[email protected] wrote:
Apologies for bringing up this topic before. I promise to ask different
questions this time:
The fact that my Spider has been sitting in my garage not running for
probably longer than I ever drove it is beginning to drive me nuts.
First of all, for an Alfisti, you need to realize that it's NOT a drive,
only a putt to make one completely nuts ! :-)
1. I do not understand how one siphons gas out of the car. But if you guys have
done this before, surely you have tips on the easiest way to do it?
Try hanging your siphon hose onto 'something' so that it is a U, and
then fill it with gas using a funnel. Crimp one end to close it, hold
the other open end higher, and stuff the open end down the fill pipe.
Last of all--lower the crimped end toward the receiving container and
release the crimp. The hose should retain enough gas to start the siphon
process.
2. I unhooked the battery ground, but this was back in 2005, so I'm
assuming there's not much juice there. I want to trickle charge the
battery now, but to do so, do I re-hook the battery ground and then hook
the charger to the battery and to a place on the chassis, or can I hook up
the charger without completing the battery circuit to the car?
I would just hook the charger to the battery as is and go for it. Make
sure the area is well ventilated--but there's about zero chance of any
hydrogen gas hanging around the battery after it's been sitting for this
long. AFTER you've had the charger on it for a while, there might be
some H2 in the area--so, if you want to be ultra careful, do the
charging outdoors. The whole thing about hooking the negative side of
the charger to a ground remote to the battery is intended to minimize
any risk of setting off an H2 explosion with a spark. Once the REASON is
understood, the need for paranoia goes away.
3. One of the reasons I stopped trying to figure out why I couldn't get
the car running completely in 2005 (it sounded like it was then running on
one cylinder) was because Someone Who Shall Go Nameless told me it was
hard on the engine to keep starting it/trying to start it when it was
running in that condition. Is that true and if so, how do I test the
engine's being able to run?
Are the spark plugs clean/fresh, the ignition wires in good shape, the
distributor cap and rotor good ?? Another step you might take is to pull
out the injectors and soak the nose end of them (say overnight) in
something pretty aggressive--such as BG 44K or (also BG) Supercharge,
with either one UNdiluted. This WILL get any gum/varnish out of the
injectors. You don't want to do this soaking operation in an
unventilated area, or someplace where a spark might get at the fumes.
One or two cans of 44K in the (emptied) tank along with ONLY about 5
gallons of fresh fuel ought to clean everything else out. YES, this is a
MUCH stronger concentration of the stuff than they recommend, BUT, it's
WAY effective that way !!
A compression test would tell whether there are any non-ignition,
non-fuel system related problems, but such tests are most meaningful on
a warmed up engine. I suppose you COULD run a cold-engine compression
test after pulling the plugs for a check/replacement, just to see if
there are any REALLY serious issues. Be SURE, when running a compression
test to hold the throttle WIDE open (and that you have a fully
charged/functional battery--and a healthy starter motor--otherwise the
results are pretty meaningless.
Greg
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