Crank no start.. Please Help!!

[krs09]

Hi everyone, New Delorean owner and lifetime fan. She has been sitting for 20yrs so she needs work but nothing terrible. Heres my real issue.. I have a crank no start hot or cold, will start intermittently but stall, only real way to get her started to give a little help and spray brake cleen into the intake and it will start and run. When it runs it runs good no knocking , pinging or hesitation but wont start on her own. I just got it so the previous owner told me he just replaced the whole fuel system, cleaned out the tank, replaced the injectors and did a little brake work (I do have those recipts). I replaced the fuel filter and battey. Just not sure what it could be .. Can it be a bad CSV, wiring, bad relays ect.. Im at a loss and just dont know where to start. What do you think? Any suggestions would be great. PLEASE HELP !!


Bringing back a sleeping beauty.. vin#4870 custom gray interior, sweet fuzzy dash and stock everything else.

[Bitsyncmaster]

So it runs good after you get it started? Did these problems just show up or has it always been this way?

[Rich]

Runs OK after you manage to start it with starting fluid - is that the problem description? Then it rules out the pump. And the ignition must be OK if it lights up with starting fluid.

There could be more than one cause, one cause for cold start, one for hot start. Let's guess it's limited to the fuel system for now.

What to do?

One big-picture approach worth considering up front is calling on a decent independent shop or even a dealer who knows their way around Bosch FI. The good news for D owners is that the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel inj. system - just like ours - was used for >15 years on millions of VW, MBZ, Volvo, BMW, Porsche and Saab engines of all flavors. An hour or two at a decent shop with proper gauges and K-Jet experience can be money well spent vs. you chasing maybe-this-and-maybe-that for the first time with or without help from the forum.

Such shops can sort out 30 year old K-Jet problems for all those cars and our cars. You might as well find a good repair shop sooner than later. Since your car runs you can get it over to a shop and get a first opinion. Your D will not be the first K-Jet car they've seen that didn't start for some reason even if it's the first time for you.

For background or DIY reference you will find two factory troubleshooting guides that cover no-starts on first page of Resources section under General Discussion. Am sure that this forum will help if you prefer the DIY route.

While you are struggling with this be sure to give the starter a rest so as not to fry it unnecessarily.

Good luck - and do consider finding a shop to help you. It can save $$$ and time - and collateral damage.

[krs09]

So it runs good after you get it started? Did these problems just show up or has it always been this way?

Yeah it does run good once you get it started... Well it has been sitting, the previous owner told me he had it running after they took it out of storage and a little work. When the trailor showed up to drop it off i noticed he had to put some gas in the intake and get it started,, must have been giving him a hard time cus the element housing was in the trunk so it wasnt the first time he had to do that.

[Bitsyncmaster]

So it sounds like you have never had the car driving on the road. Your first step is to verify primary fuel pressure and control pressure. If those check out good, it may just be your mixture adjustment is wrong.

So you need to get those pressures checked.

[krs09]

Runs OK after you manage to start it with starting fluid - is that the problem description? Then it rules out the pump. And the ignition must be OK if it lights up with starting fluid.

There could be more than one cause, one cause for cold start, one for hot start. Let's guess it's limited to the fuel system for now.

What to do?

One big-picture approach worth considering up front is calling on a decent independent shop or even a dealer who knows their way around Bosch FI. The good news for D owners is that the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel inj. system - just like ours - was used for >15 years on millions of VW, MBZ, Volvo, BMW, Porsche and Saab engines of all flavors. An hour or two at a decent shop with proper gauges and K-Jet experience can be money well spent vs. you chasing maybe-this-and-maybe-that for the first time with or without help from the forum.

Such shops can sort out 30 year old K-Jet problems for all those cars and our cars. You might as well find a good repair shop sooner than later. Since your car runs you can get it over to a shop and get a first opinion. Your D will not be the first K-Jet car they've seen that didn't start for some reason even if it's the first time for you.

For background or DIY reference you will find two factory troubleshooting guides that cover no-starts on first page of Resources section under General Discussion. Am sure that this forum will help if you prefer the DIY route.

While you are struggling with this be sure to give the starter a rest so as not to fry it unnecessarily.

Good luck - and do consider finding a shop to help you. It can save $$$ and time - and collateral damage.

Wow, thank you so much for all the info.. I know you may be right, taking it to a k-jet tech is gonna save some cash in the long run I guess. Another problem I do have is the first time we really got it running and had it idle and rev for about 10minutes and i was over joyed to see a nice plume of smoke come from the back of the engine bay. Looks like the back of the valve cover gasket is leaking onto the manifold, that sucks but not the end of the world. So driving it to a shop may not be a good idea till thats done.

[krs09]

So it sounds like you have never had the car driving on the road. Your first step is to verify primary fuel pressure and control pressure. If those check out good, it may just be your mixture adjustment is wrong.

So you need to get those pressures checked.

Ok, will do. Thank you so much for the info.. How do you adjust the fuel mixture.. What are those 3 copper nut heads on top of the mixture unit?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Ok, will do. Thank you so much for the info.. How do you adjust the fuel mixture.. What are those 3 copper nut heads on top of the mixture unit?

The three brass head "screws" should all be closed. Turn them clockwise fully but don't use much pressure or you will break them.

You check the mixture with a dwell meter reading the frequency valve duty cycle.

[krs09]

The three brass head "screws" should all be closed. Turn them clockwise fully but don't use much pressure or you will break them.

You check the mixture with a dwell meter reading the frequency valve duty cycle.

My god you are the best. Thank you for the info. I know for sure those brass screws are not closed Nott sure what they do but they are not closed. . Ugh..

[DeLorean]

My god you are the best. Thank you for the info. I know for sure those brass screws are not closed Nott sure what they do but they are not closed. . Ugh..

idle control, if you don't have an idle control valve (non DeLorean application). If your idle control does not work, and those are OPEN, it will cause it to not idle if you close them up...