Car will not start, smell fuel......

[coreydmc]

Hi Guys, I have not driven my car in about 4 years. I do start it up and pull it out of the garage every once in awhile. Over the past few weeks when I would try and start the car it would not start. I smell gas and hear the fuel pump priming. The button on the inertia switch is down. I was thinking the plugs were fouled up so I bought new NGK TR6. Which was in the car to begin with. Nothing still wont start. If I hold the key to crank the motor for about 10 seconds it will try and start and I can keep it running until I let off the gas. The gas is new in the car. I also pulled a plug to check for spark. There is spark, but it doesnt seem strong but doesnt seem weak either. Also the old spark plug was jet black. Probably because I keep trying to start it. My car was always maintained well by me when I would drive it everyday. I had the major service done by PJ Grady about 10 years ago. About a few thousand miles on the car since. Can someone please guide me in the right direction so I can try and diagnose the problem. Thank you in advance

Corey

[Rich]

Hi Guys, I have not driven my car in about 4 years. I do start it up and pull it out of the garage every once in awhile. Over the past few weeks when I would try and start the car it would not start. ..... Nothing still wont start. If I hold the key to crank the motor for about 10 seconds it will try and start and I can keep it running until I let off the gas.

I think we need a little more clarity about the symptoms. You say it will not start but you also say it will start and run until you let off the gas.

A 10 second cranking time is certainly a bad thing, so is it true that the car WILL start, it just takes a lot of cranking? And after it is running and you try to let it idle then the engine stops?

Please confirm or correct this guess.

[David T]

Symptoms sound like it is a bad connection on the ballast resistor, that large white thingy on the firewall in front of the motor. Reseat the connectors one-by-one and see if that does it.

[coreydmc]

I think we need a little more clarity about the symptoms. You say it will not start but you also say it will start and run until you let off the gas.

A 10 second cranking time is certainly a bad thing, so is it true that the car WILL start, it just takes a lot of cranking? And after it is running and you try to let it idle then the engine stops?

Please confirm or correct this guess.

Yes it will start if I keep cranking the engine for 10 seconds or more. Once it starts and I stop pushing on gas pedal it will stall. Sometimes after that I cant get it started again. So the answer is YES it will start just takes a ton of cranking!
Thanks

[coreydmc]

Symptoms sound like it is a bad connection on the ballast resistor, that large white thingy on the firewall in front of the motor. Reseat the connectors one-by-one and see if that does it.

I will pull each wire one by one clean and re-install. I have been searching on google for the correct wiring diagram but cant seem to find one. Also can it be the ignition resistor relay?
Thanks

[JETS 81 DMC]

I will pull each wire one by one clean and re-install. I have been searching on google for the correct wiring diagram but cant seem to find one. Also can it be the ignition resistor relay?
Thanks

Wiring diagrams you will find links in these posts:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?17...wiring-diagram

[Bitsyncmaster]

Do you keep a battery charger on it? Without driving the car for four years it would defiantly need some charging.

Does it seem to run OK when you can keep the engine running?

[DMC-81]

Yes it will start if I keep cranking the engine for 10 seconds or more. Once it starts and I stop pushing on gas pedal it will stall. Sometimes after that I cant get it started again. So the answer is YES it will start just takes a ton of cranking!
Thanks

Hmm.. Because it has been sitting for a long time and you smell fuel, I wonder if the plunger in the fuel distributor has gummed up a bit causing it to stick, or a similar fuel related problem. Maybe others can chime in on the correct way to test for this.

[coreydmc]

Do you keep a battery charger on it? Without driving the car for four years it would defiantly need some charging.

Does it seem to run OK when you can keep the engine running?

The battery is Only about a year old. I keep a tender on it. When it’s running it’s usually missing.

[DaraSue]

I had a similar startup issue, first occurrence was in SoCal and I eventually got it going after letting it sit for a couple hours, then after driving home to SLC it wouldn't start at all the next day. I discovered a melted connector on the lower right side of the ballast resistor but continued to have difficulty starting after replacing that. It would die if I let up off the gas. It got slightly better but still idled low and rough after having the warm-up regulator replaced, and I ended up having to get the idle speed motor replaced as well.