New Member, Introducing my Project GTA

Well just had my first full day with her and had dragged my 15yr old boy away from the internet for a day .

So... New battery, fresh fuel but seem to be fresh out of magic dust as she won't start.

I took off one of the hoses from what looks like the fuel filter to one of the fuel injector rails and nothing pumps on turn over. There's physically fuel there, old, I had a suck, a fine mid 90's vintage I think. So am I barking up the wrong tree? Seemed a good place to look (pic below) but not sure if the fuel pump is front or back?

I have found what I presume is an imobiliser with a small hidden push button under the dash, when pressed the lights flash once, in one mode (the default get in to drive) all the dash lights come on with the demist light on the right display. Press it again lots of things click and the dash lights come on again but without the demist light on. I take this logic to mean it's imoblised but this was I presume an after market fitting. So not sure if it cuts the fuel pump maybe as she turns over in either mode. If I press the button a few times quickly the alarm goes off which is fun as it's an air horn!

Under the fragile plastic scuttle plate by the battery I also found some cables not connected, might be alarm cables? It's by the bonnet pin switch but several cables look like they could plug into each other, tried a few combinations but nothing happened.

Overall she doesn't look too bad, dumped some coolant front and rear which has caused some corrosion in those areas but baby steps.

Any advice please gents? Thanks in advance

[BIG_MVS]

Yes fuel pump front and rear. Rear is the main one and the front is a small feeder pump to the rear.

You should be able to hear them running when the ignition is on (well prime then run when started)? Also check you can hear the injector relay clicks when the ignition is on? There should be a cover between the rear seats which will reveal this relay and the engine ECU.

Hi,

Happy to come and problem solve in situ if that helps...

However since it's been sitting a while perhaps you should swap over the dizzy cap and rotor arm, drop what oil you can ditto the old fuel. Pull a plug or two to check condition etc etc

Others will advise further I'm sure!

Ah yes, I remember the noise from the pumps now from when I used to drive her, recall them being fairly noisey. Not getting that on ignition, lot's of healthy clicks but no pumps. Due back next sunday so will check relays, that might be what the immobiliser switches. Will check dizzy etc if she doesn't fire when I get the fuel pumping, don't want to take too many engine bits out in one go

Thank you

Yes you'll hear the front pump prime for about 5 seconds or so when you turn the ignition round to the second position. Don't try to start immediately, turn from position 1 to 2 and see if you can hear it prime.

It should prime and then stop. At that point twist the key to start.

If you're not hearing the front pump prime then yes it's most likely the immobiliser as ignition and fuel pump(s) are standard items to be controlled. (I've a feeling that they're both mandatory if it's a Thatcham approved device)

Try bypassing the relay .Switch to start position ,then bridge the fuel pump relay that lives between the rear seats.But if you can feel/hear the relays clicking then I'd check for power at the pumps.Both front and rear pump should prime on ignition .

My advice re alarms and immobilisers is trace them out and ditch the lot !
The last thing you need on an Alpine is more possibilities for wiring gremlins.
My GTA had an all singing all dancing, multi circuit, Thatcham approved pile of crap, which cost the previous owner considerable money and all it caused was trouble.
The first thing I did was strip it all out, most immobilisers were easily bypassed with some jumpers off the lighting circuit anyway.
If you want to stop tea leaves, get an all enveloping steering lock and aerosol it luminous pink so they can't miss it !
Nice straight looking car by the way, hope all works out well.

More pics from saturday....

[BIG_MVS]

Look at the mint Spare wheel bag!

Looks like a really good one, I bet it will polish up really nicely.

The important thing is that it's been stored inside, they don't like being outside these Alps especially 20 + Year old ones.

The strap is a bit perished but yes, outside she will hopefully come up a treat. It's underneath that concerns me, not in a chasis rot way but the suspension etc. Not sure what I should be concerned about with bushes etc. Pretty sure brakes will need some TLC, the originals look like something from the 60's lol.

I know members like to trace back cars they've owned. FYI her registration when new was E565 ELN

[BIG_MVS]

I know members like to trace back cars they've owned. FYI her registration when new was E565 ELN

Eleanor

I spot a Club Alpine Renault sticker, who was the previous owner out of interest? I have quite a bit of Club Alpine literature so can have a look to see if there is anything interesting in there about your car.

Not sure Eleanor suites her lol, googled images on that name and filled my screen with Ford Mustangs!

Was wondering when someone would spot the old membership stickers, my very muched missed friend and owner was Keith Rowland and lived in Surrey/West Sussex. When I get more paperwork I might be able to find more previous owners.

Well another day on her today, a tad fresh. Removed all the immobilliser kit from under the dash, re-joined the cable it isolated on a connector under the ECU. Still no pump priming. Relays under the ECU click ok and checked for switching which was fine. I checked what I think is the rear fuel pump (picture below) but I was on my own today so found it hard to turn the ignition and have my meter probes on the connector at the same time. Could see the front setup more easily, two connectors behind the headlamp. Went for the bigger gauge wire connector as presumed the other was for level etc. It had black, red & white. No voltage on ignition. So back to square one although removing the immobiliser is one less thing to look at.

Not sure what other noises I should be hearing around the engine? Do the injectors make any ongoing noises? All I really get is a couple of big clicks in the rear when stiched to 2nd stage.

[BIG_MVS]

That's the right hand engine bay fan (blows cool air over and around the engine bay) there is another fan on the left hand side behind the spare wheel which sucks hot air off the back of the turbo.

The rear fuel pump is behind the drivers side rear wheel usually under a plastic cover.