After the car sitting for a week out in my parking lot I went to go drive it, its now really cold in comparison to the last time i drove it.
I get out start the car up pump the gas a lil and it starts fine.
I go to change a CD and then the engine just stops. I try to start it again no thing happens.
I think its a dead battery at this point so 2 days later (today) I ask my friend for a jump, then it keeps trying turning and turning but not starting. take the air cleaner off look at the carb and theres gas all over it. My friend says it sounds flooded.

So my questions are is this the problem? and how do I fix it or whats the problem and how do I fix it? lol

thanks in advance

 

if the car sat for 2 days that should have been plenty of time for the gas to leave. i doubt flooding is your problem.

 

only thing i could think of is that from the change of temperature the float cut off device swelled or shrunk and allowed gas to not be cut off :/ im going back out in 3-4 days to try to start it again.

 

i'd bet the choke is stuck, what car and engine? is it carbed?

 

ya its a rochester q-jet, and i checked the choke it opens and closes fine. Just wish this never happened. oh well

 

Tried cranking while holding the pedal to the floor? That forces the choke open (and secondaries) allowing extra air to clear the flood. If the plugs are soaking wet, however, no amount of cranking will get it started.

I'd hate to tell you how I used to clear floods on the legions of old Chrysler big block/Carter setups that would flood without a thought. Nothing like roasting marshmallows over the intake of a 383...

 

Is there anything else it can be? not neccesary for me to drive it for a while if thats what it takes in order to allow it to run.

::thinks about lighting a match above the carb, then goes out and tries it but forgets he doesn't own matches::

 

i vote the choke. double check it and do what vader said and crank the engine with the gas pedal down to the floor. if that dont work give us more info on the problem

 

It might help to remove a couple of easy-to-reach plugs to see if they are soaked. If so, get a new set (standard old AC or Champions) and replace them all. Test for spark before you're finished. If the plugs aren't wet, test for spark on one of those removed plugs.

 

if you want to dry it all out w/o any large fires, just put a brick on the gas pedal and let it sit for a while to air it all out. I used to do this w/ my old 305 after it would totaly flood because it wouldnt start worht a damn. Worked alot better then the large explosion out the top of the tbi after i cranked it forever w/ the throttle open and it finally backfired through the tbi and propelled all the gas out of the manifold.

 

Ok, this is what I did, I went out there tried to crank it over, didn't want to start. took off the air filter, looked at it, still gassy all over, ignited the carb, opened the secondary valves and the top flaps so i could see straight down into the intake manifold, and ignited again, burned for about 5 minutes before going out, then im letting id dry with the secondarys straight open, Im at college right now is there an alternative to replacing the spark plugs? (that would mean id have to go take a bus! oh no!) hehe if i have to its not a huge deal thanks for your guys help... my hand its warm from the fire, but i forgot the marshmellows (curses)

 

Firl, I'd forget the marshmellows if I were you; you'll probably get cancer from roasting them in burning gasoline. Plus the taste would be awful...

I recommend changing the plugs, since this is what I did just yesterday for the same problem, and it started like a champ. I couldn't even get it too start after cleaning the original plugs, but then the Auto Zone guy told me the plugs were probably useless and he was right.

Check your oil level too, while you're at it and sniff the dipstick. If you've got a lot of gas in the oil pan, you better change the oil too before running it, because it'll reduce your viscosity, and possibly wear some components prematurely.

 

Is there anyway to prvent it from becoming flooded again?

 

Simple, never start your car again.

Seriously, check and make sure your choke isn't closed all the way or doesn't open soon after you start it. It might be out of adjustment. If it dies, make sure you check the choke and give it a few minutes before starting it again.

 

Ok after letting it air out I went out and tried to start it, it started right up, then died. I went out and looked at the carb, there was gas all over it, it didn't look like it was seeping out, I think it was from the backfire and gas being spit it up. could it be that the float isn't working right? im very confused heh, should i still just change the spark plugs?

 

i know exactly how u feel.i had this prob with my 305 when i first got it.its either your choke needs to be adjusted or your float.i flooded my car bad once and id let it sit for 2-3days come back to start it and flood it more each time.after 2 weeks i finally decided i was gonna change the plugs,i pushed it to my garage and the mechanic showed me had badly i fouled my plugs lol.after he changed them he told me he kinda messed p the adjustment of my choke and he isnt good at tuning carbs anymore.so now when i go to start my car i has to give it the regular 3 pumps of gas,fire it up and as soon as it starts rev it and not let go till it warms up and will run on its own.this happened last year in dec.since then i flooded my car about 10 times,my oil was the thinnest ive ever seen.i should change the plugs seeing how many times i have flooded since putting them in,but i got used to starting it this way.if it floods again,leave the air cleaner off,open up the choke so help the gas evaporate and cut time down to try again.foot to the floor,start it and dont let off the gas till she warms up and see if that gets you anywhere.oh i dont know how well this works but someone told me once to try a spray called quickstart and spray it in the carb?

 

quickstart would just be ether, I just rebuilt the carb, and to my understanding there is a coil inside that expands and contracts with heat and cold. when I rebuilt my carb could that be just that I adjusted the choke in a way that it will work well until its freezeing?


man I wish I lived in California heh.

 

man, i feel your wet injection system pains. Mine does the same thing. Nothing wrong but all the fuel just heads for the floor of the intake and gags the engine as soon as the engine fires and the motor immidiatly dies. When it does start up it runs like *** and spits and pops for the first few minutes untill the manifold warms up enough to help vaporize the fuel. Theres nothing wrong with my tbi nor is it running rich but ive pretty much come to the conclusion that hard starts come witht eh territory when the temp dips below 35 degrees or so whith a wet injection system.

 

so it had to do with the temp, damn lol and I thought below freezing was a good thing. lol I cant wait for tomorrow im going to get a jump start and just floor it til the engine gets warm.
What should i do to the choke to make it more appealing to the cold weather?

 

I know it's probably been said a half-dozen times already, but, Adjust your choke already!

Clean tha carburetor while you're at it, and lightly lubricate all the linkages. Make sure the air filter isn't filthy, wet, or sturated with fuel. You may also have a leakage problem due to loose metering well plugs on the bottom of the carb, or possible a sticking float needle/seat. But the first thing to do is set the choke.

Also, when starting a carbed engine, you really should only have to push the accelerator pedal ONCE to provide a shot of fuel and set he choke.

 

three weeks ago i spent 8 hours cleaning the carb and rebuilding it with a rochester carb book. the thing looks brand new from scrubbing it. How should I adjust the choke? open up the casing and tighten the coil? or losen it? Im just not sure which way Im supposed to adjust it. :\ sorry Im still new to cars it takes a lil while with me.

 

Have not adjusted the choke yet because do not know which way I should.

ok went to start it, instant I turned the key it started, then I held the gas down, and then it raced up i tried to hold it up at high rpms to get it heated up, but then as i held the gas down, the engine just started to drop in rpm's regardless of how much the gas pedal was down, then drop drop dead, and spit gas out of the carb.

in about 5 hours im going back out to try it again.

in the choke casing should i losen the choke up so that it is more prompt to stay open?, or close it up more so that it is more prompt to stay closed?

thanks again for all the help

 

i dont know squat about ajusting a carb but the choke should be closed during startup.