Engine Died while driving....
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 64
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From: los angeles california
Engine Died while driving....
started up fine this morning, started up fine this afternoon, infact pretty much 1 minute before the engine died... I was driving up a hill and shifted into 4th gear(not very steep) and the tach dropped to 0 and i couldnt get the car to power forward. electrical appears fine, radio works etc... my guess is Card or distributor... recently the carb screws were adjusted to lean out the mixture... could the car be getting to little gas?- i doubt it because i drove it 100 miles after that was done... so i checked the spark plug wires, two were loose on the distributor and i clicked them back into place. but i had already spent a few minutes pumping gas through the engine. could i have fixed it and its just flooded at the moment?
- the distributor just isnt sparking...?
please help, car is in a not so great place to be sitting for long,
thanks, alex
- the distributor just isnt sparking...?
please help, car is in a not so great place to be sitting for long,
thanks, alex
Pro
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 560
Likes: 1
From: Mooresville NC
sounds like it may just be flooded now. Get a can of starter fluid and squirt a couple of seconds down the carb. If that doesn't fire it up then it's electrical. If it fires up then dies it's probably fuel pump/carb related.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 241
Likes: 0
From: St Louis Missouri
If you were driving it, the idle screws have nothing to do with the stall. I would look into electrical, but not just the spark plugs, because the engine will still run if a couple of plugs aren’t working. Look into the power to the HEI coil. The other thing is fuel, it’s not terribly uncommon for the fuel pump to give out. If it will run for a little while on starter fluid then it’s probably your pump.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,186
Likes: 45
From: detroit area
i know i flooded mine once...... i speed up to pass a truck to get off at an exit on the e-way and came to a stop light....... let the car sit and pushed the pedal all the way down and took about 4 turns of the key and it fired right up
b
b
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 64
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From: los angeles california
Originally Posted by MILO
Get a can of starter fluid and squirt a couple of seconds down the carb. If that doesn't fire it up then it's electrical.
It didn't fire up 2 hours later, even with the starter fluid. That would mean its electrical then? How can i check for spark, i have no diagnosing machines etc... please help- towed my car home- ready to work on it
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Melting Slicks
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 2,897
Likes: 0
From: Moon Township PA
Do we know what year we are talking about? this usually helps.
Anytime an engine dies very suddenly without bogging down or slowly failing sounds like an electrical issue. If you have an HEI then I would do the diagnostic that is in the GM Service manual for your car. It will tell you if the internal coil is bad. You might also have a bad module under the cap.
If you have a standard points type distributor then I would check the coil for continuity. Your car may have a resistance wire in the line to the coil. If that burns through then you will have a dead car.
Again, a lot depends on the year.
Gary
Anytime an engine dies very suddenly without bogging down or slowly failing sounds like an electrical issue. If you have an HEI then I would do the diagnostic that is in the GM Service manual for your car. It will tell you if the internal coil is bad. You might also have a bad module under the cap.
If you have a standard points type distributor then I would check the coil for continuity. Your car may have a resistance wire in the line to the coil. If that burns through then you will have a dead car.
Again, a lot depends on the year.
Gary
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 64
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From: los angeles california
Originally Posted by GaryS
Do we know what year we are talking about? this usually helps.
If you have an HEI then I would do the diagnostic that is in the GM Service manual for your car. It will tell you if the internal coil is bad. You might also have a bad module under the cap.
Gary
If you have an HEI then I would do the diagnostic that is in the GM Service manual for your car. It will tell you if the internal coil is bad. You might also have a bad module under the cap.
Gary
76 Corvette 350ci
how do i check if its HEI? im pretty sure its a basic stock distributor replacement... (sorry im a newbie at this stuff, havent worked on this before)
thanks, alex
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 228
Likes: 0
Since no one answered you I will give it a try . You can tell if it is a HEI by pulling the plug wire off the distrubitor if there is a hole then it is a points type ,if there is a post sticking up it is a HEI type. You can check fire by holding the wire you pulled off close to the distrubitor while someone turns the ignition over . Be careful not to hold the wire to close so that the spark does't jump to you .
Pro
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 683
Likes: 4
I had the same problem. Car would run fine for about 20 minutes. After that it would die. Replace the ignition module in the distributor. Make sure you use the silicone grease underneath the module. I believe this protects the module from engine heat transfer.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 2,897
Likes: 0
From: Moon Township PA
Originally Posted by tmoneymoney4
76 Corvette 350ci
how do i check if its HEI? im pretty sure its a basic stock distributor replacement... (sorry im a newbie at this stuff, havent worked on this before)
thanks, alex
how do i check if its HEI? im pretty sure its a basic stock distributor replacement... (sorry im a newbie at this stuff, havent worked on this before)
thanks, alex
The stock distributor is much smaller in diameter than an HEI. In addition, the HEI has a built in coil whereas the non-HEI distributor will have a wire going to the external coil. If you have the GM Service manual for yur car, it will have a diagnostic for the distributor.
Gary
Racer
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 304
Likes: 0
From: Pasadena Maryland
1975 was the first year to have the HEI Distributor. It was also the first year for the electronically driven tach because of new Distributor. Try a new module. I had one go out and the car stop dead in it's tracks.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,399
Likes: 278
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Anybody who's going to be "working" on the engine needs a timing gun.
If you get the induction type you can connect it around one of the plug wires. Crank the engine and hold the trigger on the timing gun. If you see it flash you have spark.
If you get the induction type you can connect it around one of the plug wires. Crank the engine and hold the trigger on the timing gun. If you see it flash you have spark.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 8,295
Likes: 30
From: one night in Bangkok you are never lonely
Originally Posted by mvftw
If it's an HEI car, replace the distributor module. This will act up when hot, then work fine when cool... cheap & ez...
Had the same problem with my new summit HEI. when it cooled down it started right up. 
