Tuesday, October 9, 2012

DeLorean Cold Start Issue

Here in the Rockies, it can get pretty cold. Last fall and winter, when I would go to start the DeLorean when the engine and temperature were cold, it would just crank and crank. If I cranked it a few times, then left it alone for about 5 to 10 minutes, it would usually start up after trying again.

Dave at DMCMW thought that the problem was the TTS (thermo time switch), which basically tells the fuel system to deliver more fuel upon starting when the engine is cold. Well last winter came and went and I almost forgot about the cold start issue because it doesn't occur unless it is below about 50 degrees F.

It was cold here a couple of weeks ago and the car started showing symptoms of the cold start issue again. It just so happened that I was in Houston for business again and decided to use this as an excuse to stop by and pick up the part. I snapped a couple of photos outside the building again:

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It was nice to save a few bucks on shipping for such a small part.

The old switch came out quite easily, but what I didn't know what that coolant was going to start gushing out of the hole where the switch goes. I had to quickly get the new one threaded in to minimize the mess in my garage. Here's the old switch that I took out:
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Here's the new switch installed correctly:
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I did the install on a very cold morning and did not attempt to start the car until I completed the install. When I went to start it cold, it fired up with no problems on the very first try. Problem solved!