Engine won't start

[zclain]

My delorean has been sitting for about a year and this last month I have finally gained some spending money to start restoring it. I first started with a new starter, fuel pump, fuel lines, and fuel filter. I was able to start the engine with starter fluid but would shortly die right after. I then pulled the injectors to find out that all 6 injectors were completely clogged. I ordered 6 new injectors about a week ago and installed them. Now that I have installed them, I have checked and I get fuel out of the injectors and I get a spark but the engine won't start! It won't even catch it just sits there and cranks. The engine now will not even start with start fluid! So today I went and used my multimeter and the coil was only putting out 2.3 on the negative side and 4.7 on the positive so I went and bought a new coil. I installed the new coil and I get about 1.7 on the negative and 7.6 on the positive, but still no start. It won't even try to fire with start fluid. All help will be appreciated! Thanks

[DMCTek]

If it will not start on starting fluid you have either flooded out the spark plugs or have a ignition issue.
I would first check the resistor pack on the firewall for a loose/dirty connection. It is white and mounted to the left hand rear of the engine compartment near the engine bay light switch.
You may also want to make sure the fuel tank is clean if the car has been sitting.
Hope this helps!

[Farrar]

Maybe a dumb question but ... is your battery fully charged? Could explain the low cranking voltage.

Farrar

[Spittybug]

And check all grounds.... see multiple threads on this subject in the forums.

[zclain]

Sorry, thanks for all the input i have been at work all day from 7am-10pm and didn't have a chance to look at it. Tomarrow I will take a look. Is it possible for the resistor to go bad? If so how can you check? With a multimeter? And any specific ground connections should I check?

[DMCTek]

The following 4 are needed to run any motor.
1. internals: pistons,valves ect.
2. Timing
3. Fuel
4. Spark

Considering you ran the motor earlier we can assume 1 and 2 are ok. Your starting fluid eliminates #3. That leaves ignition, but you mentioned you passed a spark test?

I have never seen a resistor pack fail. Due to high heat and environment the connectors loosen up or corrode. Clean and tighten the wiring on the resistor pack and recheck for a good spark.

[Elvis]

You said the injectors were clogged - is the fuel distributor working ?
The piston in the fuel ditributor tend to stick / rust in place.
Can you push the air measuring plate in and out ?
Do you get a nice spray pattern ?
Fuel pressure ?

how old is the fuel ?

The wiring at the resistors pretty often is the cause for non starting cars.
do you get a spark ? (check directly at the coil, I assume you know how to do that)
is the new coil an original BOSCH ? (just wondering about the
different voltages you measured)

It could be possible that the plugs are wet.

Good luck and have fun working on the car :-)

[Ron]

The following 4 are needed to run any motor.
1. internals: pistons,valves ect.
2. Timing
3. Fuel
4. Spark

And air (O2), for combustion of coarse...all of which must be able to escape -- Make sure a rodent hasn't set up residence or storage in your exhaust! (?or clogged converter?}

[zclain]

When I get home I will check the wires going to the resistor. I do remember that when I took the spark plug out to check the spark the soak plug was wet. How do I check the spark of the coil?

[Ron]

How do I check the spark of the coil?Put a timing light on any spark plug/coil wire. Or, pull the coil wire at the coil and use a spare plug wire to see if it jumps to the block...don't let it bite you ;-)

[David T]

The easiest way to check for spark is to stick a short wire into the ignition coil and leave a small gap against a ground. Have a helper crank the motor and watch for a spark at the gap. The gap should be about 1/8" and the spark should be nice and fat and blue. The ballast resistor is steel and the connectors are steel where the wires snap on. The wire connectors are brass but the steel connectors of the ballast resistor can rust. When they get rusty enough you lose contact. Pull each wire off of the ballast resistor one-at-a-time and clean the terminals. The other common thing in the ignition system to go bad is a bad impulse coil inside the distributor or the plug comes apart because you were messing around in front of the motor. If the ignition wires and spark plugs are old, of course they should be replaced. By checking directly at the coil you eliminate any problems that may be caused by the distributor cap and rotor.
David Teitelbaum

[zclain]

Just got home and the first thing I did was take the battery off the charger, installed it in the car, sprayed starter fluid, cranked it and it tried to catch twice, then i tried again and nothing. Seems to me like its getting flooded? Took the spark plugs out and they are wet...

