havnt started the car for a month... (ZC engine)

[mercury]

tried to start her today and it started for about half a second before it died... after that it sounds like it has no power, just whining noises. I disconnected the negative lead before i went on holidays to make sure that it didnt drain while she was in storage. So i used my battery charger to charge her but only after 10 mins it showed that it is charged. So i tried cranking her again.. still sounded like no power.. hmm. Still just whining noises.

the fuel is very low.. but it should be enough to start her.. what other stuff should i check out? I need to goto work tomorrow so i definately need the car to start by then.

any help would be appreciated.

cheers

[bennjamin]

get new spark plugs + new fuel filter - and get some fuel in there.
Also make sure 100% the battery is fresh enough to crank over first hand.

Does the engine actually "turn over" at all ? or is there just noises ?

[mercury]

just whining noises. could be the battery.. ill leave the charger overnight to make sure.

[A.G.System]

Sounding like your battery is not powerful enough like ben said.

But other things to make sure of is to drain and check the oil. because it has been sitting there for so long moisture could have got in and caused rust.
Check the plugs for rust spits and turn the engine over by hand. When the piston is at TDC get a flash light and make sure that there is no rust on the piston heads.

There are plenty of check lists on the net for what to do with import engines before starting for the first time. Check the stuff on them and make sure that everything is ok BEFORE starting.

Like said before it MAY just be the battery but its better to be safe than sorry.
Plus giving your car a service cant hurt.

[mercury]

was going to do an oil change anyway. So yeh i might just do an oil change. My only concern is that damn oil filter. I cant find it.

[bennjamin]

was going to do an oil change anyway. So yeh i might just do an oil change. My only concern is that damn oil filter. I cant find it.

its located under your inlet manifold. Reach to the back of ur engine from the passenger's side , and u should feel it - smooth and bulbous...

[mrwillz]

i had left my cover for almost 3 weeks wifout starting, wif my alarm on.
started fine after that...
like others had sed, charge the battery overnight to confirm that it isnt the battery b4 going to other parts...

[Sir_vtec]

if the battery light is on in the dish and doesnt light off its def the battery.

[SINISTR]

I recon its the battery - old batteries will loose charge even being disconnected and just sittin there. Give it a good charge, should crank over but if this is happening just after a month of standing there, I recon have some jumper leads in the car just in case, and be prepared for buying another battery.

I went on holidays to europe few years back, with my gen1 sitting there for 6 weeks - car was running fine before i left, starting every time - disconnecte the clamps- came back and for 3 days in a row i had problems in the morning with the battery being flat each morning. Time for a new battery - problem solved.

good luck!

[EuroDude]

was going to do an oil change anyway. So yeh i might just do an oil change. My only concern is that damn oil filter. I cant find it.

As Ben said its at the back of the engine under the throttle body. But dont try to remove it from above, you need to lift the car and get under it, then jam your arm up there and twist the oil filter off. It may be a bastard to remove though - you may need to jam a screw driver in it to get a good grip. Or you can use those special ring filter removers - but there is hardly any clearance to use those on the ZC-wannabe engine :(

[Q_ball]

i dare say it is ur batt...
same thign happened to me wen i didnt touch my car for about a month or so...had to use another batt from another car, one that i knew would start a car to start mine up.
once the car started, we quickly detached that batt, and put mine back on.
pretty dodgy work, but it worked in the end

[ECU-MAN]

after changing a few engines, ( that have been sitting around for a while) I found they run like that.

have to start them hold the RPMs to 1500rpm for 1o to 20 seconds, then all the crap/bugs get pushed out and she runs fine.

do y ou notice when cranking it cranks like there is no load on the motor, no comprerssion. give it some revs to get it started if yo have to.