New member New owner! car wont start HELP!!!

[gullwinger]

Hey I just picked her up, And she ran fine but needed a heater core, and water pump
I had to replace the water pump so I took all the usual stuff apart. Also changed the cap, rotor and plugs and she doesn't run now that I put her back together.

-Also I checked the plug arrangement and verified they were going to the correct cylinders.
- I have spark coming out of plug touching the intake
-The resistors on the firewall show 8.54-9.3 Vdc
-Pulse Coil shows 600ohms resistance
-Ignition coil with key on shows a dim light on my test light
-Verified fuel comes out on inlet line on the CIS system
-Verified that the CIS arrangement is correct (lines,freq valve, cold start, wur valve etc)
- All fuses are good.

Im stumped, what could it be??? she turns over just will not run. I did take the dash apart to redo the heater core could that be it?
Thanks guys

[Bitsyncmaster]

Make sure your new cap and rotor are correctly seated in place. Hard to see things when you don't remove the intake on our engine.

[hmcelraft]

I would suggest you start with a systematic process. Probably the best process I could recommend is using the diagnostic charts at the back of the Technical Manual (staring at page 122 in mine).

[gullwinger]

Make sure your new cap and rotor are correctly seated in place. Hard to see things when you don't remove the intake on our engine.
I took off the intake to replace the water pump, and made sure the rotor was seated and the clips secured

[DMCVegas]

I took off the intake to replace the water pump, and made sure the rotor was seated and the clips secured

Did you verify that the wires are all plugged into the correct plugs?

[Jonathan]

What you listed sounds pretty thorough, so it's either something odd that you didn't think of checking, or it's something you already checked off as being good and it really isn't.

Some other ideas that would prevent the engine from starting:

- dead or poor battery
- ballast resistor connections not correct per diagram
- if an automatic trans, the shifter not being all the way up into park
- inertia switch problems cutting out fuel pump
- ignition switch getting bumped under steering wheel canopy (they can be flaky if disturbed in just the right way)
- engine is flooded from trying to start too much

Does the battery warning light come on when you have the key turned only to accessories?

My vote, personally, would be something not quite right with the reinstall and replacement of your spark plug and ignition wires. Might be as simple as the centre one that comes over directly to the ignition coil. Maybe it isn't quite pushed down all the way?

[Dangermouse]

Did you verify that the wires are all plugged into the correct plugs?

More basically, did you confirm that the ign wires are pushed down all the way and actually contacting the top of the plugs? You should feel it as the detent on the top of the plug is slipped inside the end of the wire

Also, it is possible to install the cap 180 degrees out of sequence, despite the little guide tab. In this case the car will run, just badly.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I took off the intake to replace the water pump, and made sure the rotor was seated and the clips secured

That's important info. So it could be fuel issues and not just ignition.

[gullwinger]

I did do the following
-Checked the cap position and plug placement and they are correct
However the old wire from the coil to the cap had another wire on it and I forgot where I took it off from, The new wire kit I got from special T is just one wire I wonder if the ignition coil wire is it?? Im stumper
New battery
New cap
new rotor
ballast resistor voltage is good
new plugs and wires

*I might have to take the CIS off and check the wires for secure fit?

[Dangermouse]

Post a pic of your ignition coil top area- there might be something amiss there.

[gullwinger]

41855
41856
The Blue wire goes to the coil and It came off the main plug wire to the cap, the blue wire was grounded to the intake I believe? I should have wrote it down. Could this be it?

[Dangermouse]

I don't see a blue wire :(. the "king" lead looks black in those photos.

Can you post a close up of the back right hand side with the coil and connectors?

[Jonathan]

I also don't see a blue wire in the photos. If it is a grounding wire that was/is part of the ignition coil wire, it might be what was discussed in this thread:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?13037-Ignition-coil-lead

Rob and Dave and others explain some of the history of the wiring changes.

[Andrew]

Have you tried to squirt some starting fluid / carb cleaner in the mixture control unit? If it starts up for a second or two then you will know that the issue is not spark related.

I am aware of another owner who encountered improperly connected CPR and FD hoses, thus causing a no-start. I would suggest getting a diagram of the fuel hose routing / or a picture of another DeLorean's fuel hoses and verify that each hose is going to the proper location. It may seem like a silly process, but the silly diagnostic steps often yield the most beneficial results.

Finally, did you remove the distributor itself from the cylinder head at any time in the process? If so, did you reinstall it at the exact same position?

Best of luck,

Andrew

[gullwinger]

Hey Guys
Thanks for the info, it ended up being a loose rpm relay wire and also the fuel pump harness was loose.

[Dangermouse]

Thanks for the feedback on the solution :)