My 84 had been running great.
I went on a long ride today and about 4 miles from home I stopped at a light and all of a sudden it shut off and would not start. Cranked over fine and fast, but would not start. I pulled the cover off of the crossfire and saw no fuel at the injectors.
Had it towed home and figured it has to be the fuel pump. Picked up a Delphi fuel pump @ NAPA, put it in and still won't start -it has 95k miles so I'm OK that I may have replaced the fuel pump when I didn't need it.
Back to the problem. A couple of times in the past few weeks it stalled as I was down shifting and got into 1st, but just started right back up. Again, today it was running great, no issues, was idling fine and then just quit while I was waiting at a light and would not start.
So, no fuel at the injectors -what should I look at first?
Thanks,
Glen

 

BACK TO THE BASICS:

When the car don't run....what is missing? Spark? Or Fuel?


Now, you said fuel, but the problem with your 1/2 diagnosis, is that if the pick-up coil stopped working in the distributor, (or the associated circuitry) the injectors won't fire. This is why we follow a diagnostic procedure rather than throwing parts at it. So, Step #1: check for spark when the car does not run.

 

You're right, but I had to get it out of the road. I was unaware of the pick up coil affecting fuel.
I tried a little gas in the TB, but it wouldn't fire.
But, I went out a little later and locked and unlocked the door with the key, got in and it started right up?
Excuse a stupid question, but when it starting to crap out is the pickup coil affected by heat and needs to be replaced or is there a way for goofs like me to check them out?
Or, now that it starts again, what is the next diagnostic step -is it laid out in the FSM?
Thanks,
Glen

 

get it hot again, and if it shuts down and has no spark, it could be the ignition control module.

 

i have seen them do as you describe many times...
most parts stores can test the modul if you take it out but idk if they would show bad if its intermitent problem or not.

you can test yourself too preferably when its hot and not working...

Connect the ground side of your test lamp to the battery POSITIVE cable. Probe the TACH terminal on the dist. cap while a helper attempts to start the engine. The test lamp should blink repeatedly as the engine cranks. No blink= bad module or pickup coil. Further testing is required to pinpoint the problem. Blink but no spark = bad ignition coil.


Remove the cap & rotor. Remove the green & white leads from the module. Connect your ohmmeter to the green & white leads. You should have approx. 800-1500 ohms depending on the ambient temperature. Open circuit (infinite ohms) = bad pickup coil.


Wiggle the green & white leads as you test. Ohm reading should remain constant if the leads are good. If the reading varies as the leads are wiggled, the pickup coil is bad. You'll often find broken pickup coil leads this way.


DVOM (meter) still connected to green & white leads. Set your DVOM to AC VOLTS. Have a helper crank the engine as you watch the AC VOLTS reading. A good pickup coil will produce about 3V AC when cranking. Less than approx. 2V AC indicates a bad pickup coil.

sounds familier, almost like another thread going on at this moment here

 

lol, VATS

 

First....

just check and see if you have spark. This will save you a lot of time if it is not a spark issue, and your diagnosing the ignition system.

 

no VATS on an '84

 

Id bet money on the ICM. I carry spares in all my vehicles, and have had to use them on more than one occasion. h

 

84 and 85s didn't have vats.

 

I stand corrected

 

They dont have VATS, but they dont start if your alarm is going off. (Mine doesnt anyway) I still say ICM, But have you checked to see if your horns are hooked up? Your alarm may be going off, and you dont know it. h

 

I replaced the horns a few years ago and they work great.

 

I'll try these when it quits again, maybe, I'll just let it sit idling for a long time to see if I can get it to do it again.
The only other variable that I just realized is that I had a ported intake installed by a local shop in the spring. The shop does real quality work, but I'll also check the connections to the distributor to be sure that they are all tight.
Thanks!

 

Well, I have spark and fuel today, so I'll have to try and get it hot to see if I can get it to quit again.
If so, I'll check spark and then fuel and go from there depending on what I find.
Thanks

 

How did it go?

 

Saturday it started 4-5 times with no problem.
Sunday I started it and let it idle for an HOUR and it ran just fine.
I shut it off, then tried it and it started right up.
I let it sit for about 5 minutes tried it and it started right up.
As I indicated, I did the knee jerk reaction and had replaced the fuel pump, but it wouldn't start at first and then I tried a few hours later and it started.
I guess I will just drive it as normal ....but be sure that I have my AAA card with me!
So, I don't really know what the problem was -I just know that I replaced the fuel pump.