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I may have a new symptom here, could be same problem not sure. I started it up today, drove it to town and back (60 minutes round trip) ran fine. Came home, parked it for an hour, got in to leave. It started but was barely holding an idle as is sometimes the case with the fluctuating idle, it ran for thirty seconds as i backed up then it died, tried to restart but no action at all, no sputters or pops, nothing but cranking. That was the case for the twenty minutes i tried to get it started tapping various relays looking for obvious issues etc. No luck, came back to it three hours later and it started right up. Sound familiar?
If it started with a touch of throttle i would say the heater valve may have heat soaked while still and closed the rest of the way down, but if it wouldn't start with throttle then something else. Perhaps the infamous "green wire" on the distributor needs tested for a good signal in case the pickup is breaking down while hot. Did the tach. move when you cranked the engine? Next time pull a plug wire and stick an old lawnmower plug in to check for spark. You could remove a cap from the end of the fuel rail and see if it's delivering fuel (not while checking for spark!!!!!!). See if it starts up with a gentle spray of starting fluid below the air filter (only a quick spray). If it sputters it likely has no fuel. If it starts and stays running it's a little to lean on mixture. Depending on temperature the thermal time switch for the cold start injector may be acting up. May have a coolant sensor going out of range or with a bad connection. Check the vacuum lines to the fuel pressure regulator (front center on water bridge) and the two fuel dampeners at the back of the fuel rails and see if they have any fuel inside from a bad diaphragm. With fuel now having ethanol it boils at a lower temperature...you may want to have someone check the fuel pressure. If it's running low it could be vapor locking in the fuel rail when heat soaked. Hope that isn't too much to digest. I would check spark and then try the GENTLE touch of starting fluid first. I've also had my main EFI relay go out...melt down actually. When it went to lunch it never came back. Just my .02 someone else may want to chime in.
Not too much, perfect actually. I like to have a check list so if i dont find an immediate solution im not waiting around. Ill check each of those out tomorrow. The guy who owned this car last did so much damage and only put 150 miles on the odometer! I tracked down the owner before him and his history in addition to the great documentation i have of its earlier life in the owners manual has really painted a picture of that 150 miles... Ill get to work on it when the sun rises and come back with results asap
Originally Posted by entropy_engineering
If it started with a touch of throttle i would say the heater valve may have heat soaked while still and closed the rest of the way down, but if it wouldn't start with throttle then something else. Perhaps the infamous "green wire" on the distributor needs tested for a good signal in case the pickup is breaking down while hot. Did the tach. move when you cranked the engine? Next time pull a plug wire and stick an old lawnmower plug in to check for spark. You could remove a cap from the end of the fuel rail and see if it's delivering fuel (not while checking for spark!!!!!!). See if it starts up with a gentle spray of starting fluid below the air filter (only a quick spray). If it sputters it likely has no fuel. If it starts and stays running it's a little to lean on mixture. Depending on temperature the thermal time switch for the cold start injector may be acting up. May have a coolant sensor going out of range or with a bad connection. Check the vacuum lines to the fuel pressure regulator (front center on water bridge) and the two fuel dampeners at the back of the fuel rails and see if they have any fuel inside from a bad diaphragm. With fuel now having ethanol it boils at a lower temperature...you may want to have someone check the fuel pressure. If it's running low it could be vapor locking in the fuel rail when heat soaked. Hope that isn't too much to digest. I would check spark and then try the GENTLE touch of starting fluid first. I've also had my main EFI relay go out...melt down actually. When it went to lunch it never came back. Just my .02 someone else may want to chime in.
Oh, not that it would necessarily be temperature related, but it's always a good idea to check for corrosion an any relevant, well actually all, of the stupid bullet fuses. Terminal corrosion can be fixed with deoxit spray and twisting. Got a BMW cheap many years ago the owner couldn't figure out why it kept dying. Turned out to be a dirty bullet fuse to the fuel pump. I digress.
Interesting, ill do some tlc. Ive already replaced several fuses but i didnt think about the terminals. Not positive but i dont think the tach was jumping during cranking yesterday which indicates elictrical issues resulting in no spark correct?
Originally Posted by entropy_engineering
Oh, not that it would necessarily be temperature related, but it's always a good idea to check for corrosion an any relevant, well actually all, of the stupid bullet fuses. Terminal corrosion can be fixed with deoxit spray and twisting. Got a BMW cheap many years ago the owner couldn't figure out why it kept dying. Turned out to be a dirty bullet fuse to the fuel pump. I digress.
Got my new wheels! Had to roll the fender lip a bit but i crammed em in there and i think they look pretty good! (Better when theyre powder coated black) time to get back to my diagnostic headaches
Im having my seats reupholstered. Im having them done in black leather with brown stitching and i want to replace the piping on the seats with a french stitch(like the dash has) has anyone done this or seen it done? How does it look?
My car starred in a music video today, was fun. Starting to get dialed in on this idle/fail to start problem. Fail to start only happens when its hot and has been driven for a while then sits for about twenty min and its still intermittent. Idle still fluctuates but is better at op temp. Cleaned fuse contact points, replaced all related relays. Looked for vac leaks but none found, green wire from dist is intact... New plugs, still searching, any help is appreciated
02-02-2016, 02:29 AM
