Forum:
PLEASE HELP! Love my '92 Sportrak but sometimes he just stops and will not start! Leave for 2 or 3 mins and he just roars back in to life. I've put new cap,leads,rotor and fuel pump on but still unwell. If anyone out there can help him and me.....PLEASE POST. 
Have you checked air system-
Have you checked air system- and i assume you replaced spark plugs when you done leads?
Ignition coil? This happened to someone else i know, but i cant for the love of god remember where the problem lay. Ill get back to you asap if i remember. sorry to be so utterly useless
Thanks for your reply so
Thanks for your reply so quickly, he sparks like a "good-un" but just swings over, then as I said 2or3 mins later.......BRRRUMMMM! And yes air filter is actually out.
The air filter is out all
The air filter is out all together. Why?
Just at the moment its out,
Just at the moment its out, does'nt make any difference to his condition, in or out, new element coming anyway.
Coiled
Check the coil, these often work when cold, and break down when hot, that is the coil and not the engine, this is the first sign of a coil breaking down.
Check the fuel tank breather, if this is blocked it will suck the tank in, and the fuel pump will not have enough power to suck fuel, as soon as the tank pressure reduces it will allow fuel to return. to test this, as soon as it cuts out, remove the fuel filler cap and see if there is a sudden inrush of air, run the engine without the filler cap to see if all is ok.
Breathers on the fuel tank are basically a ball bearing, or similar, depending on design, held between two springs to centralise it; this allows it to move both ways to allow air into, or out of the tank, air entering the tank is when the fuel level drops, and air exiting the tank is due mainly to fuel expansion during warm weather.
Thanks for your input but
Thanks for your input but alas Sportrak can be running and ticking over, switch him off, Hey Presto! just swings over won't start.
Irregular Starting
This, I have to agree, sounds very much like the coil or the LT circuit. Check the lower connection of the coil and a bit of WD40 inside the connector will clear out any dampness. The problem is that if the car fails to start too much fuel accumilates and is sensed by the EMU. Starting then is impossible untill the unused fuel is evaporated, then it will start again.
You may well have a spark but is it intensive enough to burn the mixture inside the chamber. You can test the output of the coil and this is described in the proper workshop manual. When my own failed it dumped most of the HT power to earth. I now always carry a spare.
You can if you have one use a normal coil but ensure you cut the lt leraving sufficient wire to reconnect the plug. Then the remaining wire can be extended and connected to the normal or old fashined coil usin the correct connectors for each terminal. I have used this method to keep going whils I await the new coil. The new coils are in the order of £45., but it is worth testing first.
The only other alternative may be the mixture sensor. If you look back through the forum you will find I did a copy of the codes for fault and the steps how to carry out and recognise what the warning messages related to.
As a point I agree if the fuel breather is not working then it can cause a starvation problem but both of my Sportraks always suck air in as the fuel cap is opened. Perhaps my breathers are blocked but the cars have run like that for years, OOPs
OLDMINIMAN
M J Young
Non-starting Sportrak
Check these.
1. Remove the petrol filler cap. Try running the engine without the filler cap. If the breather in the fuel filler cap is blocked it creates a vacuum in the tank and no fuel gets to the pump. When the engine is not running the vacuum reduces and petrol flows ... it re-starts. Try running Sporty again with no filler cap and post the result.
2. Try removing a spark plug next time it wont start. Is the plug electrode wet with fuel or dry? Also is the electrode black, grey or white?
Mixture ... you need an exhaust probe to set the correct mixture to +- correct %.