[DML] Starting problems... cold, now warm.

[Travis Graham <tgraham@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I seem to have traded a cold start problem for a warm start problem!  A 
good trade? I don't think so... This one's a bit lengthy, but I want to 
get all of the facts out on the table.  Thanks in advance!

First I had a lingering cold start problem - after sitting overnight, 
my DeLorean would have very hard cold starts.  It would crank for a 
bit, then slowly (5 seconds or so) sputter to life.  After getting 
started, it would run fine and would always fire right up when warm to 
hot.  Installing a new fuel filter seems to have solved that problem 
before I had to break out the pressure gauge.  That was last weekend...

Yesterday I started up my DeLorean (and it started right up with no 
hesitation after sitting for a week!) and went for a good drive.  I 
parked it for about an hour, then went to leave and it wouldn't start!  
It cranked and cranked but had no intention of firing up.  The fuel 
pump was working, as I noted its usual hum after letting off of the 
key.  After three rounds of this, I jumped the cold start valve using 
the control pressure regulator's wire and it started right up.  I drove 
straight back to its garage, turned it off, and then immediately tried 
starting again.  It fired right up.  And 30 minutes later, it once 
again fired up with absolutely no hesitation.  Unfortunately I had to 
leave before it had cooled off enough to be in the "warm but not hot" 
zone... and I haven't had a chance to resume experimentation.

Known variables: fuel pump = replaced in late 2000, thermo-time switch: 
less than a year old.. and the cold start valve seems to be working 
properly - I pulled it out a few weeks ago to check.  Fuel 
accumulator... ?  It could very well be the original.

Given my symptoms and known factors, (and without having a chance to do 
further investigation), I would assume that my most-likely problem is a 
bad fuel accumulator.  Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never had a 
problem with hot starting before and I've owned this car for 8 years 
and put 40k miles on it.  So, here are my questions for the group:

1) Is there any possibility that I have killed my fuel accumulator 
simply by swapping the filter?  That seems odd...

2) Can a faulty fuel accumulator be sporadic?  Or, assuming that it's 
bad, did I just get lucky with my timing since it's gone bad?  It would 
seem to be to be more of a binary, broken or not-broken, part to me.

3) Is there anything else besides the check valve on the pump that 
could be the culprit here?

Thanks for any ideas.

Travis Graham
#06344






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