no gas?

[QuickMick]

After overhauling the manifold back to the exhaust and the heat exchange unit on my a4 i put it all back together. now it wont start. i went ahead and changed the plugs/wires as they looked a little fouled/corroded. im pretty sure im getting a spark as she would briefly fire with starterfluid. today im going to unhook the fuel line, put it in a jar and crank it to see if im getting gas... if i am getting gas, what might the problem be, and--more likely--if i am not any tips on the best way to find the failure/clog? on the schematic it appears that some fuel systems have a 'fuel shut off valve' but i dont see one. however, my buddy helped me disconnect the carb and no fuel was coming out so im wondering if he saw the shut off and flipped it...any idea where that is usually located?

thanks in advance...

[Gene T]

A fuel shut off would be near or on the tank.

Gene

[CalebD]

Check all along the fuel line between the engine and the tank for the fuel valve/petcock.

Does your fuel tank gravity feed your engine as our A4 setup does? Ours has a mechanical fuel pump on the engine. Gravity gets the gas there and the pump supplies the carb with fuel.

I was able to blow into the fuel line and hear bubbling in our fuel tank. I thought there might have been a clog but our fuel level was just at the height of the pick up tube. Adding more fuel restored the flow of fuel to the engine.

[tommays]

The mechanical fuel pump has a priming lever IF the pump lobe was on the high spot the motor may have to be turned overr a bit so it will give the full travel

At this point it will pump huge amounts of fuel and i have just taken the bowl drain plug out of the carb and pumped fuel into a jar this way to ensure it was clean and water free

[hellosailor]

"changed the plugs/wires "

Before the Japanese started the nice convention of numbering their distributor caps and plug wires, every one of us managed to get the wires connected wrong at some time. That's all it takes to stop an engine from firing up, so just verify those are connected up right. And add some numbers, or stripes, if you can.

[TQA]

If you have a dinghy outboard with a remote tank use it as a gravity feed system to the carb and see if that does the trick.

It is never a bad idea to have a trial run at this in case you have a blockage or pump failure and it is a get you back into the slip option.

[QuickMick]

well, ive disconnected the fuel line all the way to the gas filter and im still not getting anything. now, behind the fuel filter, there is what appears to be some sort of soleniod that has its own wiring. is it possible that this is some kind of kill switch that automaticlly tripped when i took the manifold off/disconnected the carb? if it is/might be any thoughts on what i should do next? thanks

[tommays]

It the fuel pump sucking ? IF you put your finger over the IN and move the priming lever it should have a good amount of suction

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by QuickMick

now, behind the fuel filter, there is what appears to be some sort of soleniod that has its own wiring. is it possible that this is some kind of kill switch ...

Sounds like the same kind of automatic fuel shut-off that's on Abracadabra. You should hear it go *click* when you turn the ignition key on, and *click* again when you turn it off.

Jim

[hellosailor]

Gasoline cut-off solenoids aren't common on boats, AFAIK, but they are common on a lot of fuel-injected cars, to ensure the high pressure fuel supply is cut off when the engine isn't running (i.e. after an accident). In these circuits, the solenoid is powered on during key-start by the starter circuit, and then power remains on as long as something else (i.e. ignition or fuel pressure or tach signal) is present.

As Jim said, listen for the clicks. If the solenoid is receiving NO power, it should be cutting off the fuel supply.