sounds like your fuel is vapourising before its reaching the cyinders. Is your carb cooling fan working?

I agree with Phil.

There are two basic problems along these lines and the distinguishing factor is whether the engine turns or not. In your case it turns but won't fire, the alternative is the engine feels almost seized, turning very slowly - if it catches and starts it will run but the odds are against it.

Fuel vaporisation is something that Fiat worked very hard to fix but never really resolved. The only (almost) 100% sure fire answer is an electric fuel pump that can run independently of the engine turning but this is not to everyones taste. I found removing the standard air filter housing and using an aftermarket filter made a big difference, it seems that the original pan shaped housing soaks up the rising heat and dumps it back into the carb, with an aftermarket one I didn't need the cooling fan...

For reference if it feels like it won't turn then either the power feed from the battery to the starter is degraded (unfortunately common) and/or the engine block is distorting slightly when hot (it is usually both - sometimes it is so bad that the power can be at 100%). Sadly this is pretty much endemic to Fiat engines (not just the X1/9) and the turbo engines get it much, much worse but because the battery is right next to the engine it doesn't tend to be so obvious.

Hi Jimbro and Phil,
Thanks for your replies. When the engine is hot, there is no problem with it turning over, the hassle has been it just won't fire up.

I also meant to ask, do I have a problem with the radiator fan in that if I sit in traffic, the temperature will rise and if it get to around 94 degrees or so I have had the engine cut out and again I have had to wait for it to cool down before I can start it again. Do I need to get the thermostat for the radiator fan checked? Or is this just another common issue with the X1/9.

Thanks again for your advice.

Is the plate below the carb still in place? Some people leave this out when replacing the carb. Are you still on the standard mechanical fuel pump and how old is it? The diaprams sometimes get weak with age and don't pump at idle or starting as well as they should.

easiest way to check is, before you start the car put your hand on the bottom radiator hose and see how cold it is. Then start the car. When the gauge gets to 82C (i think) the thermostat will open, if you put your hand on the same hose it should be noticably hotter than before. Then at about 90C you'll hear the radiator fan cut in.


If the pipe doesn't get hot your thermostat is stuck.

If it gets hot but no cooler fan, there's something wrong with that.

If the pipe gets hot, and the fan kicks in then probably your rad is blocked.


Hope this helps.

Hi All,
Thanks again for your advice. The fan cut in ok, but seems that the switch for the fan may be faulty as it wasn't cutting in till over the 100c mark on the gauge. So I have a new switch coming and it will be interesting to see how that goes.
Thanks again everyone.
Wayne

For reference if it feels like it won't turn then either the power feed from the battery to the starter is degraded (unfortunately common)

What is the proper cure for this as I have been having this problem for years. if the engine stalls/cuts out when warm it wont turn over and sounds like its nearly seized or has a flat battery. yet leave it a few mins and its fine

Alfafan said:

For reference if it feels like it won't turn then either the power feed from the battery to the starter is degraded (unfortunately common)

What is the proper cure for this as I have been having this problem for years. if the engine stalls/cuts out when warm it wont turn over and sounds like its nearly seized or has a flat battery. yet leave it a few mins and its fine

Click to expand...

Do a search for "brown wire mod" and you should find all the information you need.

Many thanks for that,:worship: I have noticed in the past that the Brown Wire spade connection in fuse box gets loose every so often from slight over heating and has to be squeezed with a pliers to tighten,,,,,,,

Here is another one for you, the indicator warning light on the dash only flashes once turning left or right, yet if you turn on hazards it flashes on/off as normal... could this be the indicator relay..??