Starting question for the pros...

[Citizen]

Should be an easy one for the pros out there….

I have owned 3341 for about 10 years now. Except for one episode when it wouldn’t hot start, which turned out to be a bad accumulator, the old-girl has started right up first time, every time.

But today I went out to the garage to start and run it for a while, and this time it started but died in about 2 seconds, and would not restart. Acted like it had no fuel. So I put some starter fluid down the throat, and it started right up and ran fine for some 30 minutes. I shut it down, and it hot-started it right up again, just like always.

I let the car cool down, and got exactly the same routine when I tried to start it again. Ran for about 2 seconds, then quit, but started right up after a shot of ether, and then ran fine.

Each time I tried to start the car, I could hear the fuel pump run trying to prime for a few seconds, then stop, which I think is normal.

Question is, am I looking at a impending fuel pump problem? Or is this a loss of fuel rest-pressure? Doesn’t seem to be a hot-start problem at all. The fuel pump is the new DMCH combo unit, which I put in about 2 years ago, I think.

Any thoughts/advice? Thanks in advance.

Thomas

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[DMCMW Dave]

This one bites me once in a while (we often have cars sitting around with seriously low gas tanks), sounds like a dumb question but how much gas is in the tank?

The reason I ask I that the car will start with almost no fuel pressure due to the cold start valve, but it won't run that way. The fact that you got it to run for 30 minutes would tell me this isn't the problem but I thought I'd ask.

Sounds like the pump has a hard time starting, I'd check things like the RPM relay, the wiring at the pump, and wiring at the inertia switch. Also check the wiring connections on the ballast resistors and coil. Sounds unrelated but believe me it happens.

[Citizen]

This one bites me once in a while (we often have cars sitting around with seriously low gas tanks), sounds like a dumb question but how much gas is in the tank?

[SNIP]

Sounds like the pump has a hard time starting, I'd check things like the RPM relay, the wiring at the pump, and wiring at the inertia switch. Also check the wiring connections on the ballast resistors and coil. Sounds unrelated but believe me it happens.

It has slightly less than 1/2 tank of gas.

I didn't think to check the RPM relay, or the wiring, since the pump seemed ok. Funny you should mention the inertia switch, because I think it has been broken for a while now (I noticed it several months ago). Not broken as in the car won't start, broken as in the car keeps running in either position.

I'll also check all the fuel related wiring. This weekend is about done for, so this will have to wait until next weekend...I'll report back.

Thanks Dave.

Thomas

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[David T]

It has slightly less than 1/2 tank of gas.

I didn't think to check the RPM relay, or the wiring, since the pump seemed ok. Funny you should mention the inertia switch, because I think it has been broken for a while now (I noticed it several months ago). Not broken as in the car won't start, broken as in the car keeps running in either position.

I'll also check all the fuel related wiring. This weekend is about done for, so this will have to wait until next weekend...I'll report back.

Thanks Dave.

Thomas

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This can take some time to rule out things. Generally speaking, an intermittent problem is usually of an electrical nature but it can cause a fuel problem (the fuel pump doesn't run) or an ignition problem, no spark. The place to begin is to inspect some critical places in the electrical system like:
The fuseblock especially fuse #7
The inertia switch (make sure it has a splotch of white paint and is mounted on the footwell wall).
The plug and the connections right by the fuel pump
* The connectors and the terminals on the ballast resistor (this is the one I am betting on. The terminals on the ballast resistor are steel and they rust making a bad connection).

[Citizen]

This can take some time to rule out things. Generally speaking, an intermittent problem is usually of an electrical nature but it can cause a fuel problem (the fuel pump doesn't run) or an ignition problem, no spark. The place to begin is to inspect some critical places in the electrical system like:
The fuseblock especially fuse #7
The inertia switch (make sure it has a splotch of white paint and is mounted on the footwell wall).
The plug and the connections right by the fuel pump
* The connectors and the terminals on the ballast resistor (this is the one I am betting on. The terminals on the ballast resistor are steel and they rust making a bad connection).

Thank you Dave. I will check all those things. I didn't even think of the fuse box (I haven't cleaned my fuses in quite some time now, and I heard somewhere, probably here, that I need to clean them once per year).

T.

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[Ron]

Put your cold start valve in a clear container and see how it acts...

[DMC5180]

After rereading this thread from the top. Thomas said, the FP ran with the switch plunger in both positions. If this is truly the case, then David's suggestions would be more plausible.

A photo of the switch and wire connections would helpful here.

[Citizen]

Would guess his ECU for the door locks is disconnected also.

Yep, good call. The door locks haven't worked since I got the car. And to tell you the truth, it never bothered me. I manually lock the doors anyway, and I was always a bit worried about getting locked in.

After rereading this thread from the top. Thomas said, the FP ran with the switch plunger in both positions. If this is truly the case, then David's suggestions would be more plausible.

A photo of the switch and wire connections would helpful here.

Here is a picture. A little blurry (sorry about that) but should do.

DeLo-Inertia-Switch.jpg

And the car just now started up just fine, did not die, with the plunger up.

Thomas

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[DMC5180]

Boy, it's really tough to get a handle on it from the photo. The extra tape wrap seems suspicious.

Can you try again much closer.

Also did you try starting with the plunger down?

[Citizen]

Boy, it's really tough to get a handle on it from the photo. The extra tape wrap seems suspicious.

Can you try again much closer.

Also did you try starting with the plunger down?

Here's a little better shot.

DeLo-Inertia-Switch2.jpg
Yep, tried plunger down. It started up ok this time, but I might not have let the car cool down enough (let it sit for about an hour). I will try again with the plunger down tomorrow evening, so it will be completely cold.