ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Technical questions and answers
robertstr
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ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

OK, I have a problem that is driving me nutso, :shock:

I start up, no issues, runs rough for few mins and then purrs, normal i would guess.

Run it for about 15-20 minutes, then she just dies, no warning no anything just goes dead. And i mean NO warning, just all of a sudden have a dead engine.
...... Wait a few minutes and she starts back up,
The issue has been getting way worse, now its getting harder to start her after she dies, and will die, 3-4 times in short order.

Things I have done,
Drained both tanks, fuel is perfect.
Checked and cleaned both fuel pumps, and verified they are outputting good pressure.
Removed almost every fuel connection, going to and from the carbs to verify i have good pressure,
Took all the connections on the fuel diverter- err fuel switch? off and again retested good flow.
Su carbs have correct amount of oil in them.
Changed engine oil and all filters.
WHAT I have NOT done, ......screw with the carbs in anyway, as they scare me.
I keep thinking its starved for fuel or getting flooded, but I cant seem to prove this..my next test is to try to get it
to die while just in the driveway, and as fast as i can take the return fuel line off and verify i still have the same pressure. Not
sure what this will or wont prove, just thats i is getting fuel starved or something...


Still dont dare drive it more than 3 blocks from my house, bit of a bummer.
I am buying edelbrock intake and carbs for Xmass just to get the truck closer to what i want, I was almost going tojust hope
this would fix the issue and not worry to much, but after really thinking this is a lame solution as I just dont have ANY idea whats up.

Any feed back super appreciated.
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
sebking
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by sebking »

LT Lead, Condenser (likely), timing, Coil, Points in pretty much that order. Check Vac advance too if it only happens after a run rather than just idling.
Seb
1970 Spitfire MKIII
1981 Laser 1 88643
1982 Stage 1 v8 SW
1992 Laser 2 9101 "Purple Reign"
2000 Laser Pico 4050
2001 Brompton M3L
2010 VW California GP 140 SE
2010 Brompton M6L
2010 Venture Ranger 16 Canoe
2010 Cube Ltd Pro
robertstr
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

K as usual I have no idea what the LT Lead is or where the Condenser is located on this car, But thats the joy of LR and Google images, sooner or later I will find it,

One thing I found searching that i thought was brilliant and may be of use is a series of Exactly what my electronics look like, ...and the after with Mallory in stages, Was
https://picasaweb.google.com/russell.sm ... ionUpgrade
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
sebking
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by sebking »

ah so you have a mallory electronic ignition, so no points or condenser. I'd still start with that kit though, and make sure that it's not damaged or loose.
1970 Spitfire MKIII
1981 Laser 1 88643
1982 Stage 1 v8 SW
1992 Laser 2 9101 "Purple Reign"
2000 Laser Pico 4050
2001 Brompton M3L
2010 VW California GP 140 SE
2010 Brompton M6L
2010 Venture Ranger 16 Canoe
2010 Cube Ltd Pro
robertstr
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Location: Florida
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

LOL, no if you looked at the full 7 picture set...I have the nasty looking Frankenstein thing in the FIRST pic!!

I am pretty close to ripping it all out, and going Mallory OR Pro tronix, ....with a 24V to 12 reducer, seems to be a no brainier..Just can not decide what one is easier to do, ....

Do you know the part number for the condenser in this car? Original NZ army distributor as far as I can tell.
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
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firemanshort
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by firemanshort »

I had a similair problem with my truck a few years back. I traced it back to a faulty ignition / key switch.

I had read on the internet where a few other folks have had problems with the switch going out.

To troubleshoot - you can take 12v straight from the batter to the coil and bypass the switch and run the truck for a while. I took a scrap wire and ran from the back of my alternator to the coil. Once you do this - the key will not turn the truck off - so you have to disconnect the wire - but this is a good trouble shooting technique. It would prove the the igition parts downstream from the coil are good and that the 12 V source to the coil is your problem.
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robertstr
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

Question is for anybody who went the petronix route,
What did you buy, seems I need
Pertronix Ignitor II 9ML 182 [this is all you need for the ignition]
Pertronix Flame thrower low Resistance coil 0.6 ohms
24v to 12 V converter

Then ALL that funky stuff goes away....

Would appreciate any thought or experience with this set up,

Cheers......
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
Alicerover
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by Alicerover »

Has the distributor cap and rotor arm been replaced reciently?
The reason that I ask, is that my father in law (who builds these engines for a living) has found that the 'copy' parts will build up an electical resistance which causes the engine to die for no apparent reason. After a few minuites, the engine will run fine.
The ONLY cure is to source GENUINE cap and rotor arm. It will have the same symptoms even if you are running electronic ignition.
Just something else to look at!
Hope this helps
robertstr
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

http://screencast.com/t/7IyXM43y

K, after much goggling and taking everything apart,

I dont have a condenser etc, have the Mallory set up, with the crane rev control , etc,

The Cap, and arm and the Leads look brand new, ....


Question will i still need the crane rev control if I switch over to the Pretronix?
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
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firemanshort
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by firemanshort »

Seriously ... Jump 12 volt to the input wore on that Mallory system and go for a test drive.

It is a lot easier to believe the 30 year old Lucas switch is intermittently failing than it is to blame the solid star modern electronics.
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Geoff
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by Geoff »

I too once had a problem with the ignition switch and the engine just died suddenly on me as I was driving along. I bypassed the switch by running a length of wire from the sockets on the dash to the fuse box, and I now keep a specially made short lead with appropriate connectors in the vehicle in case the problem recurs (I still needed to turn the key in the ignition to fire the engine) but, after I squirted WD40 into the ignition, it never has. But, in my case at any rate, it was not just the engine that died but all the ignition-operated electrics, so it was easy to diagnose the problem.
2 1981 Stage One 109 V8 SWs
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robertstr
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

Fireman, ...I just dont get your instructions, I know its me, but..

the entire system is 24v, I just dont get the instructions, to run a wire to the mallory unit. I am a bit of a car dumb ass...
But the test makes sense if you can help me out on the how bit a bit more, so i dont scew something up...
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
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firemanshort
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by firemanshort »

I just sent you a pm with my phone number.


Call me. A lot easier to explain than to type.
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robertstr
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by robertstr »

K, I think Fireman may have called this one, ...on his advise I started paying attention to the the ignition switch to test it, well did not get that far as...giant hole eaten in the bottom of the ignition switch full of green crud.....HA HA, think i have the problem cornered!! :twisted:

I can NOT find the part number for this 24 V switch ...i took a pic, may be off some help to somebody in the future, ...
http://screencast.com/t/Ib1lWxcbA EDIT after taking off a few more wires, the ignition Switch seems to be a Lucas 47SA

The saga continues, will try to get a replacement locally tomorrow, IF that can be done.
Just bought x NZ army 109 Stage 1 V8
you cant fix stupid
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firemanshort
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Re: ENGINE JUST DIES!!! Then Lives, then dies....

Post by firemanshort »

Image

Part # 579085

It is important that you make sure that you get the switch for the locking steering colomn becasue the non-locking colomn part looks different. Naturally, the part you need is the more expensive of the two.

Contact Rovers Down South or Rovah Farm as they are probably good sources locally for this part. Any of the UK parts houses would carry it, as well.
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