help car won't start

[Silverbullet]

If you think that sender might be destined for the garbage can, then it probably wouldn't hurt to try a few rescue efforts on it before you get a new one.

If you think it might just be that it's not sliding smooth anymore, it could be there is some gunk in and around the inside of the column or the float. I wonder if maybe you tried to soak it overnight in some kind of degreaser if that would help free it up? Not sure what you might use though. Heck, try dish soap perhaps, but just get it all off before you dip it back in the fuel tank.

Or are you saying the float doesn't float anymore? I have never taken one apart, but I wonder if that float could actually break open a bit and basically get filled with fuel. "Water logged" sort of. I guess if you run out of options you could try and dismantle it and see if you can figure out what the problem is. Again, I don't remember what goes on inside the sender really or how you would take it apart.

Last time I checked, DMCX sold fuel senders for $99. And if I'm not mistaken they might be better calibrated than the old originals. Like another member said, you could conceivably go with the fuel pump & sender combo, but if your fuel pump is fine, that's a bit of an overkill.

The good news is it sounds like everything else from the sender wiring back to the gauge is working fine.

As for you wondering if there was something else making you stall other than just running out of gas, I would suggest solving the thing you know was a problem, that being that you added some gas and it started right up. I would chalk the engine dying up to no fuel until proven otherwise. You could start doing all kinds of things not even knowing if they were really a problem in the first place. You're right though, get the fuel gauge working and figure out how much fuel is in the tank, then subtract that from what you added. If it wasn't an empty tank causing the problem, we'll tackle that next

Ok... So who wants a Delorean cheap?.... lol... It does not want to start now... has gas.... I smell gas, in the back... so I cranks good... sounds like no spark??? what do i Check?
Thanks,
Craig

[David T]

Make sure you hear the fuel pump running. If you are sure it's running, press on the air sensor plate and see if it has any resistance. If it does then your problem is most likely spark. Clean the connections on the white ballast resistor on the firewall. My bet is the fuel pump is not running. Most likely the RPM relay is bad. Jumper it and try again. Or the # 7 fuse is melted.
David Teitelbaum

[Silverbullet]

Make sure you hear the fuel pump running. If you are sure it's running, press on the air sensor plate and see if it has any resistance. If it does then your problem is most likely spark. Clean the connections on the white ballast resistor on the firewall. My bet is the fuel pump is not running. Most likely the RPM relay is bad. Jumper it and try again. Or the # 7 fuse is melted.
David Teitelbaum

I will look at#7. This car has a switch that turns on the fuel pump, on the consol...so when you turn on the car the pump goes on, if you turn the switch off it shuts off the pump, car dies. I started a new thread, as the Float issue has been solved... How do I test for voltage on the Ballast?

And... Thanks

[Silverbullet]

Pic of Ballast

[Silverbullet]

Ok, just got the car, I drove it about a 1/2 mile, it started losing power...and died. It did not want to re-start, 5 min later it did start, and ran like a 1/4 mile and died again. The gas gauge read full, I took gas cap off, and shook the car, did not hear swishing... I put 2 gallons of gas in the car, and it started. I found the Float was stuck at the top, but it looked like more than 2 gallons of gas in the tank.. Next day It started, I moved it a few feet to do some clean up..Later it won't start.

It cranks great, I can smell fuel in the back.. What should I look at? What voltage should I get at the coil? Ballast? where to measure? Here is a pic, and Thanks....

[nullset]

How long was it sitting?

Sounds like bad gas and/or clogged injectors. I'd definitely drain the gas tank if it was sitting for any period of time and clean everything, then put in some fresh gas.

[Jonathan]

Pic of Ballast

Well holy jumpin', 5 years later I finally found someone with the same erroneous ballast resistor wiring as I once had!!

Not sure if you can zoom in on the ballast picture, or take another one close up, but in a nutshell, that lower left pin is not supposed to have a wire on it. Instead the one on the upper right is supposed to have two. I'll see if I can scrounge up the wiring colours, but in the meantime, here are two pictures, before and after, of my car and the ballast resistor. I melted the one wire connector twice until I figured out where it was supposed to go... The car also coincidentally died when this happened. Once out on a road in town near my house... and the other time in the parking lot of an A&W cruise night.

Picture 1 (before)... notice the darker blue connector with the melty spots

IMG_2267.jpg

Picture 2 (after)... light blue new connectors, plus the double tabbed pin thingy that let's you connect both at the same time to the same post. You can find these at an Auto Parts store or something similar.

IMG_2312.jpg

[Jonathan]

Hey Craig,

I didn't see this thread until after I replied in your fuel capacity thread.

Maybe a moderator could move or copy my post to here?

Basically from what I see you have the wiring incorrect on the ballast resistor. Looks the same as I what I first had when I got my car. I explained more in the other post... with pictures

[WelmoedJ]

This is the wiring setup for the resistor pack as refered to in a previous reply.
(Courtesy of John Hervey's).

resistor-original.jpg

[Silverbullet]

This is the wiring setup for the resistor pack as refered to in a previous reply.
(Courtesy of John Hervey's).

resistor-original.jpg

Ok, this is what I have Close up...