly at time’s 98
franc123,
Sep 5, 2:10pm
So the starter motor appears to struggle to turn it over yes, it's not spinning freely but refusing to fire?
cattleshed,
Sep 5, 2:23pm
That casts a new light on things. The more info at the start the better to prevent tangents developing. Ok. 1) all earth connections. 2) Starter motor a) check the mount bolts are tight. 2) even though the starter has been replaced it could still be faulty. Eg worn bushes will cause this slow motion.
intrade,
Sep 5, 2:28pm
voltage drop somewhere on power or ground be a test to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhRPLgH6uZg he has a whole book you need to read from page 1 its not a book to look up what to do its a book to learn stuff.
barrie2,
Sep 5, 3:00pm
franc123- starter motor appears to struggle. This only happens on really cold mornings. cattleshed - will check those things. If starter was faulty would it not show signs other than on a frosty morning? intrade - suggestion noted. but I am a poor, slow reader maybe if above items don’t help an auto electrician is next ?
franc123,
Sep 5, 4:08pm
Clean the battery terminals and posts, and where the ground cable connects to the engine block (or bell housing, starter mount or wherever it bolts to) and see how you go. If this doesnt cure it you may have to resort to doing some voltage drop tests with a multimeter to find out if theres a high resistance in the starter feed circuit somewhere.
franc123,
Sep 5, 4:13pm
After cleaning the connections if it's no different, you could use a thick jumper lead and connect it from the negative battery terminal down to a clean metal part of the engine block and see what difference that makes when cold cranking, that will tell you if the ground cable needs replacing.
rjgmjs,
Sep 5, 4:15pm
In short. i had to get my carby rebuilt, no further problems.
budgel,
Sep 5, 7:20pm
Although it may have needed rebuilding, a faulty carb wouldn't cause it to turn over slowly.
barrie2,
Sep 6, 2:06am
Thanks again. Looks like my Sunday is spoken for as I will try follow tips given. Some I can some maybe not but I will try. My ute is now only used Mon, Wed, Fri as I go get my sons old Border Collie and take her to local forest. A 42k round trip driven carefully respecting the age. 3000 revs max, mostly sits on 2000 at 55kph. Maybe not ideal for blowing off the cobwebs but, as said, she is old and needs respect. The ute I mean not the wife!
franc123,
Sep 6, 5:24am
Hope you can quickly find out what's wrong. If you can carry out the above, post back with your findings and we can continue from there.
barrie2,
Sep 7, 8:26am
franc123, and other helpful people. I carried out the suggestions, cleaning all connections I could see. Checking tightnesses etc. The ‘thick jumper lead’ bit only produced a ‘click’ so I left that. My jumper leads not very think? Today it started straight away. Quite cold but not frosty. (My problem was on very cold starts so will have to wait and see). I bought a Mechpro Multimeter from Repco, $34.99 but two reasons I have not opened it yet. 1. Comment from lady staff as I left of “be careful not to connect wrongly or you will fry it”. No other help given- not good customer service. 2. I have never owned or seen a multimeter so am reluctant to use it. Maybe I should wait now and hope for a frost tomorrow - if not I am open to advice on what to connect to and where to set the pointer. Thanks.
strobo,
Sep 7, 12:33pm
Take multimeter back ,get ya money back! and book it into your local garage.mention the problems and start with a damn good tune up by someone who knows what they doing.
barrie2,
Sep 8, 2:38am
OP here. Good frost 7am, ice on bird baths - started 1st time - no delay. Thanks for advice given, and gratefully taken. Multimeter still unopened on its way back for refund.
intrade,
Sep 8, 9:54am
dont put the wires in amp holes you can only blow the fuse if you put it in amp therminals . as amps is a jumper wire its all also in dan sullivans books and videos. did you buy this one? i would not pay 34$ for that thats a 10$ onhanglow job. DCV 20 is what you would mark and connect it like this you can see the amp hole next to it it can mesure 10 amps but only if you know how to mesure amps as you use the meter as a jumper cable when it is in amp and the dial gague set to 10A otherwise buy a better meter some cover the hole so you cant plug the wire in if its not set correctly. https://www.repco.co.nz/en/tools-equipment/automotive-tools/electrical/mechpro-manual-range-digital-multimeter-mpmm830b/p/A1215878
See how it goes after a few more cold starts, hopefully it was just a dirty connection.
barrie2,
Sep 8, 10:41am
That’s the way I will go. Thanks intrade for all the info and time spent listing it. The multimeter is now back on shelves, customer service was excellent today.
sadmuddle,
Nov 21, 10:57am
I have a 1987 mitsi l200 ute petrol . useless until told to use 98 petrol .
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