No start issue, video attached

[Kenny_Z]

I've been struggling with getting my DeLorean to start. This is what I'm getting when I turn the key.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H_HAwAv7T0

This started after swapping the distributor cap and rotor. I swapped those two parts because I lost all torque and was almost stalling after a short drive. The catalyst for all this was when my alternator belt snapped and I was forced to drive for about a mile until I got to an area of road that wasn't too steep to pull off. The timing wasn't off (yet) so I looked at the plugs, wires, and distributor. The cap points and rotor were pitted and burnt. The plugs looked as good as the day I put them in the car, less than a year ago. Unfortunately I didn't properly tighten down the nut so when removing the old cap I twisted the distributor. I think I got it close enough to where it was before but I don't know for sure. I would assume I'm close enough to get the car to start.

When I swapped the distributor cap I left the wires on the old one and moved them one at a time. I think they aren't mixed up and the cap isn't flipped 180. However, I have not removed everything again to verify. I do know the fuel lines are set to the proper cylinder based on the image from Hervey's site. I'm planning to pull the fuel distributor again this weekend and verify the plug wires but any ideas are welcome.

[Rich]

...Unfortunately I didn't properly tighten down the nut so when removing the old cap I twisted the distributor. I think I got it close enough to where it was before but I don't know for sure. I would assume I'm close enough to get the car to start.

Two suggestions, in order. The second one doesn't matter if the first test fails.

1. Perform a spark check. Regardless of the timing you should be able to prove spark at the ends of any of the plug wires as well as at the end of the main coil wire. Possible that all of your swaps damaged the main coil high tension lead.
2. Check the ignition timing while cranking. You report that the distributor is no longer known to be in the correct position. Ideally you'd test the timing at idle but to begin with you need to be somewhere close to correct timing for it to run. Be sure your battery is topped up for that test.

[David T]

I've been struggling with getting my DeLorean to start. This is what I'm getting when I turn the key.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H_HAwAv7T0

This started after swapping the distributor cap and rotor. I swapped those two parts because I lost all torque and was almost stalling after a short drive. The catalyst for all this was when my alternator belt snapped and I was forced to drive for about a mile until I got to an area of road that wasn't too steep to pull off. The timing wasn't off (yet) so I looked at the plugs, wires, and distributor. The cap points and rotor were pitted and burnt. The plugs looked as good as the day I put them in the car, less than a year ago. Unfortunately I didn't properly tighten down the nut so when removing the old cap I twisted the distributor. I think I got it close enough to where it was before but I don't know for sure. I would assume I'm close enough to get the car to start.

When I swapped the distributor cap I left the wires on the old one and moved them one at a time. I think they aren't mixed up and the cap isn't flipped 180. However, I have not removed everything again to verify. I do know the fuel lines are set to the proper cylinder based on the image from Hervey's site. I'm planning to pull the fuel distributor again this weekend and verify the plug wires but any ideas are welcome.

You touched so many things, NOW where to begin? Pull the distributor cap and rotate the motor to TDC on the compression stroke. Get the rotor to point at the contact for #1 cylinder as close as you can. Make sure you have the firing order right and the timing should be close enough to start. Charge the battery up. The fuel lines are not specific to any cylinder just as long as they reach. Try starting the motor but I suspect the original cause of loss of power is something else. Make sure the frequency valve is buzzing. Get a timing light and set the initial (base) timing and check the operation of the mechanical and vacuum advance. Make sure the alternator is charging.

[DMC5180]

Make sure the coil wire didn't get knocked off the cap. Also do the wiggle test of the terminals on the ballast resistor.

For #1 TDC the rotor should be pointing almost directly at the distributor hold down stud. There should be an almost obvious witness mark where the nut/ washer had been tightened before. This should get you close, but you will need to do the timing light routine.

[Kenny_Z]

So, I spent all day on this. I found TDC and put the distributor close. Unfortunately I don't have the correct type of spark gap tester. The one I have won't fit the deep wells. I did swap coils with my Mustang just to rule out a dead coil.

I got the same sputtering but I was able to let go of the key and she would struggle to stay sputtering until a loud squeak. The loud squeak killed the engine every time this sputtering happened. I hooked up a multimeter to the positive and the engine to make sure I just wasn't looking at a bad ground. During cranking the voltage would dip to about 10.30 volts until it was like someone grabbed the flywheel. Voltage would drop to about 8.5 until the starter would push it through whatever the bind was and then it would go back up to above 10. I thought maybe I had a bad battery so I swapped it out with another car's battery. Same issue and on top of that the DeLorean's battery would start the other car.

