Beak

My '87 has been running perfectly fine, until today.... Driving along and it suddenly became gutless and was hesitating like crazy and bogged and coughed until it died and then wouldn't start again. Lots of spark, just seemed like it wasn't getting any fuel. While waiting for the tow truck, after about 40 minutes, I tried again and it fired up and seems to be okay again. It was out in the rain the night before (and we got a ton!); could the engine compartment have taken enough water through the spoiler to cause this issue or should I be looking into a new fuel pump or something else? Any input is appreciated.

-Dan

Amber Gramps

How old is your distributor cap? Mine did this every time I washed it before I replaced what was likely the original cap. Has never happened again. The seal, or mating surface, it isn't really a seal, on the distributor cap can take on water and wreak havoc on the spark.

Similar conditions can develop if your plug wires are cracked and dated. Fire it up in total darkness and you will see sparks wandering off the wires. Crazy but it happens.

Anyway, I think it was the rain getting into and grounding out your distributor.

theiceman

More info needed.
How long were you "diving along" for?
These cars dry out pretty quickly as you can imagine. So if it did it after you had been driving for an hour I wouldn't think it was water.

You have a few possibilities.
The points Doug mentioned above would be first.
Make sure no water got inside the car and under your drivers seat. Dme and relay
Also your cht sensor could be going bad and will cause your exact symptoms.
This you can check with a paper clip

ron mcatee

As a precaution on theses 87-89 Carrera's, always check the DME Relay. If it seems like there' no fuel, that's likely the culprit. I'm not saying that is the problem, but it's a long standing one on these year cars, I had two fail with in a week back in 1999 just after I purchased the car. At that time, all that was available was the ones made in Hungary. I had one fail about a month ago (15 years ain't bad) and was able to find a couple of them made in Germany. Runs like a top now.

Beak

Thanks everyone. I will definitely be checking out/replacing the dist cap and wires (they are pretty old - the car is new to me this year). The DME relay is also going to be replaced as I've read about that here.

Iceman, re the drying out, I hadn't been driving it long at all, just shot over to the hardware store and back, so only about 20 minutes. We had a solid 2 inches of rain the night before.

-Dan

theiceman

Dan you are real local .. so if you do get stuck someplace you can always call one of us Cambridge boys

LOTs of us in the area

All hang out in Canada forum

Beak

Thanks. I check the Canada forum frequently.

-Dan

sightlinereaders

I had a similar problem where the car would get hot and stumble then die. I replaced a bunch of parts chasing this down: Fuel filter, fuel pump, DME relay, ignition coil. I had a newish cap and rotor and had done the spark plug wires before. What cured it for me? The cylinder head temperature sensor. Part number: 93060691500. They are pretty easy to replace. Tips: get the part, to remove the old part, just cut the wire off and use a deep well socket. To install you will have to cut a deep well socket so you can tighten the sensor into the head and have the wire not get in the way. Google it and you will see some threads on how to do this repair. If you need reading glasses, check these out, they are great for mechanics. Good luck.

Amber Gramps

LOL, well, at least you were helpful before you made your sales pitch.

When I did my Head Temp Sensor I put a deep socket into a mill and cut a slot into it from tip down to the base. The same can be done with a thick cutoff wheel on a grinder:



If our Porsche HTS is 13mm this would be awesome. I'll check my socket tonight.

http://americansportbike.com/newdir/Item/16140

theiceman

Just jumper the sensor out with a paper clip after the car is warmed up to see if this fixes it before getting to involved in something that may not be necessary