It's a 1991 Cutlass Supreme International Series. The previous owner left it sitting for 8 years. The battery is dead. I tried to jumpstart it, everything turns on sucessfully, but when an attempt is made to start the engine, the engine cranks very slowly and the lights get very dim, and it does not start. Starting fluid was added, but it only started for a second and then died again. What is the problem here? I want to save this car, but it seems as if it wont be able to be saved. Any suggestions? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Welcome to TOC,



If it's been sitting that long the battery could be past the point of recharging (could be out of or low on water, etc) I would try a different battery in it, maybe take one out of another car that you know is fully charged and try that before you go out and buy a new one. Make sure the battery connections are clean and tight, use a small wire brush to get them as clean as possible, even if they don't look really bad.

If it still cranks too slow, then you at least know you have ruled out the battery, or the connections at the battery terminals.

It uses both batteries to start? I thought using a battery hooked up with jumper cables was enough. I guess not. I guess I'll be carting myself off to K-Mart for one then.

Oh, a note. When the car is turned on and not cranked, there is no oil pressure but when it is cranked (unsucessfully) and returned to the ON position, the oil pressure is moderately normal then goes back to 0. Is this normal with this situation?

Hi rr4567,

Welcome to TOC.


Plenty of time for gasoline to evaporate, or for it to lose its volatility, or both.


Not good to run a gasoline engine on starting fluid. Put a couple of gallons of fresh gasoline in the tank, and try it again. This time, with a fully charged battery.


In this case, one is dead and the other has work through its (and the auxiliary cables) resistance, to get the job done. Most of the time, using the "booster" engine to charge the "boosted" battery, for a couple of minutes, will help.


Yes. The oil pump works any time the engine is cranking.

Norm

Will one gallon work? Just to get the car started.

now im sure this is probably a thing you checked first off, but check all of the fuel lines very closely and possible even the sending unit and pump because i have a 1990 delta 88 royale myself that sat in a yard of tall grass and crazy Michigan weather for 7 years and they all rotted out, needless to say after replacing all lines and countless other things, it still only runs for so long then dies.
but good luck and may i hope your ride is but more saveable then mine seems to be lol.