Ok, I have turned to the collective wisdom that is Rennlist. My 951 just started dying randomly some times it is when coming to a stop and this afternoon it will sometimes cut out while driving. when it does dye it always starts right back up. Could it be the DME relay? Fuel Filter? The tach falls to zero and if I am not almost stopped I even let the clutch out and it restarted. Any clues?

 

Wont do any harm to replace the DME relay, they are relatively cheap and a spare is always usefull.
Look at the plug leads at night with the engine running see if there are any 'leaks' sparks jumping out.
what colour are the plugs?

 

looked last night and there is no arcing or leaking around the spark plugs (New wires with about 200 miles on them). I'll pull the plugs today and let your know on the color.

 

Hi Jeff,

Sounds like an electrical fault of some sort since it is sudden and then comes back just as suddenly.

DME relay is cheap and easy but I think that a problem with it will usually result in no start at all. Connector to AFM maybe? DME harness connection? Something is loose or there's a break in a wire somewhere. Hopefully others will have ideas for you as well.

Cranking up the positive karma for you, I'll be on channel 4...

 

Thanks Greg! Hopefully I will be able to find this is seems to also do this right after I fill it up, go figure?

 

I had a simlar symtom which turned out to be the injector harness. The wires get brittle and break or short out at the injector connector. Have you recently removed your intake or moved the injector wires?

 

Those 2 sensor connectors at the rear of the block are notorious for working loose or getting dirty. I ended up using different style connectors because I couldn't find the right female connector. My car would just die or stumble for no reason until I started jiggling those connectors and repaired it. A bad DME relay can make the car quit completely, run badly and die, or cause hot or no start problems. I just went through this on the 83 and my resoldered relay lasted all of one day! Just ordered 2 of them this morning.

 

SHot in the dark. Just throwing this out there. No check engine light? Sometimes if the coolant temp sensor starts going bad. The fuel tables will be off therefore screwing up idle. (Honda's. Sorry, where most of my experience lies.) So, there's maybe another thing to look at. (if it's even used on the DME)

 

Update, changed the fuel filter and fuel pump check valve (to stop leak down problem) and re-adjusted the idle and fuel pressure. Went this morning to get the annual enema (emissions test) and it passed with flying colors. The car is running amazingly clean. I do have a crack on the injector harness at the number one injector. It doesn't look to be cracked on the wire insulation, but could this be the problem? I have taken my intake off twice recently, once for the venturi delete and once for the LR fuel rail install and heater control valve replacement. One of the sensors at the back of the motor is a fragile but the other looks good. What should I replace first the sensor and female portion of the plug or the injector harness?

Thanks for the suggestions thus far....

 

After a check tonight (she died at a very busy intersection and almost did not start backup) It looks like a deteriorated reference sensor plug was the culprit. I'll try that first. The plug end on the reference sensor is what fell apart so I guess I will replace it. the other looks OK. Am I ok just replacing one of the sensors? Thanks again for the help!

 

OK, Hopefully this is the last update to this thread. She finally died last night with no restart. This morning I replaced both of the reference sensors and the car started right up. Had no problems coming to work this morning so maybe this will be solved.

 

Congrats Jeff and thanks for posting the solution!

 

Let us know if it comes back. There are a number of places where you can get wire shortings.

 

I am still cautiously optimistic. The injector harness looks rough on the number one injector so I will probably replace it with the LR harness just to be safe. More later....

 

Ok here is a follow up for the archives. The car did great for about a week then quit on the way to work again. I looked and everything seemed tight and connected. I wiggled everything and still no start. I then took the reference sensor plugs out of the bracket and plugged them back together. The car has been flawless since I took the bracket out of the picture.