I have had a problem with my car cutting out before, and I thought I had fixed all of my problems with the bad in-tank pump being replaced and all... Go figure.

Today I was driving home, and luckily I was close by. I turned my ac on and all of the sudden started to lose power (engine, not electrical). I turned the AC off and mashed the gas in an attempt to keep the engine running but no luck - it died. So I tried to start it and it just cranked, spark was good, and it caught for a second once or twice. I know my in-tank pump is good, I just replaced it, and I can hear the main pump, which sounds the same as before. It was running great up until the time it died... Since the pumps and spark are eliminated... where do I go next?

 

look inside the oil cap while cranking to make sure the timing belt is good.

 

The timing belt is fine, the car does try to start occasionally, kind of rules that out. Tomorrow I'll have to try and pull the fuel rail to see if the injectors are fine I guess... Or is there a way to test them while still installed?

 

if you take a screw driver (one that makes a good ring when u tap it on something) and lightly lay/hold it on the injectors while the car is cranking you should head the screw driver taping each time the injectors fire.

 

That won't work, It's also not the problem. Can you get a hold of a spare distributor?

 

Probably not... also, this morning it started right up and I ran it for about 5 minutes. I shut it off then 10 minutes later took it around the block, it ran fine until it died after 100ft. I mentioned that I had spark, what do you think is wrong with the distributor adub?

 

Our car had a similar problem after it was only about four years old. It was an intermittent problem that came and went. The car would barely move under its own power, get out walk around it and get back in, ran fine. Chased it for months and about $900, even taking it to the dealer who put new injectors, plugs, wires and I don't know what all. I even replaced the MAF out of desperation. It failed to start at home for once, and I checked the spark for the tenth time only it was orange, not bright blue. I pulled the coil out of my '79 and put it in the car, it ran perfectley. The dealer stopped just one item short of the problem with their shotgun approach.

Try a new coil.

Lou

 

My first thought was the coil..does it quit when the humidity is high or it rains? try spraying the coil/plug wires with a spray bottle with the nozzle set to mist
ok we need air/fuel and spark,13:1 ratio.. timing is usually the issue with most problems. not enough fuel/air at the wrong time. so lets check the basics..fuel in the tank..fuel pressure at the rail...valid spark at the apropriate time? rotor /cap/timing belt... coil not shorting with heat/intermittent ground? ecu providing proper operation/timing...should be relatively simple to diagnose with a strong battery a timing light and some common sense.

 

I'll check the coil tomorrow... It wont start now, it does seem like a coil problem now that I think about it...

 

I was thinking it could be a hall sensor on its way out.

 

Does My Car Have a Hall or RPM Sensor? You can quit worrying about the Hall sensor if you have a 89 or later non-turbo or 90 or later turbo. The Hall sensor is gone in favor of the RPM sensor on top of bell housing. In these cars, there is no plastic wiring connector on the side of the distributor plate and no wires into the distributor other than the high-tension spark leads to the cap.


Testing Hall Sensor. Undo the distributor connector. When the ignition is ON the Voltage between positive terminal (red lead -Nr. 3) and ground should be approx. 11V - Voltage between (blue lead - Nr.2; middle one) and ground should be 5V - Resistance between (black lead - Nr. 1) and ground should be "0" Ohms Undo connector from the control unit (above the brake pedal) and remove the sealing washers (plastic inserts on the side of the connector). Replace connector without cover or sealing washers.

- Disconnect the/red and blue leads from ignition coil. - Measure voltage between terminal 24 at rear of connector (blue lead) and ground. NOTE: Connector must be attached to control unit. - Switch on ignition. Turn crankshaft by hand. Voltage should indicate OVER 1.8V each time a vane passes Hall generator. Instrument should read approx."0" (0 - 0.7V) each time an opening passes Hall
generator. Correct voltage: Less then 0.7V or more than 1.8V.
http://www.swedishbricks.net/700900F...ng_Hall_Sensor

 

The fuel pumps run while cranking, IIRC that means it's not the hall effect sensor. My coil appears fine, voltage and resistance are within specs. I can hear and feel fuel flowing through the rail when the pumps are on. My next test is the fuel injector relay.

 

I have made a discovery, I thumped my fuel pump relay while cranking and the car started right up. I poked around to replicate the condition and noticed something about the shady splice I discovered on my relay wiring harness a long time ago. An image is attached. I tweaked the splice (white wire) and the car started, when I opened the relay up and checked on it. I noticed that when I tweaked the white wire while cranking, the assembly on the right will close. I cut the splice and now it the right assembly will not close and the car will not start.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4243/dsc0494v.jpg

I suppose this jumper could have been put there in lieu of a more expensive repair by the evidently lazy and dishonest previous owner.

 

pictures please? next time say it with photos

 

I'm guessing the photo isn't good enough for you.
It seems to me that this el-cheapo jumper is a half-assed remedy for a larger problem that caused the car to turn its fuel pump off when cranking.

Here's a better photo and description of the problem.
Cranking, jumper cut:
Car does not start
Right relay opens when cranking (fuel pump off)
Left stays closed

Cranking, jumper intact:
Car starts
Right relay stays closed when cranking (fuel pump runs)
Left stays closed

Key out after being set to "on", jumper intact:
Relays stick, idiot lights too

Key out after being set to "on", jumper cut:
Functions as it should

 

Man that is some good photography/description! I will now be able to diagnose the relay action on other failure modes. allways good to know what you are looking at. thanks for posting the pics!

 

After looking around I figured that the cause of the fuel pump not turning on must be a wiring or computer problem. Before I start tearing my car apart. Is there ANYthing else that can cause the main fuel pump to turn off when cranking?

 

After the Fuel ECU sees ignition pulses from the ignition ECU, it will ground the blue/green wire which turns on the pumps. I can't see which wires are jumpered since "imageshack" is blocked at my work.

 

It looks like a brown wire and a red wire with a black stripe are jumpered. However, I could be wrong, It could be a red wire and a red with black stripe, I am sure about the red part but not the brown. I am "colorblind" and that makes me second guess my evaluation of "brown".

 

So that points to a problem with the ignition switch. You'll want to measure the voltage on the red-black wire with the jumper removed and the key on. No voltage in that condition almost surely means a bad ignition switch .... especially since stuff stays on with the key out.

But it could also be a short/wire problem somewhere .. but less likely.