Thatcher

EDIT: One of the terminals wasn't tight enough and both terminals needed a good cleaning with the wire brush. Started right up, let it run for 20 minutes. Plenty of lifter noise at first, but eventually it all went away. Car sounds great!

so heres the story.. hopefully some of you will have ideas / suggestions as to what is wrong. The car is a '95 C2 that hadn't been started for about eight months for body work.

Thursday I put 10 quarts of oil in the car and charged the battery

Friday I started the car, started right up.. let it run for 30 seconds, turned it off.

Saturday I put two more quarts of oil in the car and a few gallons of 93 octane. Tried to start the car.. turns over but will not start. Waited an hour, tried again.. nothing. Tried swapping in a new DME relay, still won't start. Fuel pump is not getting power. I know the DME relay is a common culprit.. but how often does the actual DME fail? Any ideas on what could be causing this? I did have the motronic disconnected for a few months for the cage install and paint in the interior.. but again, the car started right up on Friday.

Thanks guys

CalvinC4S

Might want to pull about a quart and a half of oil out of it before you get it running.

As far as the no start issue, hard to say as you checked what I would have.

Edit: Way too much oil, you only let it run for 30 seconds then toped it off to 12 quarts. Look into this,..
Your oil lines never opened up eather.

944/951guy

Do you really believe that 1 quart of oil under or over can cause damage even though these cars already hold 12 quarts?
Cause I dont really see a big deal, Dont get me wrong If I was over or under I would correct it but really even to run it for a bit?

CalvinC4S

More then one quart, the oil thermostat never opend for a 30 sec run time. I'm not saying it is his problem, but he is lucky the car didn't start.


"Thursday I put 10 quarts of oil in the car and charged the battery

Friday I started the car, started right up.. let it run for 30 seconds, turned it off.

Saturday I put two more quarts of oil in"

VNTGSPD

I realize this is a silly question after seeing your build, but...

Did you check the fuel pump fuse?
The fuel pump fuse shares a circuit with the O2 sensor and a short in the sensor can cause temporary fuel pump failure (I found out the hard way).

ilko

I agree with Calvin. Start with 6 quarts of oil with the car turned off. Then turn on the car and add as necessary. The car holds approximately 12 quarts total which includes the front oil cooler, engine case, oil tank, and all the lines. Was the thermostat open when you emptied the old oil?

Regarding the DME relay, are you sure the fuel pump is not working? You can create a simple bridge in place of the DME relay which will keep the fuel pump always on and will allow you to test and see if that's your problem. I've made one and keep it in the car in the unlikely event that both relays (the one in the fuse box and the spare) fail. I believe it's terminals 30 and 87b (battery and fuel pump) that you want to bridge, but it's been a few years since I did this so maybe someone else can chime in to confirm.

944/951guy

Oh I see, But say if you are sure you are only 1 quart Over/Under is it really a problem?
Im just truely interested im not trying to say your wrong cause I dont know, Just interested in what you think.

ilko

If you are 1 quart under it's a problem as you don't get enough oil in the engine.

If you are 1 quart over it's a problem because the oil ends up in the air intake system clogging all the ports and it's a big mess.

CalvinC4S

I may be way off here. It's worth the 3 minutes to pull an easy plug to see if it is saturated with oil.

With a new build like this, you need to finesse all that oil into the system.

944/951guy

Why is it that you dont get enough oil?
Do really all 12 quarts of oil sit in the engine when the car is running? Isent most of it in the tank?

Thatcher

That was the first thing I did checked

I thought about that, but I did have my oil lines drained, as well as the oil cooler. There was no oil in the cooler and the lines, I had them off the car. I put a half a quart in the oil cooler after I installed it, and 9.5 quarts in the motor. Then started it, ran for 30 seconds, turned it off, then added the other two quarts the next day and it wouldn't start. I suppose I should try draining a few quarts though, that's a good idea. The thermostat was not open, does that matter?

Thanks for the battery / fuel pump bridge idea, I'll try that. By the way, where is the DME located?

CalvinC4S

DME is under passengers seat. edit: (brain fart, listen to Ilko)

Pull a spark plug first, it will take 3 minutes.

Thatcher

very true. okay i'll give that a try, thanks

ilko

If you're just idling the car you're fine, but I wouldn't drive it. You don't want oil starvation.

The DME is the box under the driver seat.

As far as the amount of oil, I'd take a small plastic hose connected to an old turkey baster and try to get 1 or 2 quarts of oil out through the oil filler neck.

My thermostat comment was about a conventional oil change. If you shut the car off while the t-stat is open you get more oil out when you open the drain plugs. Since you removed the lines and cooler you should be OK. I'd still take some oil out, start the car and judge by the dip stick and oil level gauge.

944/951guy

Yea That makes sence. Ill stop thread jacking.... Sorry Thatcher.