Hi all,

My Punto 2005, 1.2 mk2b has been sitting in the drive with no cover and not started since around October (bad I know). Just wanted to know if you had any advice on starting it up? I have taken the battery out and charged it on a slow 2amp charge until the charger said it had finished but that's all so far.

Just after some tips.

Thanks.

That's not so long.

You might like to pop the spark plugs out and disconnect the Crank Sensor at the connector, whiz it around on the starter till the oil light goes off.

Replace everything and it should be fine.

Hi fingers99,

Thanks for the reply, when you say "whiz it around on the starter till the oil light goes off" do you mean basically turn the car on with the ignition fully? Sorry I'm not very techy at all when it comes to cars.

5707

Well, sort of. If you unplug the crank sensor the car won't get fuel or spark, so if you remove the spark plugs there's no problem and it'll turn over really quickly on the starter and get the oil moving round without subjecting anything to the kind of loads a running/firing engine would experience. As soon as the oil light goes out, just reconnect everything, put the plugs back in and it should just start.

It's the way wew always try and fire up high compression, highly tuned, engines after a lay up. Maybe a bit OTT for an old Punto, but I'm sure the car will appreciate the extra thought!

Like that idea. Nothing wrong with a bit of OTT every now and then
Check that the engine cooing fan spins freely by hand. The can seize up when laid up.
The brakes are a potential problem area in particular the handbrake sticking on.You could expect a bit of corrosion on the friction surfaces so full braking effort might not be available until it has been swept off. Listen out for funny noises and feel how the lever responds and for the first few trips make sure a wheel is not getting hot, back or front. The tyres could have lost a bit of pressure as well. Not necessarily a leak just a change in temperature.
Check the wheel nuts. Sounds crazy but that's my bit of OTT.

What would I do?
Start engine with crank sensor off so it cant start till oil pressure up
Reconnect sensor
Do a few quick ignition pulses to get fuel pressure up and bled

And then try and start it

Once running
Do lights, tyre pressures, oil water screen wadh etc the weekly stuff

Then see if brakes are free
Drive gently for a few days and it will be fine


Ziggy

everything turned off
charged battery
oil in sump
turn key till it starts
dont touch accelerator unless once running for first minute its a bit fluffy

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

Just a quick one, The crank sensor, any ideas where it is located on 1.2 16v? Is it easy to get to also?

Thanks

5707

Here.

Just follow the lead up till you get to the plug -- on the 8v cars it's by the timing side engine mount.

fingers99

Righto and can I just pull out the plug?

Yes. There's usually a little catch you have to push in,