[David T]

Make sure you have the CSV and the CPR plugs correct. If they are mixed up you will be VERY over-rich. Only swap the plugs momentarily to get started with hard hot restart.
David Teitelbaum

[DMCTek]

Good Thought Dave,
The cold start valve plug is blue and the fuel pressure regulator plug is grey. Like Dave said if they are swapped you will flood the car out quickly! You can also clear a flooded condition by cranking with the throttle wide open for 5 to 10 seconds. It should sputter cough then run as it dries up each plug. I prefer using carb cleaner as a false fuel source instead of starting fluid, it is just to explosive and backfires out the intake.

[zclain]

Okay so i feel dumb... I had some help this time and I do not have a spark at the plug. When we tested the spark plug we cranked the car and only once did it spark and that is when I touched it.. Ouch lol the reading at the coil and i assume I'm doing this right... touching one end to a ground and then touching the other end of a multimeter to the +/- sides of the coil? If so I'm getting +:4.75 and -:2.23

[zclain]

My problems just keep getting worse... When I had my partner crank the engine to test the resistance, it made a clunk noise. Tried it once more to identify the problem and it appears to be the engine is locked up. Im pretty sure the timing chain either snapped or came off the track and is locked up. :angry4:

[nullset]

I somehow doubt that. Is your battery fully charged?

You may be able to get a breaker bar on the crankshaft nut and rotate it manually.

You might have to remove the rear fascia to make it easier. If you're planning to work on the engine, it's worth going to that effort.

While you're at it, remove engine cover as well. I'm a big fan of getting things out of the way while working.

--buddy

[David T]

Could be the battery is very low and the starter is stuck. Try to rotate the motor with a wrench or a bar and see if it is really as bad as you think. Make sure the battery is fully charged up.
David Teitelbaum

[DMCTek]

It is possible you have hydro locked the motor. A cylinder may be so full of gas that it has locked up before top dead center. Try removing all the spark plugs and crank it over again, if you see gas squirt out it was badly flooded.

[zclain]

Do I have to remove the exhaust to get in there and crank it? What size is the nut to crank it?

[LEVY]

This is very important!


Check your oil for thickness, if it is very thin that means that is full of gas. When this happen the engine locks for lack of lubrication.

First sign of gas into the oil is too much oil. If you check your oil and seems to be over filled, then you have gas mixed with oil.

The only remedy is to change your oil, don't try to start your engine is you have too much gas in the crankcase.

If your engine fails to start and you keep cranking and cranking, then all the gas out of the injectors goes straight to the crankcase.


Levy


Do I have to remove the exhaust to get in there and crank it? What size is the nut to crank it?

[DMCTek]

Do I have to remove the exhaust to get in there and crank it? What size is the nut to crank it?

The crank nut is a 35mm or 1 3/8". With the muffler on I can usually turn them over using a thin wrench. You may need to remove the muffler heat shield.

[zclain]

Today I went out and bought new cap,rotor,spark plugs, spark plug wires, and coil for $100 and when I cranked the engine it worked! Must have been a hydrolock with the gas. I ran out of time so tomorrow morning I will be working on reassembling and hopefully she starts up!

[nullset]

Today I went out and bought new cap,rotor,spark plugs, spark plug wires, and coil for $100 and when I cranked the engine it worked! Must have been a hydrolock with the gas. I ran out of time so tomorrow morning I will be working on reassembling and hopefully she starts up!

I'd HIGHLY recommend changing the oil. It could be contaminated with gas.

--buddy