Rover 200 & 400 Owners Club

Looking for advice.
Recently got my 214 sei back on the road after a few years lay up.
Started first time every time and ran beautifully.
After a couple of days the engine would cut out after idling comfortably at traffic lights.
Then it would be difficult to start.
After I left it 5min and a long spin on the starter it fired up.
Then a few days later it wouldn't start after a long run.
The engine was only stopped half hour so still hot!.
Got it going again and whilst driving it didnt miss a beat.
After not being a problem for a week it then starting running lumpy after starting.
It would clear then become lumpy again then clear all whilst driving.
Now it just wont start.
Have changed. Plugs.
Leads
Dizzy cap
Maifold and injection
Fuel filter
Am suspecting fuel pump in tank.
Any suggestions please.

It's usually possible to hear the fuel pump priming the system when the ignition is turned on. Does it sound dead?
Otherwise, crank angle sensors are know to die in intermittent fashion like you describe.

I’d have gone fuel filter then pump as well, but you can test the pump buy taking the fuel feed pipe off the inlet and getting someone to turn key to position 2.

This is not a test for pressure only feed.

If it shoots out like you expect, on the other side of the fuel rail is the regulator. I’d suspect that next.

All above is assuming all rubber o rings are in usable condition and not pinched.

The pump does prime and fuel comes out of feed when tested. I wondered if the pump could be weak and not pumping at required pressure.
I was thinking about the crank censor next.
But what's annoying is that I have fuel and spark!
yet it will not start!.

Although I've never dismantled an internal fuel pump...
I think if there was a weakness on either stroke of the pump, it wouldn't reach the point where the switchgear requested a solenoid pull or solenoid release.

I had the same problem on my 214 a few years back not knowing if it would fire up or not.Sometimes it would be ok for a few days Then it would play up again.After replacing the crank sensor I never encountered any more starting problems.

I don't see rotor arm on your list of things that have been changed. They are a surprisingly frequent cause of ignition problems - and are cheap to replace

You haven't mentioned the rotor arm in your list of parts changed.

Although your symptoms don't match my experiences of rotor arm failure completely, it is a very cheap and very quick fix

The last two posts took the words out of my mouth. When I ran 214 SEi’s as daily cars, I had rotor arm problems more than once. Cost about <£10 at the time to fix

Ive had these issue before and was convinced if was fuel pump related, start up and lumpy idle until warm , on the motorway started to die now and again , took foot of accelerator and then press down again all ok for 20mins , then started doing this again and over a period of time more often , rev limiter cut in at 5000 rev and it should rev to 7500 with ease on mine , then one day wouldn't start , changed crank sensor and runs perfectly 100% better than before , none of the above issue . The sensors can be checked but can still be faulty even if the check say yes , if its a old sensor as pointed out by a auto-electrician over the road . Type in The Halls effect . Basically the sensor as lost its magnetism .

Hope this helps .