Triumph Repair: 1974 TR6, bright sun light, spark plug wire

Question
I just took my TR6 out of storage. I started it up to warm up the engine for about 5 mins. I drove it home approx. 3 miles. I pulled into the driveway and it died. The engine turns over but it doesn't start. I was wondering if it could be the fuel filter or the fuel pump. I appreciate any ideas you may have.

Answer
Hi Richard,
It could be the filter or the pump but they are just two things of a hundred things that can stop an engine.
Forget what it may be and do a few tests. All piston engines only require three things to run, Compression, fire and fuel with conditions on each. It is less likely compression since it just ran so first look at fire and fuel. First spray a know fuel into the intake while someone spins the starter. Starter fluid (available at any auto parts store) or WD-40 works ok. If it fires up when you spray fluid into the intake then it is a fuel problem.

First check fuel supply to the pump by removing the fuel line at the pump and lowering it to see if fuel runs out freely. If you have good supply of fuel connect it back up and remove the fuel line at the carburetors and place it in a can or jar and spin the engine to see if the pump is pushing fuel. If not check the fuel filter (should be between the pump and the carbs.) It is unlikely you will have both carburetors fail at once.

If it did not try to start on starting fluid or WD-40 than you need to remove a plug wire and hold it about an 1/8 in. from a metal part of the head and have someone spin the engine and watch for a spark. If you are not comfortable doing that, get a known good spark plug (from any engine even a lawn mower plug) and place it on the spark plug wire and lay it on a metal part of the engine and spin the engine over and watch for a spark. The spark should be thick blue spark. (as thick as a pensile lead and blue color) (not in bright sun light) If there is no spark or it is a thin yellow or orange color spark then you have an ignition problem.

Let me know what you come up with on these tests and we will go to the next step.

Howard