Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Engine cutting out

As I’m sitting by the side of the road I thought I’d post a question about causes behind engine cutting out .

My guess is that there’s fuel starvation and I need to check the filters and fuel pipes - but, as every guess I make about the Morgan is wrong , I’d love to get some educated answers

Symptoms , it runs for a couple of miles, farts and the.n stops - if I wait for 20 minutes it will start again and good for another mile .

Driving on the flat, no real hills involved

Luckily I’m only 2 miles from home so should make it back in an hour !!

Tank breather blocked? ...... what age car is it?

K

Seems to be a 1974 K.

Then the little hole in the petrol cap should be easy to check !! 😁

K

Ps ...Easy check for tank venting ... when it stops just pop the cap off and see if it starts back up

Thanks for your suggestions - 5 breakdowns later I got home. I opened the fuel cap, there wasn't an instant start, but I had a feeling it helped - overall, it started fine each time after waiting between 20 and 40 minutes, at least it's home and I can dwell on the issue at my leisure. Each breakdown was announced by a series of jerks and farts - the car, not me.

I'm thinking crud in the fuel or a partially blocked fuel filter.

Thank you - I'll report back with what I find out . Even breaking down wasn't too bad, lots of people wanted to chat and talk about the car - another plus about being a Morgan owner.

Yeah, the idea that the fuel cap vent is blocked works for me, creating an increasing vacuum in the tank that overcomes the fuel pumps ability to suck any more fuel. The hint that a blocked vent might be the issue is the sound of inrush of air when the fuel cap is removed right after the engine fails.

Crud in the fuel line also works well given that some US fuels seem to create issues if the car is not used for some time and when the car is used on the road it stirs up the crud which then gets picked up and sucked in to the fuel line and restricts it again limiting the fuel pumps ability to suck, which if left in time the vacuum decreases allowing some fuel to then make it`s way through.

One other option might be water in the fuel which again lies in the bottom of the tank below the level of pick-up, until it becomes disturbed when out on the road, again in time it can settle back down out of the way.

I once had water in the tank of a non- Morgan, and started at the wrong end trouble shooting... at the carb.. no fuel.. Disconnected the fuel line and spun the car over no fuel, replaced the whole fuel line, still no fuel being supplied, only then did I think to check for vacuum build up, DUH ! Opened the fuel flap, no fuel cap and there had been torrential rain before a big freeze... Rolled back under the car and gave the bottom of the tank a thump.. it was solid. Ice in the tank and snow on the ground... It was interesting to see the look on folks faces as I poured kettles of boiling water into the fuel tank, before I again crawled under and removed the tank drain plug and let the water out until the smell of clean fuel let me know that all the water had been drained...No not my car, but that of my then girl friend who had removed the fuel cap at the petrol station and forgotten to replace it.. Yeah, she was even stupid enough to marry me..

It could it be water in the fuel causing a problem with the spark plugs that dry out with the residual heat after 20 mins ?

I will postulate another possible cause if the cap breather is not the root cause.

Some electrical components, usually coil , or capacitor in the distributor , or the ballast resistor (hidden in the wiring usually for a 1970s 4/4) , may be breaking down after use for a period. After cooling down they will function as normal again until the next occasion.