Hello again everyone , not sure if anyone else has covered this in another thread but I’m curious to see if I need to replace my starter on my 91 sovereign..

** I do apologize again for the length of my thread however a no start/bad cranking issue is usually never a short discussion. **

this car was cranking just perfect all yesterday (hot day in Florida) and now today, it’s giving me a long crank-to-start.
Started right up this morning and even after work then I got home, let it sit about 30 min and it hesitated for a while before starting.
things like this make me nervous . Considering I’m intending to drive her to Miami this weekend and need this resolved ASAP as I can’t afford to break down 4 hours from home.

I’d say about 4-5 seconds of cranking in order to get it fired up.
wondering if I need to replace the starter which I’ve located. Looks to be another pain in the *** job of course.

*SIDENOTES*
I have my ignition module mounted down with heat sync paste.
-battery is brand new
-spark plugs are new
-distributor cap is new
-fuel pump is brand new
This car just went through a no start issue which turned out to be a loose ground wire connection in the trunk that runs to the fuel pump.
The mechanic replaced the brass fitting on the plastic housing that the pump sits in because I messed it up in the process of removing the old Pump. He said he put a certain kind of fitting on, and that if he hadn’t of done it that way, the car wouldn’t want to crank when hot. Remind you that was last week and I’ve experienced no issues up until today , though it’s been hot everyday. So I’m assuming that’s not the culprit.

One more not to add - When the no start issue was happening, in my trials of fixing it, I attempted to start the car more than 20 times , some cranks held longer than others, maybe I put some wear and tear on it after trying to many unsuccessful times?

The photo below is the starter. ** How would one like me even remove this if that’s the issue? ** It’s in a spot where no bolts can be seen at all . I had to stick my phone into the abyss to get this picture.

 

Hi Matt,

If the starter is turning the engine but the engine is not starting, then the starter is unlikely to be your problem. There are numerous other possibilities, such as the crankshaft position sensor, but since you've recently had work done on the fuel pump the fuel supply system would be my first suspect. When you turn the key to position II (ON), before cranking the engine, do you hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds to prime the system?

Another possibility is loss of fuel pressure after shutdown. There is a check valve in the fuel pump outlet that works in conjunction with the fuel pressure regulator to maintain pressure in the fuel rail while the engine is shut off. If the check valve or FPR fails, the fuel pump must rebuild pressure in the rail before fuel can be forced through the injectors and atomized.

A quick test of the FPR is to carefully pull the small rubber hose off of the vacuum fitting and inspect for the presence of wet fuel. Crank the engine a few times if you don't see any at first. If any fuel emerges from the vacuum fitting, the diaphragm in the regulator has failed.

A common problem with either the FPR or check valve fails is that when you shut off the engine when its hot, the sudden loss of pressure in the fuel rail allows the fuel to boil into vapor. The vapor is highly compressible and acts like a spring, preventing incoming fuel from making its way to the injectors, and the vapor only escapes one tiny puff at a time through the injectors. This is a modern version of "vapor lock," and the common solution is to let the engine cool so the vapor will condense back to liquid.

I don't know if any of this applies to your situation. But if the starter is rotating the engine, I would not rush to replace it. As I recall, the bolts are accessed from the rear of the transmission bellhousing and to access the upper bolt, you must remove the transmission mount and allow the engine/transmission to tilt downward.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks don, your words of wisdom are of much value to me. I was completely wrong when I made the thread regarding the starter considering it has nothing to do with the starter. It’s the brass fitting that you mentioned that connects to the pump housing. Basically the fuel rail loses pressure and you have to do the manual prime trick ( Key on II ) then off then on until it builds enough pressure for a instant-crank. I took it to the shop and he looked over and tested for pressure and I was right. The brass fitting he installed is faulty to a extent. It gets the car started and does it’s job but in a inconvenient manner. No biggie. I just have to install a new Fuel Pump Module considering I can’t just purchase the fitting that goes onto the pump housing. Thanks for your detailed response don it means a lot !

 

Don, one question for you. Would you have any idea of where to purchase the Fuel Pump Housing? The plastic canister where the pump sits inside of. I can’t buy just the fitting so I have to replace the whole canister but not sure where to find it

 

Hey Matt did you swap the rotor when you did the dizzy cap? They can cause all sorts of starting/running problems.

Good policy to replace it, it's an affordable part. I cured hard starting and got stranded twice with a bad rotor.


Larry

 

Hi Matt,

I think the canister has been discontinued by Jaguar for many years and is no longer available new. You may be able to find a good used one on eBay. But unless the brass fitting your mechanic installed is leaking, you could try installing an inline check valve in the fuel hose that feeds the inlet end of your fuel rail (closest to the firewall). If I remember correctly, the hoses have an inside diameter of 8mm and check valves with 5/16" barbed fittings fit. I found brass-bodied fuel check valves at McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com) that worked great. Note the directional arrow on the body of the check valve. Ideally, the check valve should be installed as close to the fuel tank as possible, but I think it's almost as good to install it in the fuel hose alongside the fuel rail, which is much easier to access than the fuel lines near the tank.

I think there are photos in my albums at the link in my signature - at least the thumbnails and descriptions are still available.

Cheers,

Don