Re: basic troubleshooting

Posted by NCWayne on October 29, 2011 at 20:24:54 from (69.40.232.132):

In Reply to: basic troubleshooting posted by Bob Huntress on October 29, 2011 at 18:43:04:

Unfortunately there are way more things that can cause an engine not to start than just those you mention, and even the checks your talking about don't alays mean anything. Like another post said just because you have spark doesn't mean the plug is actually firing as it can be fouled, the ceramic can be broke allowing it ground out, etc, etc, etc. I've seen starters that had been rebuilt and turned the engine the wrong direction, ignition systems that didn't have enough energy to fire the plug when under compression but would fire the plug in open air, plugs that would fire when you took them out but not when installed and tightend, a distrubutor cap that had a hairline crack that wasn't visible that was causing one plug to misfire on occasion, etc, etc etc. I've seen an updraft carb that the siphon tube that put gas into the airstream had unthreaded itself, gotten sucked up into the intake manifold and eventually wound up under an intake valve. In that case the engine had just shut down unexpectedly and absolutely wouldn't restart. In other words the engine was 'getting gas to the carb, it had spark, etc, etc. Basically there was nothing visible externally, and the only way I found the problem was to pull the carb and look.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, yes, your saying that troubleshooting a basic, non electronic gas engine is basically 'a simple matter' is a bit presumptious. The thing is that for those of us that do this kind of thing for a living we do tend to get a bit presumptious, complacent, or whatever on occasion and as a result we occasionally fall prey to making the assumption that the problem we're running into will always fall into one of the catagories of an 'easy fix'.

Unfortunately just when we think that every problem stems from one of the tried and true 'easy fixes', just when we think that we've seen it all, something new pops up. When this happens it's our job to stop assuming, recognize that the problem is something new, learn from it, and add the new problem to our troubleshooting knowledge for future use. If we can do that then we ultimately end up as better mechanics, if not then we're nothing but 'presumptious idiots' who have no right to be called a real mechanic.....But that's just my humble opinion as someone who has made my share of assumptions over the years and wasted way to many hours trying to figure out what "should" have been a simple problem and as a result tended to be blind to the fact that the problem wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface.....and as a result have learned alot and continue to learn more and more every day I go to work........

Like my grandpa used to tell me, " A day spent without learning something new is a wasted day". I think Grandpa was a really smart fellow.....

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