Took out my vette for its first run of the year. Drove it for about 90 minutes, highways and backroads and it ran flawlessly.....until. Driving down hill on a winding road I felt a bang from the back like the powerglide slipped and banged into gear. I hit the gas and nothing. I originally thought the tranny was shot but then realized the car had stalled out. Op temp was 180, oil pressure was good, etc. I threw it in neutral and she started right up, stalled, started again and then ran fine. Carb idle issue? Trannhy?, spring butterflies? Curious as to what the forum has to say. Im bringing her to Corvette Paramedics for a complete fluid swap out in two weeks. I like to run things by our members prior to mentioning them to a shop.

Thanks
Frank

 

Is your car the 63 in your avatar? Do you have points or electronic ignition? Did you lose power to your gauges when it happened? It may be as simple as the often occurring red wire connection at the firewall. You lost power and it backfired, maybe. If you can get it to happen again, noticed whether things work, like courtesy lights or radio, or gauges. If the red wire is the problem, you'll still have horn, but nothing else in the cabin. Of course, if it's momentary you have to be looking when it happens. I'd turn on the radio and try again to see if you lose that.

 

Doubt a tranny problem would make the engine shut off. On the other hand, if the motor hiccuped or sputtered momentarily, that could possibly cause a noise in the drive train, especially if you have a bad U-joint or some slop somewhere.

That's my 2 cents worth. Let's hear what the experts say.

 

iI have points. Not sure the if the gauges died. Tach did, that's for sure. Speedo was working. I will try to replicate it, thanks.

 

Tach and speedo and oil pressure gauge are mechanical, I need to know about what happened electrically at the time of the shutoff. That's why I said turn on the radio, you'll notice it shut off before anything you can see.

Since you didn't answer, I'll assume until you say otherwise your car is the 63.

 

Yes a 63. I will try to replicate with the radio on to see if the electrical goes out. Thanks. I didnt have the static prone thing on today.

 

Doesn't matter as long as it makes some noise that you can hear.

 

OK so lets say it stays on, what have we proved, or for that matter the reverse?

 

As I said earlier, it's very common to have the red wire that feeds through the bulkhead connector corrode or become loose. It feeds ALL voltages to the cabin. The horn relay does not need voltage from the cabin, the ground in the horn button will still be functional and the horn will still work when this happens. If the radio stays on and the car dies, the red wire is not the problem. If the radio goes off, the wire is the problem. If you can duplicate the stall and tell me if the radio goes off (also wipers, clock, courtesy lights, dash lights, glove box light, etc) I will tell you how to fix the problem. The radio is just easier to tell when it goes off and on. We could tell you now how to fix it, but then you'd never know if it was really the problem until you stalled again, maybe on the highway away from home. I like to verify the problem before I fix it.

If while testing this, it stalls and the radio does go off, and the car won't start, (in fact the starter will not even engage) raise the hood and find the two multiwire bulkhead connector just below the master cylinder and give it a push in and maybe a slight wiggle, then try again. If it's the problem there's a good chance your car will start and run until it loses connection next time. Again, I strongly suggest you duplicate the stall before you even touch the wire to see if the radio still plays. If you want to read up on this, there are MULTIPLE threads on the forum mostly titled something like "red wire problem" or "lost all voltage" or "car stalled" or "car died while I was driving" etc.

 

Don't forget to look at you ballast resistor. Shutting down, starting back up and quickly stalling again brings back many bad memories. Had trouble like this with my '63 and again with my current '66. In fact it was 2 weeks ago with the '66. Some times they just fail. Other times they start going bad and work "most of the time" until they get hot. Another cheap and quick fix.
Good luck.

 

That is a great cheap fix and if not, who knows how old mine is....Thanks!

 

Esp since I was driving for over an hour, which I normally do not do so it couldve stopped due to heat. Just ordered a new one, cheap enough.

 

To the original poster: This is where you want to look based on your description. The backfire through the exhaust is the clue. If you lose ignition for a moment and it returns just as quick unburned fuel in the exhaust will light off when the spark returns. Follow 65GGvert's prescription. Yes, ballast resistors can do this too and you want to check it, but the red wire in the bulkhead connector is a widely known source of trouble which often presents itself in just the way you describe.

Dan

 

I recently removed my ignition switch and cleaned all of the electrical contact tabs on the back, as well as the wire terminals. My '61 would shut off, or not start. When I reached up behind the switch and held the wires, it would start and run fine. The cleaning of 58 years of oxidation cured it. No more stalling/cutting out. Have run into the bulkhead connector issue with many GM cars from 1964-70.

 

Thanks, anyone have a pic of this troublesome wire?

 

I feel like you're unwilling to do any leg work, but rather just have someone ship you a part. Here's a picture of the connector with an arrow drawn to the red wire connection in each side of the connector on the plug of the two that is closest to the center line of the car. This one is extremely corroded, yours may not be, or it may be the pin itself pushed partially out or bent from heat over the years. I'm dropping out, I don't need the frustration right now. You're ordering parts that may or may not be bad and adding extra possibilities into the troubleshooting. If you're losing cabin power, you can change all the resistors, coils, ignitions switches, fuel pumps you want and it still won't fix it. I tried to get you to narrow it down. I hope you find it and it's an easy fix.

 

One last thing, as I said earlier, Google "C2 Corvette red wire connection, Corvette Forum" and you'll get pictures, experiences, fixes, work arounds, etc.

 

Thanks again for the help! Not intending to throw parts at the problem. Just seemed like the ballast was something that could strand me and is god knows how old. So easier to just replace.

 

You are welcome.
The guys answering your questions are in my opinion the final authority on antique Chevrolets. They are not enthusiasts, but experts with decades of experience. They tend to become indignant when they believe their advice is not taken seriously especially given that the advice is both invaluable and free.

Go check the red wire.

Dan

 

All,

Thanks for the advice! I will check the red wire. The wires on the ballast look old and brittle, I expect the same. Additionally the car re-started stalled and restarted then ran while rolling down the hill so if it were the red wire why would it fix itself?