I think the squeak and the bind are the same thing. I have no idea what it could be but I expect it is extremely bad.

Side note, the frequency valve doesn't appear to be buzzing. I got 6 volts from the plug.

[Silverbullet]

Did you check the idler pulleys? They could be frozen....

[DMC5180]

That squeak you here at the end of the cranking is the starter disengagement. Normally you don't notice it because the engine fires up. The buzz that hear when you switch the key on to start is the ISM running. The FV will not operate without the engine running or cranking since the lambda operation relies on getting power through the RPM relay like the fuel pump. Have checked that?


You also described a symptom that sounds like ignition firing too early. But the starter pushes through it. Did you have the plugs out?

[Kenny_Z]

I checked the pulleys and they aren't frozen.

My father suggested pulling all the plugs so I'll be doing that today if it doesn't rain again. I'm not sure how to check the lambda operation, I do have a spare RPM relay I can install. The 6 volts I got from the frequency valve plug was during cranking.

[DMC5180]

I checked the pulleys and they aren't frozen.

My father suggested pulling all the plugs so I'll be doing that today if it doesn't rain again. I'm not sure how to check the lambda operation, I do have a spare RPM relay I can install. The 6 volts I got from the frequency valve plug was during cranking.

I would not worry about the lambda system at this point. The car will run without it. Mine did for many years when I changed all my relays and unknowingly install the wrong type in the relay socket. It was only discovered to be wrong when I had Dave S do Dwell check and the system wasn't operating. The car ran fine too.

You can force the system to run by jumping the YELLOW/red wire and the BROWN wire in the RPM relay connector. This is part of the system trouble shooting found in the shop manual.

[Rich]

I checked the pulleys and they aren't frozen.

My father suggested pulling all the plugs so I'll be doing that today if it doesn't rain again.

See post #2 and report if any spark check at plug end of any plug wire was done. You need to be seeing a spark jump a gap of at least 1/2in. to ground and you do not need any special spark tester to check it. "Coil is good" is interesting but not conclusive.

Am not sure what the goal of "pulling all the plugs" is. In the old (carbureted) days one might do that if the engine was flooded. On a D that's flooded the solution for that is to floor the accelerator during cranking but I don't think this is your problem.

Recommending you verify that you have known-good spark - based on the factory-recommended test above - to any of the plugs (which themselves should be good). Even to one plug to start with.

After that is ignition timing. After that is fuel, given your story of how the car got to this point.

[David T]

See post #2 and report if any spark check at plug end of any plug wire was done. You need to be seeing a spark jump a gap of at least 1/2in. to ground and you do not need any special spark tester to check it. "Coil is good" is interesting but not conclusive.

Am not sure what the goal of "pulling all the plugs" is. In the old (carbureted) days one might do that if the engine was flooded. On a D that's flooded the solution for that is to floor the accelerator during cranking but I don't think this is your problem.

Recommending you verify that you have known-good spark - based on the factory-recommended test above - to any of the plugs (which themselves should be good). Even to one plug to start with.

After that is ignition timing. After that is fuel, given your story of how the car got to this point.

After rereading the original post, you said the alternator belt broke. That belt also spins the water pump. If that belt broke, the water pump stops and the car can overheat. In the process you would notice a loss of power and then stalling. Just how hot did the motor get? If you suspect overheating you should check the oil and the coolant for contamination and do a compression test to see if you popped the head gaskets. You should not be hearing a loud squeak, that doesn't sound normal. As mentioned, you will only hear the frequency valve when the motor is running so I wouldn't get too hung up on that but if the Lamda system isn't running it would cause a loss of power and it would struggle to idle.

[Kenny_Z]

Finally found the problem. I was inspecting the spark plug cables and thought maybe by some weird mixup I put the old rotor back on the distributor instead of the new one. I pulled it off, inspected it, went to put it back on and realized that when I lined it up properly with the notch it was not in the same orientation as when I took it off. Yeah...I didn't put the rotor on correctly. After reassembly the engine fired right up and ran smooth even though I know the timing is most likely way off. Since it's too dark to check for fuel leaks I shut her off for the night. The brief time she was running was enough for me. Friday or Saturday I'll give her a once over and set the timing. Hopefully this'll be the end of my nightmares for awhile.

[DMCMW Dave]

PS/FYI you can't measure the frequency valve with a voltmeter. It's a pulsed signal (square wave) so the meter won't give you anything useful. That's why a dwell meter works.

[Kenny_Z]

Ah, gotcha. Thank you for the information. Once I'm sure mine is completely roadworthy and ready to have the dwell checked and possibly adjusted I'm planning on meeting up with a local owner, Ben, that has already reset the dwell on his car.