NigelJ

I would start by replacing the DME relay, a very common source of non-starts.

To check the oil just open the cranckcase drain plug and see how much comes out into the catch can you have thoughtfully placed in the appropriate location. There should not be much but recently another car which had stood for a similar time dropped 9 litres! You can always put it back where it is supposed to be.

Check that the oil tank hasn't drained into the crankcase. This could be why it is stiff to turn over.

When you drained the oil tank did you also drain the crankcase as it is probably full of oil that has seeped past the pump over time? Cheers

It sounds to me like a faulty headlight/indicator stalk. There are multiple contacts in the housing and they can get out of shape through use and, in the case of the headlight ones, overheating. The easy fix is a new stalk but you may be able to repair your current one. Its worth a search on this site and on Pelican Parts as this has been covered previously. You should also fit headlight relays as this removes the high current running through the stalk. Once again a search will show you how. Cheers

Crank sensors? If they are faulty the DME will not start the pump. Cheers

Not too surprising but I have just heard from Peter Auto that Le Mans Classic and Spa Classic have been cancelled for this year. Le Mans Classic has been rescheduled for the 1,2,3,4 July 2021 but there is no new date for the Spa event. Cheers

Exactly why I am going to get them serviced and once done I think I will go over to 98 octane with the odd shot of STP or similar. I do so few miles annually that the cost is negligible. Many thanks again for the advice.

Usually normal main brand suppliers, Esso, Shell etc. I have been using 95 octane "regular" grade fuel for many years with no problems. This seems to be a very recent problem. I have today filled up using super grade just in case but noticed that that too was E5. I also gave the old girl a shot of STP injector cleaner and went for a longish run and the car was great. I guess leaving it idle for a relatively long time was not a good idea but I have done that before with no problems so why this cropped up now I do not know. I blame the corrona virus!

Many thanks for the recommendations. I didn't know that the ASNU guys would service others makes of injector. I will go that route. Cheers

With the MOT due on my '87 Coupe I had great difficulty starting it after 5 months sitting idle in a dry garage. It has never done this before in 25 years of ownership so I was a little perplexed. After several tries it fired up on what sounded like 1 cylinder . Suspecting a fuel pump issue I went through the usual checks with nothing obviously wrong so had another go at starting and it then fired up on 2/3 cylinders. I was worried about bore wash so decided to pull the spark plugs and see if it was an DME issue. 3 plugs were dry with no sign of fuel and all were sparking happily. So it looked like an injector problem. I don't have any spares so took the sensible approach of tapping the offending items with a small hammer and punch. Voila, each cylinder fired up in turn. The car was then running perfectly and drove well to the MOT station. It passed with no issues and I went for a proper Italian tune up run with no further problems. The only thing I can think of that would cause this issue is the grotty fuel we now have to endure. I suspect that the injectors have reacted to the water absorbed by the ethanol and partially seized up so I now want to get them properly serviced. Can anyone point me to a good outfit to do this please? Cheers

The fuel pump, 1 only, is controlled by the DME relay.There is no WUR on a 3.2 Carrera but there is an ICU, Idle Control Unit. Unplugging this and the AFM has no effect on the pump. Turning on the ignition does not run the pump. Rather the DME, or ECU if you prefer, needs to see the signals from the crank speed and reference sensors to activate the DME relay. The delayed start you are getting does sound like the fuel pressure issues but could also be a number of other problems. The Bently manual lists a logical sequence of actions for chasing down starting issues. You can run the fuel pump by jumping it at fuse 6 (when counting from the left). A fused live wire directly from the +ve battery post to the fuse 6 terminal should make the fuel pump run. HTH

The restrictor in the oil breather pipe connected to the oil tank filler neck is missing.

Alan Drayson at Canford Classics did the re-riviting on mine a while back. As expected it was perfect and not expensive.

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