Car won't start - suggestions?

[priesh]

Hi all,

As some of you may know I took ownership of #1373 at the end of November. I have been travelling since and away for xmas so haven't had a chance to start the car up since I got it into my garage (after driving it 300 miles from Durham to Bucks - Kris also drove it down to Birmingham and back for the car show).

I trickle changed the battery over the past couple of days (i did lock it off at the battery as it has a switch but thought just to be sure I'd charge it), and attempted to start it yesterday.

The fuel pump turns on at position 2 (i get the buzzing), and the starter turns at position 3, but the engine won't start. Tried initally without any pedal, then tried with some accelerator but no luck.

I also noticed a few drips on the garage floor under the engine after trying for a couple of minutes - assume that is because I flooded the engine?

Few questions:

How to people tend to start their cars? Do you give it any fuel, or just turn the key?
Are there any tips to starting the car I should know about?
How long do you crank at position 3?
I know there are things I can check/bypass (CSV etc), but it would be good to have a definitive list and order to check?

As you can see I am quite new to this, but am looking forward to figuring this out!

Cheers,

Priesh

[Rissy]

Your car should start on the key with no additional gas ultimately. Sometimes it might take a few seconds of cranking, which is sometimes typical of many cars, but ultimately, you want to be aiming for it catching almost instantly.

When you collected the car in the first place, had it been warmed up for you, or did you start it from cold yourself first?

[priesh]

Hi - thanks for the reply. Kris had taken it out of the garage onto the driveway before I arrived, then it sat for a while before we then started it again - hard to be sure if it had cooled down completely, but probably not.

He used to start and drive it weekly, but had to bump start it sometimes on his hill which I can't do as i can't even get it to the road due to a gravel driveway in between.

I'm going to try and warm up my garage with some heaters tomorrow to see if it'll start then, as it is rather cold in there currently.

What would cause it to struggle to start stationary but be ok when rolling? The battery is from 2014 we think.

Thanks,

Priesh

[Rissy]

You sound as if you're doubting the battery. It's amazing the difference a new battery can make. Yours is getting on anyway. Remove that doubt.

You could check and make sure your cold start injector (CSI) is firing.

Before that, try unplugging the thermotime switch on the side of the water pump, then go for a start.

[Stuart Rees]

There's a few handy notes here,

http://support.delorean.com/kb/a60/cold-...ssues.aspx

You might not be getting a spark, check the connections to the coil at the right/back corner of the engine bay.

[priesh]

Thanks guys - I'll try some of those as soon as I can. I'm also going to try heating my garage up to see how it fairs when it is a bit warmer.

I will see if I can get a new battery after trying some of the other things, if only to discount that as well.

I'll report back on how it goes.

Cheers!

[Chris Williams]

Quote:I will see if I can get a new battery after trying some of the other things, if only to discount that as well.

As t'other Chris mentioned a battery is a great start. With the greatest respect to Kris I'm sure he would not mind me saying that he perhaps did not keep on top of servicing/maintaining his car. And it would no doubt benefit from a major service. If nothing else you will know yourself that it has been done.
As mentioned before happy to give you a hand to do it if you get stuck.
Chris

[priesh]

Hi - So I finally got it to start! Tried this morning with the thermotime switch disconnected. It still wouldn't start with no throttle, and also would'nt with a bit of throttle.

It eventully started when I cranked with the throttle on full - I read somewhere that this is good in flooded situations as it lets more air in? Is that the case here?

Anyway, I'll try again tomorrow and see how it starts then now it's had a chance to stretch it's legs.

[Chris P]

That certainly works with early V8 jags...but it can take several LONG minutes.

I'd keep your battery on trickle charge. If the battery is fully charged, the only one I've every had that failed to start was due to the ' big round flappy air intake valve thing- being stuck shut. They should start fine with no throttle, if there are no other issues.

[priesh]

Hi all - thanks again for all the input. It started the next day with no issues with just the ignition. The thermotime was disconnected so assuming that is an issue? What would it cause - too much fuel?

I'll try again after leaving it for a week and see if it still good.

@Chris W - Yes I'll get in touch - the fuel filter definitely needs to be done, and a few other things

Cheers!

Priesh

[Chris Williams]

Could be poor connections at the coil and Ballast resistor along with the connections next to the coil. They can cause all sort of issues.
Chris

[Future]

It could also bee your feul accumulator. Check if you see any oil on there. If you do, it's probably failing. This wil also cause problems ones the engine runs to warm conditions, then you wait for 5 minutes and the you try and start it again.

[priesh]

Yes I read about hot start issues related to lack of pressure from the accumulator. I'll check it out at the weekend see if there's any oil present.

I'll also clean up some of the connections if they look a bit worse for wear.

[priesh]

Still quite variable - started ok last weekend, but this weekend refuses to start. Think I'll need to start doing more troubleshooting when I've got some time.

[priesh]

Turns out it is likely the battery as I tried starting with a battery booster and it started without issue. I did still have the thermotime disconnected so once I have a new battery I'll try it with that reconnected.