Do these solenoids tend to go bad after 30+ years? Because mine makes an audible "click" sound after I let off the gas pedal. Can a bad one cause an unmetered vacuum leak?
Item in question: http://store.delorean.com/p-6687-solenoid-vacuum.aspx
Location: Modesto, CA
Posts: 319
Club(s): (NCDMC) (DCUK)
Do these solenoids tend to go bad after 30+ years? Because mine makes an audible "click" sound after I let off the gas pedal. Can a bad one cause an unmetered vacuum leak?
Item in question: http://store.delorean.com/p-6687-solenoid-vacuum.aspx
Location: Leonardtown, MD
Posts: 9,008
My VIN: 03572
I have seen one which cut the vacuum to the advance in half. But I think failure is pretty rare.
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 8,582
My VIN: 10757 1st place Concourse 1998
They don't seem to fail much. What does happen a lot is when you are working in that area it is easy to knock the plug loose. The other common thing is if you hook the hoses up backwards it won't work correctly. As for all of the vacuum hoses, they get old and brittle and split and crack and leak.Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster
David Teitelbaum
Posts: 125
Forget the solenoid for a moment as it sounds like it's working Put a hand held vac pump on the vacuum ign advance diaphragm and see if it holds a vacuum.
Location: Stayton, Oregon 97383
Posts: 224
My VIN: 10309
Actually that is how it is supposed to work. On a Delorean there is a mechanical advance in the distributor, the vacuum is actually to reduce advance as the car slows down like coming down a hill or just rolling to a stop. Make sure there is no vacuum leaks by spraying brake fluid or carb fluid on the canister. What problem are you experiencing?
Location: Taylors SC
Posts: 5,326
My VIN: (former)05429
Club(s): (DMWC) (DCUK)
It is supposed to click. 100% normal.
Dave S
DMC Midwest - retired but helping
Greenville SC
Location: Modesto, CA
Posts: 319
Club(s): (NCDMC) (DCUK)
Thank you all. I guess I just never noticed it before until recently.
Location: Washington State
Posts: 45
My VIN: 4984 '81 5 sd Grey int "Sold" 2021
Club(s): (PNDC)
[QUOTE=bytes311;207832]Do these solenoids tend to go bad after 30+ years? Because mine makes an audible "click" sound after I let off the gas pedal. Can a bad one cause an unmetered vacuum leak?
Strangely, I finally traced my idle problem to a faulty vacuum solenoid. Car was idling high and missing. The solenoid was allowing vacuum through at idle. I had checked that the micro-switch was working by checking the leads across the solenoid. It was grounding, but letting vacuum through. When I unhooked the vacuum line to the distributor the idle went back to normal. After I replaced the solenoid, the problem was gone. So, I guess they can go bad.
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 161
My VIN: 6631
Club(s): (AZ-D)
My solenoid was bypassed completely by the P.O., at some point, I want to get it hooked back up properly and see what's up. Kind of weird to reroute the vacuum system to avoid replacing a $50.00 part, IMHO, so maybe there is something else wrong.
For the time being, I'll keep mine as is
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Dave M vin 03572