Repair Topics / Restart Procedure

• Why does the engine stall after replacing the battery?
• How does the car computer system work?
• Why does the engine stall at idle?
• How does a neutral safety switch work?

MORE: Computer restart procedure questions

Vehicle Restart Procedure - This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.

Question:   1987 Cadillac Coupe De Ville mileage: 12,180. That's right... 12,180 tender miles! This vehicle had one owner, my wife's father. Almost never driven. It was stored in a garage for around 20 years! The interior and exterior are in mint condition (perfect!) No dings, perfect original paint, just extremely dirty. I had it towed from the CA desert in Yucca Valley to my mechanic. The engine has a large 4bl carb. Tires are all rotted/flat. The under carriage all appears to be mint also, as does the engine compartment. In your collective opinion, is this car worth cleaning up, installing new tires, and going through the trouble and expense of getting it to run properly. As of today, I don't know if it will run. I'll know that latter in the week. What precautions and actions should be taken to safely attempt to get the motor to operate? I guess the fuel system could be all "gummed up" and the valves stuck shut and some internal parts rusted. If I can get it to run, what are the pitfalls of running it on unleaded fuel as I think it needs leaded fuel? If it all is worth the effort, what would an approximate value of the finished "project car" be?

Answer:   Remove the sparkplugs, disconnect the coil and spray a light engine oil into each sparkplug hole before cranking the engine over. Crank the engine for about 30 seconds until you get oil pressure. Reinstall the sparkplugs and attempt to start. Your car should be required to run on unleaded fuel. As far as the "worth of the effort," that is a personal decision you will have to make.

Question: 1979 Mercury Zephyr Mileage: 23,000  The car has been sitting in a garage for about ten years.  I was wondering what I should do to start it up for the first time; what kind of special things do I have to do to ensure my engine won't cease up, and that I don’t get any leaks form gaskets, and stuff.  Please if you could e-mail me a list of stuff I have to do, it would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

Answer:   What we would suggest you do with your car is to first remove all the fan belts and the spark plugs.  Disconnect the coil and spray some WD-40 in each of the cylinders.   With a charged battery, crank the engine over until there is oil pressure.  Be sure there is oil in the engine first, of course.  Once it cranks over smoothly, hook everything back up again and start the car.

Question: 1985 Porsche 944 mileage: 94,000.  The Porsche has been sitting around without being driven for a couple of years.  The oil was changed, battery disconnected, and fuel drained before storing.  What sort of maintenance should be done before putting the car back on the road?

Answer:   Assuming you have not started it yet, remove the spark plugs and spray some oil on the cylinder walls (WD-40) and with the plugs still out, crank the engine over until you get oil pressure.  Replace the plugs and start engine.  Obviously, you need to re-connect the battery, which might need recharging.

Repair Topics / Vehicle Restart Procedure