C3 Suddenly died while driving
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
C3 Suddenly died while driving
I have a 1981 C3 corvette that is a partial project car. I was driving it on the freeway when all of a sudden everything just stopped working. Choke and battery light came on but the car was not running. The interior electrical was all still on and fine. I pulled over and all the belts were fine. This happened once before and I had to replace the distributor. Any ideas on why it died? I have a new alternator, new distributor with all new plug wires. I just got through replacing the smog pump and the radiator.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 53,648
Likes: 878
From: Southern Cal Ca
St. Jude Donor '22
check power to dist. should say "batt" on the cap/
first thought ign cont mod
coil
mag pickup
if you are getting 12v to dist.
unplug 4 lead connector at dist and try to start
how familiar are you with dist and hei?
first thought ign cont mod
coil
mag pickup
if you are getting 12v to dist.
unplug 4 lead connector at dist and try to start
how familiar are you with dist and hei?
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 53,648
Likes: 878
From: Southern Cal Ca
St. Jude Donor '22
a device called magnetic pickup. coils of wire in a ring shape
bottom of dist serves as points by signaling the ignition control module.
research ign cont mod to get an idea of what it looks like.
remove it and take to autozone for testing.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6,741
Likes: 1,383
Do you have spark? If not, then I'd check ignition module first if I was you.
Ignition modules go from about 25 to 75 bucks at autozone. Only mention autozone because it's nearest parts place to me.
https://www.autozone.com/ignition-tu...eVehicle=false
Ignition modules go from about 25 to 75 bucks at autozone. Only mention autozone because it's nearest parts place to me.
https://www.autozone.com/ignition-tu...eVehicle=false
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 53,648
Likes: 878
From: Southern Cal Ca
St. Jude Donor '22
new dist could have spun and put the car out of timing.
depends on how tight the hold down was and
if the shaft bound up on the dist housing.
i would verify 12 v to dist cap
that rotor turns
that dist hasn't spun by looking at the position.
then test ign module
coil
mag pickup.
the sudden stopping vs rough running sounds like electrical
depends on how tight the hold down was and
if the shaft bound up on the dist housing.
i would verify 12 v to dist cap
that rotor turns
that dist hasn't spun by looking at the position.
then test ign module
coil
mag pickup.
the sudden stopping vs rough running sounds like electrical
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
OK sounds like everyone agrees that it is most likely the distributor or the control module. The distributor was replaced a couple of years ago and has less than 2000 miles on it but I don't think the control module has ever been touched so I'll start there.
Thanks for all the help guys, I truly appreciate it.
Thanks for all the help guys, I truly appreciate it.
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 206
Likes: 18
From: Reedsburg WI
Happened to me last year where power wire literally fell out of connection and car died in the middle of town. Thankfully I coasted to a bar parking lot and figured out the connection much later.
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Thanks for all the help. I opened up the distributor this weekend and found the problem. What I thought was a new distributor was just a new cap and plug wires. The guts were all old and the rotator arm had broken. $40 for a new arm and new cap and we are back up and running.