Need help with dash wiring on my 79 diesel wago n

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79olds510

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May 15, 2022
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I just picked up this 79 Oldsmobile cutlass cruiser diesel wagon and having trouble starting it my lights turns on cranks but after a few tries it dies and I have a bunch of wires cut up
 

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Supa.Slo.SS

Apprentice
Aug 7, 2020
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CA
That's going to be rough to sort out with just pictures. Your better offer buying/finding the wiring diagrams for your specific car and tracing every line. Luckily, I don't think these car are really complicated in terms of wiring.

Or if you have the budget for it, you can see if Painless offers the complete wiring for your car & swap it all out. I have heard good things about them.
 

79olds510

Not-quite-so-new-guy
May 15, 2022
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Thanks I just got new batteries and tryna figure out why it don’t start it just keeps cranking
 

ck80

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Feb 18, 2014
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3 questions:

1) have you ever heard it run?

2) has it been run out of fuel?

3) have you tried bleeding the fuel lines to get air out of them?

Not saying you don't have hacked up wiring, because you do. But if you've got air in your fuel lines you can crank forever and it's not going to start. Diesels need to be bled, not just cranked till a pump pushes gas to the carb like a gas powered car....
 
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79olds510

Not-quite-so-new-guy
May 15, 2022
10
0
1
3 questions:

1) have you ever heard it run?

2) has it been run out of fuel?

3) have you tried bleeding the fuel lines to get air out of them?

Not saying you don't have hacked up wiring, because you do. But if you've got air in your fuel lines you can crank forever and it's not going to start. Diesels need to be bled, not just cranked till a pump pushes gas to the carb like a gas powered car....
No haven’t heard it run I was told it was rebuilt but the man that had it passed away wasn’t able start it I’m going try out some diesel fuel into the car area and try start it
 

ck80

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Feb 18, 2014
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I’m going try out some diesel fuel into the car area and try start it
What does that mean? Is there a typo?

If you haven't bled the fuel lines yet I'd start there for 2 reasons.

1) for it to be rebuilt there HAD to be loss of prime and introduction of air into the fuel lines. Air in the fuel lines will keep a diesel from developing the requisite high pressures needed to open valves and introduce fuel to run.

2) even if someone did prime the system, and did it correctly, if the car sat long enough you could have water being pushed through the injector pump and not fuel. Unlike gasoline, diesel oil doesn't have the same amount of positive vapor pressure meaning lots of condensation in the fuel tank. As heating and cooling cycles happen, and air is vented in and out of tank, more moisture condenses, and, water is heavier than diesel thus sinking to bottom of tank. Pickup for the fuel is at the bottom of tank. Could be drawing a good amount of water instead of straight fuel oil.

Proper bleeding of the lines would purge air but also show if there was a major water-in-fuel situation going on....
 

79olds510

Not-quite-so-new-guy
May 15, 2022
10
0
1
What does that mean? Is there a typo?

If you haven't bled the fuel lines yet I'd start there for 2 reasons.

1) for it to be rebuilt there HAD to be loss of prime and introduction of air into the fuel lines. Air in the fuel lines will keep a diesel from developing the requisite high pressures needed to open valves and introduce fuel to run.

2) even if someone did prime the system, and did it correctly, if the car sat long enough you could have water being pushed through the injector pump and not fuel. Unlike gasoline, diesel oil doesn't have the same amount of positive vapor pressure meaning lots of condensation in the fuel tank. As heating and cooling cycles happen, and air is vented in and out of tank, more moisture condenses, and, water is heavier than diesel thus sinking to bottom of tank. Pickup for the fuel is at the bottom of tank. Could be drawing a good amount of water instead of straight fuel oil.

Proper bleeding of the lines would purge air but also show if there was a major water-in-fuel situation going on....
Yea it was a typo my bad and not sure I was told it was rebuilt it has been sitting for a while next days off I’ll be bleeding the fuel line and put diesel down the carburetor and see if that helps
 

ck80

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Feb 18, 2014
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Yea it was a typo my bad and not sure I was told it was rebuilt it has been sitting for a while next days off I’ll be bleeding the fuel line and put diesel down the carburetor and see if that helps
If it's a diesel still it won't have a carburetor. If the engine has been swapped, or its a dx block converted to gas, it'll have a carb but not run off diesel.

That's why the comment confused me when I guessed that's what you may have meant...
 
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