Engine just quits!!!
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,713
Likes: 31
From: Shreveport LA
LA Events Coordinator
Engine just quits!!!
I have a 350 L-48 with a Holley Pro-Jection 4 Throttle body fuel injection system. The engine, for the past 2 months, just quits (out of the blue!). It cranks right back up and runs fine for maybe 3-4 days then BAM 
it quits! Today it did it 3 times! I have replaced the fuel filter (in-line), changed plugs and plug wires, cleaned and/or replaced the fuel injectors (there are 4 of them), and replaced the distributor with a Mallory HEI. I adjusted the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) and it ran FINE....Last week, it quit and I thought it was the fuel pump going out...called JEGS to order a new pump and the tech said "Check and make sure you are getting power to the fuel pump before ordering a new one". So I did, and found a bad ground when I checked it with a meter....fixed it and thought everything was OK....it ran fine until today when it quit 3 times...... I am running 15 lbs of fuel pressure (per Holleys manual)....New alternator, new Interstate Magnum battery.....I have checked and rechecked EVERYTHING
ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! RIGHT NOW I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO "TRUST" THE CAR! :mad 
it quits! Today it did it 3 times! I have replaced the fuel filter (in-line), changed plugs and plug wires, cleaned and/or replaced the fuel injectors (there are 4 of them), and replaced the distributor with a Mallory HEI. I adjusted the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) and it ran FINE....Last week, it quit and I thought it was the fuel pump going out...called JEGS to order a new pump and the tech said "Check and make sure you are getting power to the fuel pump before ordering a new one". So I did, and found a bad ground when I checked it with a meter....fixed it and thought everything was OK....it ran fine until today when it quit 3 times...... I am running 15 lbs of fuel pressure (per Holleys manual)....New alternator, new Interstate Magnum battery.....I have checked and rechecked EVERYTHING ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! RIGHT NOW I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO "TRUST" THE CAR! :mad
Last edited by vetteguy75; Aug 4, 2004 at 07:31 PM.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 271
Likes: 0
From: Alpharette GA
Sounds like an Electrical, computer problem or possibly a loose, broken or corroded connection.
I personally have run into a boat computer injection system that would shut down when it did not get the proper voltage(it just kind of reboot itself ) gave me and a lot of people fits for a log time.
I personally have run into a boat computer injection system that would shut down when it did not get the proper voltage(it just kind of reboot itself ) gave me and a lot of people fits for a log time.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 46
From: Raleigh North Carolina
Maybe you have good water pressure instead of fuel pressure?
Check the tank for 1 to 2 quarts of watering laying in the bottom under the gas. It's hard to see. Use a flashlight in a dark or shaded place. Shake the car.
Took me years to figure that one out.
Then I had to install a new tank as well.
Gets in past the filler cap when you wash the car or it rains... if the filler boot drain hose is plugged. The tank neck boot fills up with water when the drain hose is plugged.
Depends on year & type of cap (vented/unvented)... but it happens.
I would suspect electrical problems as described above, but check the tank for water just for grins.
Check the tank for 1 to 2 quarts of watering laying in the bottom under the gas. It's hard to see. Use a flashlight in a dark or shaded place. Shake the car.
Took me years to figure that one out.
Then I had to install a new tank as well.
Gets in past the filler cap when you wash the car or it rains... if the filler boot drain hose is plugged. The tank neck boot fills up with water when the drain hose is plugged.
Depends on year & type of cap (vented/unvented)... but it happens.
I would suspect electrical problems as described above, but check the tank for water just for grins.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 24,160
Likes: 78
I used to have the exact same problem with a '93 Dodge Stealth (though not quite as severe as you describe). She'd just be puttering along fine, then once in awhile when I came to a stop it'd just die. It was graceful about it. No sputtering, stuttering, etc. ... felt just like I'd killed the ignition. And she'd crank right back up everytime. Then a couple months after it started doing that, the computer fried itself. There went $600.
HENCE! I would suspect an electrical problem with the combustion computer. Can you pull any codes from it perhaps? (I know nothing about the pro-jection system of which you speak)
Water in the fuel is certainly another possibility. Turn a corner just right, and it sloshes into the right (wrong) position, gets slurped into the fuel line, and *kaput*. But that will usually give an indication of a poorly running, hesitating engine as well as a hard start after dying.
HENCE! I would suspect an electrical problem with the combustion computer. Can you pull any codes from it perhaps? (I know nothing about the pro-jection system of which you speak)
Water in the fuel is certainly another possibility. Turn a corner just right, and it sloshes into the right (wrong) position, gets slurped into the fuel line, and *kaput*. But that will usually give an indication of a poorly running, hesitating engine as well as a hard start after dying.
