Top Tip Flooded Engine

[JazzyJ]

This may be common knowledge but if not, may prove useful to all Mk3 Petrol owners. Just had a visit from the AA following my Mk3 EX turning over but not firing. Apparently, if the car isn't used for a few day and then used just to nudge forward and then left again, this causes an engine flood that can take up to 5 days to clear. A few days ago I nudged my car forward a foot or so to open the garage, left it a few days and hence the AA visit today!

[Jocko]

I have experienced that a couple of times. I find the old, throttle wide open and crank it over till it fires does the trick.

[monkeydave]

is this the same problem as starting it too quickly and it just turns over for a few seconds before eventually starting ?

did you leave it on ignition lights first click before starting or just straight through to start?

if i had to move the car that short a distance i would prob just push it

[ColinB]

There is a well known technique for dealing with a flooded engine. Try googling for "clear flood mode", you get lots of results saying the same thing:
https://www.ericthecarguy.com/a-flooded-engine/
Basically floor the accelerator whilst cranking the engine (don't bother with his thing about drying out the spark plugs, it works without that).
Been there, done that.

[JazzyJ]

The car is parked on my very small drive on a slope so a 'push' wasn't an option. Having owned many vehicles over the years including Cortina's and Orion's (remember those sweet cars!) I've had my fair share of non starters, but today my Mk3 Petrol Honda Jazz was having none of the tried and tested routines to get it started, even the AA guy had to remove the injector feed to stop more fuel entering the engine whilst turning it over. I know strange, but appears to be true!

[monkeydave]

The car is parked on my very small drive on a slope so a 'push' wasn't an option. Having owned many vehicles over the years including Cortina's and Orion's (remember those sweet cars!) I've had my fair share of non starters, but today my Mk3 Petrol Honda Jazz was having none of the tried and tested routines to get it started, even the AA guy had to remove the injector feed to stop more fuel entering the engine whilst turning it over. I know strange, but appears to be true!

it must be the same as my old seat ibiza that after driving it if i reversed into a space and came back to drive it even after a few mins it would not start unless i put the throttle to the floor while cranking the engine but that was heat soak but it was a fuel injected car 2000 w plate not carburettor

on my mk3 i sometimes had the crank for a while before starting if i turned the key all the way instead of waiting a second between clicks and have not had that problem now i wait but it have never had the problem you are saying here and i have also started the car to move it a few feet on occation although sometimes i do push it as my drive has no slope like yours

[Downsizer]

The AA seems to be well-used to solving this problem!
https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=10461.msg63674#msg63674

[madasafish]

I had a Rover 820i which suffered from flooding if you drove it out of the garage, washed it and put it back again. When cold the Fuel Injection system ran a very rich mixture.

Never an issue with carburettor equipped cars I have owned.

My Jazz gives no such problems...

I suspect a lot depends on the driver's right foot and how it is used..

Some OAPs appear to solve the issue by using 5,000rpm when parking.. or starting ... 

[John Ratsey]

After reading about this problem more than once (but so far have never encountered it), if I start the engine for any reason I let it run for a minute to clear any excess fuel.

[richardfrost]

After reading about this problem more than once (but so far have never encountered it), if I start the engine for any reason I let it run for a minute to clear any excess fuel.

Surely now you can just run in Electric mode if you are just moving the car around on your drive?

[John Ratsey]

Surely now you can just run in Electric mode if you are just moving the car around on your drive?

I was commenting about my general habit and not specifically about my current vehicle. However, Honda's hybrid system seems to prioritise getting the engine partly warmed up but this does have the beneficial side-effect of putting some charge into the battery. It's also possible that I'm seeing this behaviour as the final part of any journey home is on slower roads where the car switches to battery resulting in the car sitting at home with around the minimum charge (3 / 10 bars on gauge) in the battery.

[richardfrost]

However, Honda's hybrid system seems to prioritise getting the engine partly warmed up but this does have the beneficial side-effect of putting some charge into the battery.

Ah ok. My Toyota has an EV button which supposedly imposes my will on the system, but you're right, if there is heavy load on the battery then I get 'computer easy no' and the engine fires up.

[Jocko]

Some OAPs appear to solve the issue by using 5,000rpm when parking.. or starting ... 

I take exception to tarring all OAPs with the same brush. I never use more than 4,500 rpm when parking.

[Westy36]

Some OAPs appear to solve the issue by using 5,000rpm when parking.. or starting ... 

I always assumed it was because they hadn't turned their hearing aid on as they didn't want to waste the batteries!