Engine Cutting Out
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,426
Likes: 46
From: Lynchburg, VA
Engine Cutting Out
Just put a new 383 into my '90 6-speed coupe. I'm finding that the engine has been fairly regularly (every 5-10 minutes) cutting out for a brief moment, maybe 1/4 second.
It seems to do it at cruise or while accelerating, while hot or while cold, and on bumpy roads or smooth. The engine just flickers off, then right back on. The "service engine soon" light comes on while it is off, as I think it should with the engine not running and the key in the on position. Also, I just noticed that knock count, TPS %, EGR duty cycle, and charcoal canister purge duty cycle all reset to 0 when this occurs, leading me to believe the ECM is losing power.
I initially thought it was caused by a momentary open circuit on the distributor battery wire caused by the clip being broken and the wire being stretched taut for some reason. However, I just put a new pigtail on and it still does it.
Any ideas?
It seems to do it at cruise or while accelerating, while hot or while cold, and on bumpy roads or smooth. The engine just flickers off, then right back on. The "service engine soon" light comes on while it is off, as I think it should with the engine not running and the key in the on position. Also, I just noticed that knock count, TPS %, EGR duty cycle, and charcoal canister purge duty cycle all reset to 0 when this occurs, leading me to believe the ECM is losing power.
I initially thought it was caused by a momentary open circuit on the distributor battery wire caused by the clip being broken and the wire being stretched taut for some reason. However, I just put a new pigtail on and it still does it.
Any ideas?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,098
Likes: 378
From: Las Vegas - Just stop perpetuating myths please.
It reads like the the "kill" is a global power outage. W/o knowing your electrical system better i would start at the batt terminals and check for loose/corroded connections. Get the ohm meter and volt meter out and verify wiring from one end to the other. Verify good continuity with the ohm meter and good signal/supply with the voltmeter. U can wiggle wires as u go also but remember u can loosen wires that werent loose by wiggling them - more so for the terminal lugged wires. U need to verify the entire ignition system - dist, ECM, batt and of course the ign switch.
Intermittent faults are the most difficult to locate. Sorry if this bad news but it true.
Intermittent faults are the most difficult to locate. Sorry if this bad news but it true.
