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-DMC-12-color-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.

[coreydmc]

Ok....here is what I did today.
1) Cut off all the wire connectors at the ballast resistor, and installed new connector terminals. I also cleaned the ballast resistor. Reinstalled the wires back on the resistor in the correct order. I still could not start car.

2) Cut off blue/yellow wire connector at the starter. Installed new connector terminals and cleaned the starter terminals. There was also another wire there I installed new terminal and cleaned that one as well. I still could not start car.

3) unplugged the cold start valve plug and used the plug from the warm up regulator. I still could not start car.

4) I made a wire jumper with a alligator clip on both ends. I attached one end to the coil + lug and the other to the positive jump start lug. I still could not start car.

5) I jumped the RPM fuel relay so the pump would run. I still could not start car.

6) As a last resort I pulled the air filter box and sprayed 2-3 shots of starting fluid into the manifold. The car still would not start.

Can someone please help me out as what to check next.....

Thanks a million!!!

[Jonathan]

Can someone please help me out as what to check next.....

Thanks a million!!!

If you have an automatic, there is a start inhibit feature with the shifter if it is not all the way up into Park.

Sounds like it could be a bad inertia switch. Does your switch have a white spot of paint on it noting it as a recall replacement?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Did it fire at all after you shot the either?

[coreydmc]

Car is a 5 speed manual. No it will not start at all even if I try ether in the intake.... Is there anyway to bypass the inertia switch?

[valdez]

You said spark was there but it didn't seem terribly strong. This sounds like a hint. Obviously too much fuel that isn't getting burnt which would typically mean lack of spark or air to prevent ignition.

Since you have fresh spark plugs, I would look at the source of the spark. Take apart and clean the distributor contacts and inspect the plug wires, also make sure good battery cables free of corrosion.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Car is a 5 speed manual. No it will not start at all even if I try ether in the intake.... Is there anyway to bypass the inertia switch?

If it did not fire at all with the ether, your problem is most likely ignition. Try pulling and installing the bulk head connectors to check if there is a bad connection there (that will somewhat clean the pins and move the wires a little). You may have a bad ignition coil or ignition ECU but my next guess would be the ignition pickup coil connector. That is a two pin connector on the wire coming off your ignition distributor in the engine compartment. Mine was so bad I just cut it off and soldered the wires.

[Andrew]

Does it try to start with the ether? At this point it might be very badly flooded, which of course only gets worse as the starting attempts continue. This has happened to me in the past. Try pulling one of the more accessible plugs. If is soaked in gas, the engine is flooded. There are a few options:

1. You can let the car sit overnight to let the gas evaporate and give it another try tomorrow. While you wait, put an automatic trickle charger on the battery to make sure it is fully charged. (A lot of problems can be solved this way. Never underestimate the benefit of walking away and taking a fresh look at it the next day. Yes, I know this is easier said than done, especially when you want it to run, NOW, but take my word, it really can work!)

2. You can pull the plugs and inspect / clean / dry them.

A spark plug wire puller and a long (9 inch or so) 3/8 inch extension should be in any K-Jetted Delorean owner's toolbox. Those two tools make replacing the plugs much easier.

Also, check the vacuum hoses to the warm-up regulator. Back when I was running K-jet, I had an issue with the warm up regulator hoses that caused significant starting difficulties.


If you still have the stock coil, you can temporarily bypass the resistor to gain additional spark strength for testing purposes. You can't run the car stock coil with the grid bypassed for an extended period as it will fry the coil, but it should be okay for testing. I have done the relatively easy HEI conversion on both of my Deloreans years ago and no longer have resistors in either. I did the HEI mod on 4194 at least 10 years and 20,000 miles ago and have run without a resistor with zero adverse effects. The HEI mod is well-documented elsewhere, so I won't digress here.

[coreydmc]

I checked the ignition pick up coil wire and its in good shape. I cleaned it anyway. I also pulled all the bulk head connections and cleaned/re-installed them. I also have the battery on trickle charge. I am going to buy some new parts: ignition coil, ballast resistor, distributor cap and rotor, and ignition pick up coil. How hard is it to replace the ignition pick up coil? Do I need to pull the intake etc...? The distributor is in such a tight spot and I dont want to mess with the timing.

[David T]

I checked the ignition pick up coil wire and its in good shape. I cleaned it anyway. I also pulled all the bulk head connections and cleaned/re-installed them. I also have the battery on trickle charge. I am going to buy some new parts: ignition coil, ballast resistor, distributor cap and rotor, and ignition pick up coil. How hard is it to replace the ignition pick up coil? Do I need to pull the intake etc...? The distributor is in such a tight spot and I dont want to mess with the timing.

If you are able to start it during cranking it sounds like the ignition system is working as long as the starter is running. I would test the ignition circuit to see that you are getting full voltage from the ignition key. Refer to M:18:03 and make sure you get 12 volts on the W wire when the key is in the run position. If not, follow it back to the main relay, see M:18:02. A terminal could have backed out, the relay may be bad, or some other wiring problem. Do NOT throw parts at it. Sounds like the secondary ignition system is OK, at least for now. If the pick-up coil was bad you would not have any spark at all.