1981 Delorean DMC-12 Project

A few months ago our customer brought in his 1981 Delorean DMC-12 for an alignment. After we completed the alignment we found many items that needed replaced and repaired. These items included hard starting, faulty suspension parts and a few leaks. The customer also complained of a parasitic draw and that his battery was constantly dying. Since he doesn’t drive the vehicle that much, we thought maybe it was lack of driving the vehicle. He informed us that the battery would die over night and that he had to bring the battery inside and leave it on the charger so he could start the car. We informed him that we can isolate the draw and repair the other items on his inspection list that we found. We are well versed in Delorean DMC-12 repair and have the factory repair manuals for this vehicle.

Appointment

Our customer contacted us about a week later and set up an appointment to get these items repaired. Below are photos of the wiring issues we found and corrected. The issue was actually not Delorean DMC-12 related at all. It was the alarm system. The system that was installed had a radio receiver for remote start. This system sayed on all the time and what was draining the battery. Furthermore, the system was not installed properly. The previous installer used electrical tape to make connections and many of them were not connected. This could also be why the car would not start.

The wiring from the alarm system we had to pull.

Fuse box, after we pulled the bad alarm system

Center console wiring

Plackers on the fuse box cover.

DMC-12 Engine

Relay control module

DMC info on a module

When we diagnosed the starting system and found the ignition coil was faulty. An after market coil booster had been installed. Our advise to our customer was to remove both remote start, coil booster and replace the ignition coil. We advised this because the ohm specifications were more than double of what they should be. Luckily we have the ignition coil readily available though our parts supplier and were able to get the part on the same day. Stay tuned for further updates on this project.

Contact Us

To make an appointment for Delorean DMC-12 or European car, call 425-254-0627 or email us. Meister Werks European & Import is located one block south from The Renton Landing in Renton, WA, across the street from The Boeing Store and on west side of the Paccar / Kenworth plant.