Oil light on, no oil pressure, car stopped

[Bitsyncmaster]

I had to work Saturday so I didn't get a chance to look at the car again until last night. I turned the key and the engine turned right over and all my gauges were reading appropriately.

And now that I think about it twice in the past the car was hard to start and both times it had been sitting out in the sun for a couple hours. It was 100+F on my drive yesterday too. Is the heat causing this? With this added information, where would you start troubleshooting?

Thank you

I think the thermal time switch cuts out around 95 deg. F so if your engine needs the cold start valve, that would not work with an ambient temp of 100 deg. F.

[kings1527]

I think the thermal time switch cuts out around 95 deg. F so if your engine needs the cold start valve, that would not work with an ambient temp of 100 deg. F.

The TTS detects coolant temp rather than ambient so even in 100 degree ambient, I’d anticipate the cold start system to work unless the car had been recently run.

[Bitsyncmaster]

The TTS detects coolant temp rather than ambient so even in 100 degree ambient, I’d anticipate the cold start system to work unless the car had been recently run.

The engine and coolant would get to ambient. If the engine was run at 100 deg ambient it would never cool down until ambient went below the cutoff temp of the TTS.

[kings1527]

The engine and coolant would get to ambient. If the engine was run at 100 deg ambient it would never cool down until ambient went below the cutoff temp of the TTS.

I’m not sure if the coolant temp is always going to balance out to ambient while sitting. I think the block, hoses, expansion chamber, etc would provide insulation to a degree.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I’m not sure if the coolant temp is always going to balance out to ambient while sitting. I think the block, hoses, expansion chamber, etc would provide insulation to a degree.

The engine block should quickly (a few hours) get to ambient. So the TTS would follow the that also since the coolant in the block is not moving.

[Ron]

A sudden engine cutout as you referenced in your first post versus more of a hot start problem as described in your most recent post are two different things. When you're talking about the car being hard to start after sitting out in the sun, did you drive the car beforehand and it was difficult to start after sitting (a true hot start problem) or was it just sitting out in the sun after not being run for 12+ hours and difficult to start at that point? (cold start problem).

If you're driving the car and it suddenly cuts out, you could be looking at an impulse coil issue (which typically will resolve after cooling down) or a fuel pump problem, as well. Which fuel pump are you running? I had a early version of the DMCH integrated unit and the pump would cut out and kill the engine after I had been driving in hot conditions for an hour or so.

When the car cuts out, does it sputter first and then stop (more fuel related) or does it cut out instantly (possibly more electrical related)?

I think the easiest way to tackle this is to wait until it happens again and then do a plug swap in the engine compartment: take the gray plug off of the warm up regulator, disconnect the blue connector from the cold start valve, and plug the gray plug from the WUR into the CSV. Try starting it then and if it starts (but runs rough...normal for this test), that'll let you know you're looking at a fuel delivery problem. If it doesn't start, then you're looking at electrical.

If it doesn't start when you do the plug swap, look at the tach when you're cranking. If the tach doesn't bounce, then you could be looking at a bad ECU.

Try the plug swap when the problem replicates and figure out if it's fuel or electrical and then let's start there. Way too many possibilities at this point. Bad coil, ballast resistor connections, etc. Too much time to spend testing random stuff without knowing fuel or electrical first.

+1 on all this! Especially waiting to see what happens.

Meanwhile, I would add clean the connections at the resistor and order the RPM Relay upgrade (as mentioned, it's connections could have caused the problem, but not worth wondering about, imho).

===

$.02 on No-Start/Temp/TTS:

At 60°F ambient you get ~50% vaporization, so at "100+F", I doubt you'd have a no start at normal cranking speeds. Might take a few extra turns, but she should fire up...

[eugenepeabody]

Thank you.

I did the WUR plug into the CSV plug and it won't start that way either. I checked connections at the ballast resistor and they look good. I double checked my fuses and inertia siwtch and they look good too.

I tried the RPM relay jump, but only had a paper clip handy and I'm not sure it did it well. The car didn't start that way either, but the "low fuel" light would come on. The car is not low on fuel.

A sudden engine cutout as you referenced in your first post versus more of a hot start problem as described in your most recent post are two different things. When you're talking about the car being hard to start after sitting out in the sun, did you drive the car beforehand and it was difficult to start after sitting (a true hot start problem) or was it just sitting out in the sun after not being run for 12+ hours and difficult to start at that point? (cold start problem).

If you're driving the car and it suddenly cuts out, you could be looking at an impulse coil issue (which typically will resolve after cooling down) or a fuel pump problem, as well. Which fuel pump are you running? I had a early version of the DMCH integrated unit and the pump would cut out and kill the engine after I had been driving in hot conditions for an hour or so.

When the car cuts out, does it sputter first and then stop (more fuel related) or does it cut out instantly (possibly more electrical related)?

I think the easiest way to tackle this is to wait until it happens again and then do a plug swap in the engine compartment: take the gray plug off of the warm up regulator, disconnect the blue connector from the cold start valve, and plug the gray plug from the WUR into the CSV. Try starting it then and if it starts (but runs rough...normal for this test), that'll let you know you're looking at a fuel delivery problem. If it doesn't start, then you're looking at electrical.

If it doesn't start when you do the plug swap, look at the tach when you're cranking. If the tach doesn't bounce, then you could be looking at a bad ECU.

Try the plug swap when the problem replicates and figure out if it's fuel or electrical and then let's start there. Way too many possibilities at this point. Bad coil, ballast resistor connections, etc. Too much time to spend testing random stuff without knowing fuel or electrical first.

[Jonathan]

Thank you.

I did the WUR plug into the CSV plug and it won't start that way either. I checked connections at the ballast resistor and they look good. I double checked my fuses and inertia siwtch and they look good too.

I tried the RPM relay jump, but only had a paper clip handy and I'm not sure it did it well. The car didn't start that way either, but the "low fuel" light would come on. The car is not low on fuel.

Take everything out of the frunk, remove your spare, then the access cover on top of the fuel tank and have a look. Inspect closely the wires going to the fuel sender and those going to the fuel pump. Look for shorts or cuts in the insulation around the wires. Also disconnect the quick connect for each and look at the pins inside and see that they all look ok.

[Ron]

Did you try the tests in Post 12? (Divide and conquer!)

[eugenepeabody]

Did you try the tests in Post 12? (Divide and conquer!)

Hi Ron, I did the starter fluid in the air metering plate and the car would briefly start. That was immensely helpful in troubleshooting. Thanks.