Cold starting

[Nick Salmon]

I have had so many instances of plugs going duff that these days, unless the cause is bleedin' obvious, I always change the plugs as the first step to diagnosis of a problem.

[Roger Goldthorpe]

Check the choke. Full story below.

I had a problem starting my RP when I first acquired it. On delivery I was given a demonstration of how to start the engine. The vendor, a tall man, suggested that as I was also tall I could follow his starting procedure. The main point here is that he reached under the bonnet and with his right hand lifted the choke and with the left hand swung the starting handle and off she went first swing. Being new to 7’s I didn’t fancy this approach and so operated the choke in the conventional way. Over the next couple of days I lost about half a stone swinging and swinging the handle. When it did start the engine ran fine, the problem was getting it to start the first time. Determined to find the cause of the reluctant starting I cleaned out the carb and the engine started ok. Problem solved. Next day engine refused to start so off with the carb another clean out and again the engine started ok. On the third day the engine refused to start. I concluded that if by cleaning and in the process flooding the carb then the problem was somehow related to fuel/fuel air being sucked into the engine. Examination of the choke cable revealed that the cable had pulled through the nipple resulting in only partial choke being applied. Nipple adjusted problem solved. The previous owner had never used the ‘choke’ as he had always operated this by reaching under the bonnet so would never know the nipple had shifted.

For choke read air strangler or air shutter if you prefer!

Roger

[Dave Wheatley]

My RM is a good, reliable cold starter and fitted with the later horizontal carb. As with Roger above, it is essential that the choke is fully closed though. Even a tiny bit off fully closed, and she won't start. With the bulkhead tank, it guarrantees that the carb is full though.

[Roland Alcock]

Both my A7s are instant starters on the handle if…..

I prime the pump/carb.
Choke out fully.
Rotate engine 4 times on handle.
Switch ignition on.
Swing handle, engine starts, stand back with smug expression!

If engine is still warm (after couple of pints of beer) just winding slowly some fuel/air mix in, can result in an unexpected start if the ignition is on.

Roly