Car won't stop running!

[Squiggle]

Hi Gang

Sorry to have been absent for so long. Where does time go?

The story so far:

Not well enough to travel to the garage I trust.

So I'm trying to find someone local I can trust after having to take a 'specialist' to the Small Claims Court! Horrid experience but I'm glad I stood up to them.. And, at least I was awarded some money to pay for the work to be rectified.

One local garage said a 'valve had blown and the other cylinders showed poor compression'. Talking about £300ish for replacement....

Car sounding like a tractor and not pulling well when cold. No misfires and no oil deposited on ground.....Fumes in the 'cockpit' should have been a major clue!!

On inspection, under bonnet, I realised there was a draught coming from near the exhaust manifold. Yep-----the [exhaust pipe to manifold] gasket was non existent.....

I'll get to the point in a mo'


With no repalcement gasket, two very helpful local teenagers and a mature neighbour saying use this tube of stuff which will withstand the heat.....

I decided to refit a traficator lens while they got covered in orange gunge.

Didn't think to remove battery connection.....

Blew fuse.

Replace fuse. All well and working fine again.

Had prebooked an inspection at another garage for the 'blown valve' so pootled off thismorning to check them out for future reference.

Tractor sound had gone, all electrics fine.....

WELL, until the orange gunge melted......tractor sound was back and the car filled with yuk fumes.

Got to garage and ignition switch wouldn't switch engine off. Had to stall it and then remove battery connection. Noticed the indicators were glowing on - not flashing.

Wondering if this is related to me fiddling with the fuses.

Meanwhile car is in the garage waiting for the gasket to arrive and for me to provide compression values so they can test. Thanks Cam! Must take my manual down there for them.

Last year the same thing happened [ie engine wouldn't stop running] and a neighbour took the cover off the regulator box and 'flicked the metal plates/discs'. Never happened again.

Go on, tell me I'm an idiot......just clean up the fuse and connections.....

Actually, don't........I'm a bit sensitive at the moment



Really hoping to make it to the National.

Thanks, as always Gang.

Regards

Squiggle

[Rob_Jennings]

humm lot of things there, first off proper exhaust gasket will be a good idea but you are on top of that so thats good.

regulator sticking wont keep a car running but will make a mess of the battery if it over charges it!

I assume that it will run on for as long as you leave it? (it ought to stop with fuel exhaustion eventually unless pump is still running) then that sound like the ignition switch is NOT breaking the ignition circuit when turned off, or that someone has moved the wiring for the ignition to the other side of the fuse box? (what messing with fuses did you do?)
If the switch is full of dust and grunge it might be sticking in on position with the key out, switch cleaner (spray alcohol solution) would help that.

do you suffer from a lot of 'flat batteries' another sign that things are being left on that ought to be off with the key out


sounds like you need a hand to sit there and trace out the basic fuse, switch and ignition wires and check they are as they should be

[Squiggle]

humm lot of things there, first off proper exhaust gasket will be a good idea but you are on top of that so thats good.

regulator sticking wont keep a car running but will make a mess of the battery if it over charges it!

I assume that it will run on for as long as you leave it? (it ought to stop with fuel exhaustion eventually unless pump is still running) then that sound like the ignition switch is NOT breaking the ignition circuit when turned off, or that someone has moved the wiring for the ignition to the other side of the fuse box? (what messing with fuses did you do?)
If the switch is full of dust and grunge it might be sticking in on position with the key out, switch cleaner (spray alcohol solution) would help that.

do you suffer from a lot of 'flat batteries' another sign that things are being left on that ought to be off with the key out


sounds like you need a hand to sit there and trace out the basic fuse, switch and ignition wires and check they are as they should be

Hi Rob, thanks for the reply.
Yes I think it would have happily kept running.
Pump was still 'ticking'.
No rewiring done and I only replaced a fuse with one of the spares. Did notice a slight spark when fitting the replacement one. Didn't worry as all that had failed was working again.

Will try and clean the switch up.
No flat batteries...ever.

Thanks again.

Regards

Squiggle

[Rob_Jennings]

pump should defiantly NOT tick once ignition is off so assume that the wiring is OK I think you have to look at the switch sticking on as the problem (assume it all worked OK in the past)

[Squiggle]

pump should defiantly NOT tick once ignition is off so assume that the wiring is OK I think you have to look at the switch sticking on as the problem (assume it all worked OK in the past)

Thanks again Rob.

Will clean it up and see how it goes.

Strange that the neighbour fiddled with / flicked the contacts in the regulator box last year to stop the car running. Saying something like 'it resets it'.

Off to feed the cat.

Have a good evening.

[Squiggle]

Car home and running really well.

So that diagnosis [by a local garage] of a 'blown valve' was wrong and it was the exhaust gasket after all!

Latest garage said said they were impressed at the values [for a 1952 car] when testing the exhaust emissions - between 0.20 - 0.30. Is that good? This doesn't mean anything to me.

The indicators continued to glow / not flash for a few miles then started behaving themselves...... Happened before. That car has character!

The garage tried to fix the ignition switch with spray but it didn't help. They tried to remove the switch and said it seemed tricky and might have had to cut some wires.

I'm going to read up on how to remove it and see if cleaning it up will help.

Is it better to just replace them?

Meanwhile, I stall in first gear, then remove a battery connection.

Off to feed the furry moggy.

's to you all

[alex_holden]

It would be safer to stall it in fourth gear than first.