Ok. here goes nothing.

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum and in need of some help. I hoping to resolve this issue within the week and any help would be greatly appreciated.

so, I was driving back from visiting my wifes family and about an hour and 20 minutes into the trip we hit some traffic and when it cleared up again I noticed that I had no power. The car was shutting down and the dash lights were going crazy. I was on the fast lane and had to pull over on the center divide (with my wife and 5 week old baby). This was very unfortunate and to top it off, I was driving with a slight fever and was really looking forward to rest at home.

Anyways, when I was pulled over, I attempted to start the vehicle and It would crank over and it would sound like it kinda wants to start but then it would sputter and die. I did this on and off for the next 30 minutes while getting ahold of a tow. After about and hour and a half, the tow truck came and the car started right up (but I still towed it home). Today, I tested the alternator (flickering lights), taped on the fuel relay, unplugged the MAF (ran ****tier), checked for fuel pressure at the fuel rail (shot out fuel instead of it dripping out), checked for codes at the test ports (just gave me a bunch of abs ones) and since this 95 happened to be OBD 2 compatible, I hooked up my scanner and nothing... So I'm stumped.

Today I took the car out to check on the surf and get some pizza and when I got back in my car to go home, it happens again. With a quickness I grad my phone and record the instrument cluster! so I have that to show you guys! its doing what it did yesterday but only this time, I only drove it for not even 20 minutes.

I will answer any questions to the best of my ability.

Please help and thank you.

Heres a link to the video

 

did you check your actual fuel pressure?

 

If it's happening warm, it could be one of the incidents where the coil gets hot and doesn't function right. I've heard of coils going like that. They work fine until the coil itself gets hot then the coil just stops working right. It's basically a thermal short. What's happening with the lights is, because the car isn't running at a high enough rpm, the ECM thinks it has stopped running for a split second. It's the same thing as when you turn the ignition to the on position without starting the car. If the fuel pressure is fine, try to get a junk yard coil to swap out and test.

 

No actually. I don't own a fuel pressure gauge. Never really needed one. I am looking to get one in the near future thou.


That is one genius explanation. I have a heat gun and can possibly create the conditions without having to drive the car at all. I'll heat up the dizzy while I'm at it. Also I will do some basic ignition coil tests tomorrow. Thank you for your reply. I'm really hoping that that is the problem since its super easy to replace.

 

Well, there is still little details here. Also, I only see part of the cluster and only see the TRACKS and SRS lights on.

When it dies, dies it start back up? Do you have to get it towed? How long do you have to sit? Does it happen every time you drive it? Does your CEL work? Have you scanned for codes?

It really sounds random to me. If it you do NOT have a code, your issue is likely fuel related. I would check or replace the fuel pump relay for starters.

 

his entire dash does flash in the video. just an idea, but might want to get the charging system tested

 

Anytime a car stalls or comes that close to stalling, all the lights will come on, rpms less that 300. Watching the video on my phone, I was able to see it better.

When my charging system went south most of my lights were on at all rpms. I don't think it's a battery or alternator problem.

 

So I tested the ignition coil and it tested out good.

.7 Primary
8490 secondary

I even heated up the coil, the dizzy cap and the fuel pump relay and nothing... It didn't trigger any changes at all.

I did however, while the engine was running, lifted the oil dipstick off the tube and observed very faint white smoke exiting the tube. Isn't that suppose to be a sign of a PCV system going bad? Could this possibly be the culprit? Also, I was thinking that maybe it could possibly be the Coolant Temp Sensor being all weird and telling the ECU to dump way more fuel in than is needed.

I just remembered that when it first happened and I was cranking away on the side of the road, I definitely smelled a chemical burn of some sort. It didn't trigger me as being the rotten egg smell (sulfuric) a busted cat would give nor the electrical smell a burnt Alt or starter would emit. I couldn't figure it out but yesterday when I was troubleshooting I notice that that the coolant fill cap had coolant bubbling around where the cap meets the reservoir, which led me to believe that maybe a little coolant got out and landed somewhere it wasn't suppose to... But I didn't smell burnt antifreeze at the time either which I'm so familiar with (burning vehicles in Iraq).

 

What RSPI said; highest probability is fuel pump relay failure. Get yourself a fuel pressure gauge (heard autozone loans them out; about $50 to buy) and test light or DVOM on hot lead to fuel pump; then observe what happens when it dies.

If you lose voltage to fuel pump, then fuel pressure drops, engine dies, you need a relay (or other issue).

But if you never lose voltage, but pressure drops, then engine dies, you need fuel pump.

 

Unless it dies every trip somewhere it will be hard to find. If it does die every trip, jump the relay and drive it somewhere and see if it dies again. If not, you have found your problem. Heating up the relay is NOT a way to test it. :/

 

Thank you. I will get back at it as soon as I can. I'll test out the relay and pump tomorrow hopefully.

 

Troubleshot it today. Narrowed it down to the dizzy. Noticed it was factory (probably never been replaced) and replaced it.

So far, after so much driving... No, problems.

When I inspected the cap and rotor I noticed slag buildup on all the points, in the cap, on the rotor, and on the dust cap. They are fine like dust.

Also, when the car was idling, I noticed a tapping noise coming from the dizzy that occurred almost simultaneously with a small drop in idle.
-engine ( Run Good - Stumble For A Sec - Run Good )
-dizzy ( Quiet - Tick - Quiet )

Problem solved (so far)

 

Hmm, symptoms from post #1 don't really point to the dizzy (aka ignition secondary; damn, now i'm speaking !). Good luck..

 

Since it first started happening, It's been happening every time I drive it. Since the repair, no problem.

I have a really good feeling I fixed it but who really knows. If not, I needed to change them out anyways

 

So far, still no problems.

I got a cel with misfire codes for cylinder 3 and 4 that were there when I bought the car. Just checked on the plugs (3 months old) and everything seems to be ok. All I have to change out now are the wires (looks factory) and hopefully, no more misfires.