It goes now! Was nothing actually wrong with it, just low battery voltage and a bit of a damp day and it flooded itself - I guess where these injection systems are fairly basic - don't get offended anyone
- theres nothing that really stops the injectors if the car doesn't actually start - it just keeps pumping it in..
Anyway i'm gonna give it a new coil anyway, have also got a new battery, a big fat diesel one which means I can just do short journeys on the starter motor
and am going to check and clean all earth straps and wires.
As regards ISV problems and the extra fuel valve:
The fuel injection specialist who helped me has on more than one occasion completely cut off the ISV: blocked its tube into the inlet ducting, disconnected it, and simply set the idle up using the idle speed and mixture screws. This achieved a satisfactory idle - a little slow when cold, a little quick when hot, but stable and usable.
Also, a useful point the specialist gave me. Provided the ISV is all working ok or at least operating, it is possible to deduce something from the engine behaviour when the throttle is closed: if the revs drop too low and then pick back up to normal tickover, the fuel mixture is too rich. If the revs drop to a point above normal idle and then gradually settle to idle, the fuel mixture is too lean. If perfect, the ISV should catch the revs right on the nail, eg engine speed drops perfectly to normal idle with no hesitation.
Extra fuel valve/cold start valve: gives an extra squirt of fuel at actual start up. Can be responsible for flooding and can be disconnected for start up, especially when the weather is warmer and its not so needed.
Warm up regulator - this is the bigger valve and is likely to cause problems if disconnected. It uses a bimetallic spring as a temperature sensor, and is linked to the fuel meter/distributor so that it richens the fuel mixture as necessary while the car warms up - this is why the pipes are connected to the fuel dizzy. If you've got problems in the first few minutes, look here, if its the first few seconds, look at the cold start valve.
Finally, as richandhazel just said, its really easy to check injector performance. Spray should be even cone shaped, with no drips or dribbles, and must not leak when engine switched off - all of these will cause flooding or droplets in the cylinders - bad for performance and bad for the engine on a long term basis - neat fuel washes the oil off of the cylinder bores, giving greater ring/bore wear.
Phew.. thats all for the mo...
