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MG MGF Technical - Strange behaviour

Hello fellow MG enthusiasts,

last week I managed to pick up my old MGf. I sold it some 3 years ago, but now, I've got it back!

Whoever owned it in the meantime only put another 10k kilometers on the clock. It did, however, develop a few "habits" it didn't have 3 years ago.

Today was special.

At some point, the windscreen wiper on the passenger side decided to stop working. Luckily, it didn't rain on the way back. Just after this wiper "incident", I noticed another very peculiar phenomenom. I switched off the ignition to get something from the boot. As I tried to start the car just a minute later... NOTHING happened (well, almost nothing; only the dashboard lights came on, but no movement in the engine whatsoever). I actually found the solution to this problem by accident:

- get out the car, lock it, unlock it, and then... it starts!!?????

I managed to capture this on "tape":
http://home.planet.nl/~vdbroek/start.wmv

A bit dark, but it shows the problem quite well. Ever seen this type of behaviour????

Other problems it now has:

- stuttering below 2k RPM (when applying full throttle)
- petrol fumes in the cabin (although the smell is not always present; didn't notice it today). Dealer in Amsterdam says the petrol tank needs to be changed.


For the rest, it's still a great little car. But I will bring it back to the Landrover dealer I bought it off, to have some problems fixed.

Cheers,
Robbert.
Robbert van den Broek

hi robert
why did the dealer in amsterdam think your fuel tank needed replaceing for the smell of fuel
andrew


I believe there were a few early F's that suffered from porous fuel tanks. If it's true in this particular incidence is another question.

Do a search in the Archives, there are a number of threads that relate to this.

Stu
Stu Dickens

Robbert,

Isn't this the normal behaviour of the immobiliser?

In the video, at the first attempt to start, the immobiliser warning alarm sounds. This needs to be cancelled by pressing either of the buttons on the blipper before the engine can be started. It doesn't seem that this was done so the engine would not start.

Locking and then unlocking the car releases the immobiliser allowing the engine to start immediately.

After unlocking the car I believe there is a delay of perhaps 15-30 seconds before the immobiliser cuts in. This allows for getting in, locking seat belt etc.

Have I missed something?

Andy
Andy Dear

HI,
Try pressing the left buttom on the key fob everytime before you try the ignition. See if that makes a difference.

Cheers,
Branko


Branko

Just had another look at the video (after I adjusted my video controls in my player) and I could see the small security led flash before you turned the key. That shows that the car has gone to secure mode.
Branko

Hello,

thanks for replies. The thing that surprised me about not being able to start the car is that it happened just after I switched off the ignition. I didn't directly make the relation to the immobilizer; probably don't have to lock and unlock the car; maybe just pressing the unlock button will be enough.

The reason why the Amsterdam dealer thinks the fuel tank needs replacing is, indeed, the "porous fuel tank" argument. He claims the tanks "breathes" (depending on weather situation it's worse or less).

I've read quite some threads on this issue and have seen Dieter's site, but I still don't know what I can do best. I'll probably go for replacing the tank (don't understand much of the other options).

Robbert.
Robbert van den Broek

>I'll probably go for replacing the tank (don't understand much of the other options).

No, don't do it. First check the other options.
I've looked up the archives from 2001 according to the history of your car. You had fuel smell already when the car was new.

At first go for a check of the hose between filler pipe and tank stub.

Second is to check the seal mastix under the tank cover (behind the seats)
http://www.mgfcar.de/fueltank/index.htm
Hmm, I thought that was easy to understand ;-)

Regards
Dieter
Dieter

Hmmmm... guess I should have the dealer investigate the other options then. The petrol smell did indeed occur before, but not as much as it does now (as far as I remember).

Thanks for your remark, Dieter.
Robbert van den Broek

This thread was discussed between 15/11/2006 and 16/11/2006

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