Just finished a drive with local P-car owners through the back roads of Montgomery County. Great drive. Car ran great. Great lunch at Hard Times Cafe. On the way home, in third gear, 35 mph, I noticed a slight hesitation, like a fuel surge. It lasted about 20 seconds or so and then the car just died. I shifted to neutral and then heard a loud back fire... make that a very loud backfire. After pulling off the road and parking I checked for ??? but found nothing amiss. However, the car would not start even though it seemed to turn over fine. Any thoughts as to what the problem is? Car is a 1988 930 w/ 60,000 miles that is driven not too often and I've owned it for 10 years. This is the first problem of any kind. Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

 

fuel pumps running?

 

Accumulator?

 

Generally there are two areas that can support a backfire. The intake and the exhaust systems. If it is the exhaust then it is caused by fuel in the exhaust tract. If it is in the intake then it is probably cause by timing. Perhaps you had an ignition failure that caused a lot of fuel to get into the very hot muffler and explode. You are going to have to check the plugs to see if they are getting power and producing a spark. If not then the problem is probably the HEI box. If its timing then you need to check the distributor to make sure it has not rotated. My guess is the HEI.

 

Sounds like my car when it died. In my case it was my alternator.

 

Turns out it was a bad ignition control unit and fuel pump relay. Expensive but at least not that serious. Thnaks for your suggestions.