Car died again today...same as before....with engine HOT, engine begins to cut-out for several minutes followed by the engine revving on its own, then finally dieing. Cools down for 30 minutes and all is fine.

Error code set was a 16.

After the tow home, let car idle in driveway for 20 minutes or so...begain to do the same. I checked battery voltage and wiggled connectors...nothing...but engine did not die....did not set the Service Engine Soon lite...but did lite up the ASR OFF and ASR Service lites..

Now this is new. Could this actually be the ABS / ASR module failing when hot all this time?

Have to read out any codes from Module 9 tomorrow..soon as I find out how to do that once again. My '96 FSM just is no help on this '95.

Are ABS / ASR module available? Expensive?

Thanks

 

Your opti is dying.

 

Have the coil and the ignition module tested.

 

Also check your opti wire harness.

 

Code 16 ia low resolution from the opti. Possibly a harness or PCM issue, but usually the opti has gone bad. Cap and rotor alone will not fix it.

 

Short history:
Replaced cap and rotor when I got the car two years ago....car ran great for 1.5 years until about July when this problem started showing up. Always code:16
Replaced coil, ignition module and finally put a new OptiSpark unit in.
Problem still here.
Replaced PCM....but problem still there, engine died but in a slightly different manner...all different codes: 43, 42, 41, 36, 48 and the Check Engine and Security lites came on at the sametime and stayed on until cooled-off...then all fine once again. Sent PCM back for repair, came back with no problem found.
Sure the OptiSpark could be bad, in fact both of them could be bad I guess, but not likely. I have checked and checked the OptiSpark harness for loose pins, worn insulation...it looks good. Also replaced the water pump both times when I did the OptiSparks.

I am at a loss as to where to go from here.

 

Who manufactured the optispark distributors you used?

 

Going on the assumption the opti is good, it sounds like the ICM could be causing the dying problems. However it would not cause all those codes to be thrown. Unless you have multiple problems happing here.

It would also be nice to try a known good PCM just to see if it is bad. Sometimes testing is not enough and a functional check is best in its operating environment.

 

Both OptiSparks; coil/cap kit and then then entire unit came from partsladi on ebay.

The question about the PCM is that two different units have been installed and the engine acted/died in the same manner....cutting out first....then revving up on its own...and then finally stalling.

Common DTC was the 16, which is why I replaced the OptiSpark again.

Does the ICM control spark advance or is this done in the PCM?

But the "idling in the driveway and throwing the ASR Service and ASR Off lites was sure a differnet path. I also disconnected the TPS several times when the engine was cutting-out which probably set the H22 and possibly the H64 codes...maybe even the ASR Service and ASR Off lites....I just do not know. When I did disconnect the TPS, the engine RPM increased slightly..then went back down upon reconnect. Did this several times.

The only thing I can think of to do is to find frame ground connections and clean them.

Thanks for the replies....keep them coming.

 

What shape is the battery in? If the battery charge drops below 10v, it will shut the ABS system down.

 

ICM – ignition control module. In basic terms it is nothing more than a solid state amplifier, thats it. It takes the 5 v p-p drive pulse from the PCM and amplifies it to abut 70 v p-p to drive the hot coil. It needs a large pulse on its input to be driven. The ICM has no smarts and does exactly what the PCM tells it to do. It does not affect stark advance or timing in any way. The PCM does all those things by the inputs of the hi and low resolution pulses from the opti, and all the other sensors like TPS, CHT, MAP and MAF plus more. The PCM makes all decisions based on the inputs.

It sounds like a scanner might give you some direction with this problem. I don’t think codes are going to get you there. A scanner or Tech 1 will give real time data and might let you know what might be missing.

You might think about a bad connection or ground somewhere.

If you want to chase the error code 16, that would be set by a no low resolution pulse condition. Make sure the wiring from the PCM to opti is good. And make sure the PCM has a good ground as well as voltage coming to it.

There are lots and to many symptoms here to fix all at once. Take on thing at a time and the most solid thing you can wrap your arms around. That why I suggested the code 16 thing because if you get the engine running and the code cleared, the rest of the symptoms might disappear (with some luck).

 

ICM: on my '81, I can disconnect the computer...have to in order to set timing, but this 7 pin module has the ability to advance spark, not real well, but it can. I am told this was done in case the computer died, the car can still be driven....sort of a "limp home" mode.

That was why I was asking about the ICM in my '95. I have had other vehicles where the ICM went out, and the engine would just die.

Anyways, remember this is a hot intermittent problem only. Just has to cool down for say 30 minutes and runs great again. But last time in the driveway, since I had the hood up, it got enough air and ran fine again...I only had 5 minutes at the most to check things out. Oh and battery voltage was rock steady at 14.3 when the engine was cutting-out.

I agree that a scanner is required. I have ordered the ODBI cable for my laptop...just need to get the software now.

But keep any thoughts and ideas coming to me.

Thanks,
LannyL81