Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing +8 does not start

Hi.After 6 months staying in garage today I tried to start up brothers +8 year 2003 with 12000km on tacho.Car doesnt start, even after longer trying .It has enough gasoline,batery is new. Any help please ?
Best regards ,
Miran

Is the Imobiliser light glowing on the dash? If so cycle the ignition switch on and off (waiting 10 seconds when off) for the light to go off.

Good luck

Start with basics, make sure fuel is being pumped and that you have a spark. Also if the fuel is more than 12 months old I would change it.

That's a good point, ignition on and tap the fuel pump relay, after standing could easily be stuck

Miran, when you switch on the ignition does the fuel gauge and voltage gauge move or are they erratic? I had a similar issue on my +8 a few years ago. Turned out to be burnt out fuse on the low tension circuit which shows up on the gauges by not moving, it could be you have a poor connection on that part of the circuit.

A 2003 +8 will be GEMS in which both ignition and feeling are ECU controlled.

The major electronic components are normally OK , but the connections and wiring can be suspect.

Once you have checked the fuel pump is running and you have "clean" fuel, spark at the plugs , I would go through all the visible connectors in the loom, especially those to earth (ground) and I would take off all the earth connectors and clean them back to bright metal. After 6 months the corrosion should be be too bad , but it is worth a shot.

After this you might want to get any fault codes read, investigated and then cleared.

What actually happens when you try starting the car?
Dead? Check cut off switch on bulkhead on lhs.
A Click and nothing else? Check battery and condition of connections, starter motor etc. Tap the motor/solenoid carefully to see if sticking/ brushes not in good nick.
Engine turns but does not fire?
Check fuel/pump. Check spark. Plugs,leads,etc
Check pipes etc for splits....air being sucked in etc.
Use fault code reader as that might home in on faults to save methodical long testing or checking due to the complexity of Gems and reliance on several sensors/components.
Gomog has a link to Gems manuals and shows the locations of components and "theory".
Back to basics "try the simple things first" often finds the problem without hit or miss trial and error of
Good luck!

Guys , many thanks for your answers.
Engine turns but not fire.
Miran

Does the fuel pump "hum" when you turn on the ignition?
If not the usual cause is the fuel pump relay which can stick after a period of non-use. Replace this (it is under the dashboard) and you should be able to hear the pump. It only runs for a few seconds while it builds up pressure in the fuel rail. As soon as this is achieved it will switch off.
This will answer whether the engine has fuel.

The ignition is ECU controlled on the GEMS system, so I am not sure how to test this other than the obvious one of removing a spark plug , reattaching the High Tension lead and turning the engine over , you should be able to see a spark across the gap.

let us know how each of these tests goes and then we can help further.