Engine: 2.3 Carb B23A/B230K: not a happy girl!

[BicycleBoy]

Originally Posted by honestjoe

...everything has gone through my head..head gasket ..valves .. compression.

Sooty plugs = rich mixture.

You can dick about with the ignition, the suspension and even the sunroof, but until you sort the too much petrol/not enough air issue, no dice.

Sticky float valve is the obvious, floods the carb. Could be a dead rat in the air filter, but unlikely.

Pull the carb, disassemble into chunks & empty a can of highly toxic carb cleaner through everything. Or whatever the correct procedure is....

If that sorts it out and it's running good again, next step is to change the oil, which may have been polluted with petrol. A higher oil level than before is the dead giveaway.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by honestjoe

Thanks DW...everything has gone through my head..head gasket ..valves .. compression..you guys are going have to trust me when i say this engine is bomb proof..this does not happen over night..but thats what happened..folks staring into my bonnet.a lot of head scratching..and advice..i still think its electrical which goes against all my logic..firstly i"m going to change coil pack..if that doesnt work i"ll come crawling back...thanks guys!..hj.

Originally Posted by Othen

All the carburettors are really simple, it doesn't take long to set them up from scratch.

It is important to be methodical when looking for a fault. I would suggest that you check the ignition timing with a strobe (takes 2 minutes) and the compression (takes 15 minutes) because they are quick and easy, and eliminate a whole raft of possible problems.

Good fortune,

Alan

I can only repeat the above: be methodical rather than guess (... and buy lots of expensive replacement parts).

Check the compression (quick and free) - if that is okay check the timing with a strobe (quick and free, the firing order is 1342) - if that is okay set up your carburettor from scratch (free and doesn't take long). If it still doesn't run then eliminate one thing at a time (and take notes).

Good fortune,
Alan

[honestjoe]

just to keep you in the loop lads..went out this morning..didnt even splutter.turns over fine .nothing..it may sound strange but i"m kind of pleased about that as it will be easier to diagnose..hey ho..off to catch the train..hj.

[BicycleBoy]

Methodical is good, but ignoring the evidence isn't:

NO ignition, compression or other issues could cause ALL four newly fitted spark plugs to foul with soot. If you tell the man to check compression, you're divering him from the real problem: Unless ALL four cylunders failed simultaniously, and even then the plugs would be covered in burnt oil, not spot. Ditto ignition timing, waste of time checking.

Clean the carb, or pay someone else to if you don't want to learn how.
Any other activity is nugatory.

[Clifford Pope]

Originally Posted by honestjoe

j.went out this morning..didnt even splutter.turns over fine .nothing..it may sound strange but i"m kind of pleased about that as it will be easier to diagnose.

What do you mean by "turns over fine"? Is that all it is - turns over on the starter, or do you mean it's now running OK?

I don't see how either helps with diagnosis. As others keep saying, you need to make a list of all the possible things you are going to check and then work methodically through them all, ticking them off. Success will come when you find something wrong, put it right, and then find the car runs properly.

It won't come from just stabbing at things aimlessly.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by BicycleBoy

Methodical is good, but ignoring the evidence isn't:

NO ignition, compression or other issues could cause ALL four newly fitted spark plugs to foul with soot. If you tell the man to check compression, you're divering him from the real problem: Unless ALL four cylunders failed simultaniously, and even then the plugs would be covered in burnt oil, not spot. Ditto ignition timing, waste of time checking.

Clean the carb, or pay someone else to if you don't want to learn how.
Any other activity is nugatory.

How rude.

[honestjoe]

exactly..sometimes you have to be patient..more thinking than doing..thanks all..hj









What was it the joker said!...nobody thinks what it is like to be the other guy!..my car would run on my own farts!..i"m going to check the cambelt timing after paddys day..rome was not built in a day!...thanks Othen and good to hear you clifford.

[SwedishScotsman]

Will selll you a complete 2.3 carb running engine if required! Drop it straight in without the faff and have plenty of spares for future! PM me if you want any info. Cheers

[honestjoe]

Hi all..update..managed to find some time to spend on the aul girl today, i wont to through all the ins and outs of diagnostics but needless to say the problem persists..I did pull the idling cut off solenoid and to the best of my knowledge when testing it you can see the centre pin moving in and out..i remember doing this for an unrelated issue..this done nothing?..is this right?..I"m not saying its causing my overfeuling start problem..I did a lot of research on this carb and seems to be quite common regarding poor starting and poor mpg..I found some very useful pictures of the solex stripped down and whoever you are thanks for that..is it possible to pull the top off carb to check for sticking float with carb on car..i"m a little worried about trashing the gasket as these seem to be like hens teeth..but i may have to in the end as car only started without choke which makes me think flooding...i"m sure we"ll get there in the end..the very end!...thanks.hj.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

The symptoms sound more like a carburettor problem. Here is a link to a copy of the green book that covers all the carburettors (including Solex and Peirburg). I would suggest going through the set up procedure for whatever you have fitted - check the diaphragm and the oil damper level first:

http://www.myvolvolibrary.info/Tech_...el_Systems.pdf

All the carburettors are really simple, it doesn't take long to set them up from scratch.

It is important to be methodical when looking for a fault. I would suggest that you check the ignition timing with a strobe (takes 2 minutes) and the compression (takes 15 minutes) because they are quick and easy, and eliminate a whole raft of possible problems.

Good fortune,

Alan

Originally Posted by honestjoe

Hi all..update..managed to find some time to spend on the aul girl today, i wont to through all the ins and outs of diagnostics but needless to say the problem persists..I did pull the idling cut off solenoid and to the best of my knowledge when testing it you can see the centre pin moving in and out..i remember doing this for an unrelated issue..this done nothing?..is this right?..I"m not saying its causing my overfeuling start problem..I did a lot of research on this carb and seems to be quite common regarding poor starting and poor mpg..I found some very useful pictures of the solex stripped down and whoever you are thanks for that..is it possible to pull the top off carb to check for sticking float with carb on car..i"m a little worried about trashing the gasket as these seem to be like hens teeth..but i may have to in the end as car only started without choke which makes me think flooding...i"m sure we"ll get there in the end..the very end!...thanks.hj.

All the information you need about your Solex carburettor is in the Volvo green book in the link above, pp42-61.

Alan