OLnly one of my old Fiestas does this, the rest are fine. It applies to those damp, misty mornings when that heavy sort of damp dew is all around, my 1982 1.3 Fiesta GL will never start....EVER!

No amount of WD 40 would make a difference today....it was a case of letting the engine dry out a bit and it was fine after about 2pm.

Cant understand it.....its the only car that is affected by this damp weather and cannot work out exactly where the damp is causing the ignition problem. I assume it is specifically focused somewhere...any ideas. Its electronic ignition, auto choke variant, runs like a dream once it starts...

tried WD 40 on plugs, leads, etc, etc, it still wont start until the 'damp' in the air has subsided a bit....

its been to the garage twice times for the same fault....they can never find anything wrong, or work out why the damp kills it stone dead every time....

Our MK1 can be a bit of a cow to start at times. It's never completely refused to start though.

You'll just have to run one of the others when there's a damp morning!

What happens when you try to start it? Does it turn over, but not fire? Or try to fire but not succeed?

My dad always swears by WD40 - cant remember where exactly he sprays it though!

I had a Mk2 Xr2 and half of the time it wouldn't start unless you turned the key while having your foot on the accelerater pedal flat to the floor
Dunno if this helps:)

The method for starting if you read the Ford Manuals is to pull out the choke fully and pump the accelerator twice. I tend to ignore this as ours won't start if you do this.

The method for starting if you read the Ford Manuals is to pull out the choke fully and pump the accelerator twice. I tend to ignore this as ours won't start if you do this.

That applies to certain carbs only.....it says different for my 1977 1.1...but for the auto choke 1.3 it advises me to floor the gas while turning the key for a cold start.....this does not work at all, it only needs about 2" of foot power to fire usually....

Symptoms are engine turns over but will not fire......WD40 had no effect, not unless you stripped out the plugs and leads and soaked everything and left it to evaporate for an hour.

Damp is getting in somewhere, so it will have to be a soaking in that spray ingnition sealer I bought today as soon as we get a good hot day again (laugh).....

Its that clammy misty damp that kills it, not normal rain or wet weather....just that clammy stuff we get.....

somewhere in the circuit there must be a way this clammy mist gets into the system.....perhap a full new set of leads might cure it, they are the originals still in place...

Have you checked the ignition coil?

When it happens have you checked you are getting sparks from the leads. You need two people for this, unplug it and place it next to some metal to spark from and get the spare body to watch (make sure they don't touch otherwise they will get a shock) for sparks when you turn it over.

If it is sparking, and the ignition coil is fine, then the fault must be from the fuel side. Mechanical or Electrical fuel pump? The wiring on electric fuel pumps can start to break down, and become suceptible to humidity.

spark is ok, a bit weak considering but its certainly there, and normally is no problem. Not sure about the fuel pump.....but certainly fuel is getting to the carb ok, you can see it clearly.

But you have a point, I must clean and check the pump leads as soon as we get another nice (ish) day.....

As some kind person has blocked my Nissan in this morning I have been forced to bring the Fiesta to work on this lovely wet day. Fortunately she fired up, after a few false starts, but was none too pleased when I tried to put the lights, rear wiper and front wipers on all at once, so I thought I'd give the heater a miss, hence why I,m sat here freezing and wet trying to type. Managed to get almost to work, could see the entrance 30 yards away when I went through a puddle and drown her, she very quickly shuddered to a stop and I had to get some of the lads from work to shove her into the car park.

Great these classic cars aren't they!

Great these classic cars aren't they!

You LOVE them and you know it really! Its all part of the great life experience. Many a time I fondly remember the day back in 1999 when my 1977 Fiesta shuddered to a halt while pulling out of the University roundabout during evening rush hour on a FRIDAY....blocking 2 lanes. Points had just totally failed, no start, no go......pushing her off the roundabout was a nightmare, no one bothered to stop and help and just tooted and beeped and made rude gestures while I struggled to push her across the lanes and down the first available route. Traffic kindly boxed me in on all sides and made no effort to do anything but either laugh or use the finger sign as I was holding them up...

Ah, fond memories.......