Dealing with a car that won’t start
I have had my current car in excess of sixteen years, I purchased it from new and have always serviced it myself after the three years of warrantee had expired. I have only ever fitted genuine parts purchased from the main dealer. I like to think my car is as good today as it was, the first day it rolled off the production line. It has never wanted for anything, in fact it probably receives more new parts than it really needs. It was a big investment for the wife and I all those years ago, so every subsequent year it stays on the road is a good investment paying dividends.
The car has never once let me down in the sixteen years, I get in turn the key, adjust the heater to my desired temperature and drive off. So you can imagine my surprise the other day when I turned the key and for the first time in five thousand eight hundred and forty plus days my car won’t start. I have fuel in the petrol tank, the battery is fully charged and turning the engine over fast enough, when I try and start the engine, so way it won’t stat is a mystery to me. I contacted my wife and informed her she would have to get the bus home. She thought I was joking at first, as she said she has never even heard the words my car won’t start (in Danish that’s called Din bil vil ikke starte) in all these years.
Luckily I am at home where all my tools are. I can start to look and see why my car won’t start. I will check the spark at the plugs first, this is easy as I have an old plug. I will simply disconnect a high tension lead and put it on the loose plug whilst ensuring it is earthed on the engine. When I turn the engine, there should be a spark between the electrode and the plug body. I have a good spark so my attention was turned to the petrol. I know I have over half a tank as I just put fifty quid in last night on the way home. I undid the fuel delivery pipe, just before the carburetor. As I turned the engine the petrol sprayed in all directions.
I was slightly perplexed at way my car won’t start? I have a spark at the plugs and I have fuel, I began to consider an electrical fault, maybe on a censor or ECU box, or a dead battery (we Danes call them dødt batteri på bilen). When I smelt a strange smell from where all the fuel had spilt. It did not smell like petrol to me. I put a little in a plastic cup so I could see what was going on.
Suddenly I was happy and sad a t the same time, let alone a little embarrassed. In my rush to get home last night I had inadvertently put diesel in, instead of petrol. At least I now know why my car won’t start. And I am happy that my 100% record of my car not braking down is still intact, as it was human error not the car’s fault.
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