82 C.E.

I beleive it could be your anti-theif, disabling your ignition.

texaswilkins

Dr. Jay,

I had that control module out on a warm day and had my local Oreilly check it. It passed all three times. It still makes more sense for that part to be bad but it passed the tests.

Bill

paulywannafly

the pickup coil in the distributor will fail when heated also

Clint's C3

This sounds like a good excuse for an MSD 6 ignition box, blaster coil and pro billet distributor. You know you wanted one...

Sorry, I just recalled, the Pro-billet distributor and coil won't work with the computer. You would have to ditch the CFI. Hmm...

You could however, install a MSD box and MSD electronic ignition distributor. That would improve the ignition performance. Then if you ever went carb you could still use the MSD box. Lots of options.

82Vette'ster

One thing to check on 82's is the ECM Fuse.

It hauls a lot of current and is a problem part on our cars. If there's an issue with it you won't get any ground for your injectors. This fuse is the one that's by itself in the battery compartment. While the fuse will still be "good" the holder and the legs of the fuse will get corrosion and sometimes carbon arcing build up. This can cause the intermittent problem you described. Pull the fuse and check it. Many times excess heat from the poor contact will start to melt the fuse casing and can make it tough to get out.

GM's decision to put unsealed electronics and connectors in a compartment with a lead acid battery has been questioned many times.

texaswilkins

82vette'ster,

Chris, I just might owe you a large cool beverage of some sort.

My wierd little car has been starting lately so I can't verify yet that this was my problem. I ran it 15 minutes to warm up the oil and when I shut it off I checked that fuse. It was real hot and when I got it in the light there was a lot of fuzzy corrosion on it so I cleaned the plug and installed a new fuse. That would just kill me if a buried .20 cent fuse was the problem all along. I never considered that fuse was important since it looks like a bubba job.

Bill

82Vette'ster

Hope thats all it was.

That little sucker cost me a tow in the past. Keep an eye on it. If the fuse was cruddy then the contacts in the holder are probably just as bad. Either clean it out real good or replace it. I used a bunch of pipe cleaners and de-oxit. But It's coming back. I'll be replacing it soon.

Keeping the bat compartment clean is really a good idea on a 82. Don't let any of that crud that forms around the bat terminals build up. I pull the bat and clean it out once a year. I put a layer of baking soda (neutralizes acid) with a pad over it. When I switch over to the 8746 with EBL computer I'll be relocating it in the other compartment farther away from the bat.

There's some other good 82 querks and tips over at the Crossfire forum I hang out over there too.

Clint's C3

I recently installed an Optima battery. Maybe a dumb question, they are spill proof but do they have less outgassing?

73C3

I had the same thing happen to my truck. The module went bad intermittently then finally it went full dead and left me stranded.

82Vette'ster

I was considering buying an Optima next time I have to replace. From my understanding they are dry cell and don't vent corosive vapor. They're lighter too aren't they?

Clint's C3

It doesn't feel much lighter. Light weight is not listed as one of the features. Info from their website:

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publi...e/starter.html

Buccaneer

I remember the last time this happend to Chris...that sucked for sure that night, but it was late and rather dark...Doh!

82Vette'ster

I'm thinking of replacing that 20 amp fuse with a CB remotely mounted somewhere else. It gets in the way, especially when working on the battery.