Engine cuts off...
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Engine cuts off...
1980 C3. Driving along at 65 mph to Carlisle last week and suddenly the engine cut out as if it had been turned off. Then it come back on a few seconds later. Radio stayed on, so I know I didn't lose all power. It's as if the hot wire to the distributor lost power for a second -- like flipping a kill switch on and off. Happened 4 or 5 times over 2-hour trip each way. Happened once when I was stopped in traffic, so it wasn't a if I'd gone over a bump and shook a wire loose. A couple of times it didn't restart by itself, but it started right up when I pulled over. Totally intermittent and I can't replicate the problem; I've jiggled the ignition switch and various wires under the hood and at the fuse block. Distributor was new last year. Connections are tight. Everything sounds/feels perfect and gauge readings look good before and after it happens. It happened again, today. Later, I noticed the volt meter bounce down to 8 and them pop right back up to 13+, but no effect on the engine. But then, this didn't happen again. Any thoughts?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,037
Likes: 14
From: Mobile Alabama
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,570
Likes: 1
From: Algonac Michigan
You may also want to check the wires going from the ign. module to the magnetic pick up.
They can break at their connection to the pole piece and when the timing advances the circuit opens. Then when the eng. dies they may or may not return to a position where they again complete the circuit.
They can break at their connection to the pole piece and when the timing advances the circuit opens. Then when the eng. dies they may or may not return to a position where they again complete the circuit.
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Disconnected plug/battery/tach wires, opened and inspected everything in the distributor. All looked fine. Reconnected everything, turned the key and there was no power to the distributor, but electrical power to everything not tied to the distributor was fine. So the problem had to be further upstream, between the ignition switch and distributor. The pink battery wire to the distributor leads to a connection at the base of the steering column (next to the big harmonica connection). Squeezed that tight... now all is well. For the moment...
