When cold starting the car often won't idle, has intermitent power and stalls. After this happens it will not restart. I think it is flooding/ running very rich because sometimes there is black smoke when running cold and when removing the fuel pump fuse the car can be restarted.

I have replaced the plugs as I thought it might be this, but the problem is becoming worse over time.

Recently I've had a new ECU because the old one failed and the car has run fine since then - until now.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Will

Has the car been tuned up recently? It may be that the engine has been set to idle at tooo lower speed, hence the stalling in cold weather.

The fuel will be richer when the engine is cold, as the choke will increase the petrol/ air ratio. It would lead to flooding when it is hotter rather than colder. The engine smoke may be due to worn piston rings letting oil into the exhaust (I think- Dr Dave will put me right).

hope this is of some help

Yeah quite posssibly Eddie, but make sure the basics are checked out first; plugs, dizzy cap, rotor arm and HT leads are all important things and potentially give trouble, as seen in other threads :eyes

Thanks for your advice guys.

It works fine when warm and when I got in last night it worked fine. It seems to have trouble with cold damp mornings, but seems to be more of a fuel problem than an ignition prob.

Doesn't the ECU automatically adjust the idle speed on a continuous basis?