Engine Failure at speed... |
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Engine Failure at speed... |
Cracker |
Oct 15 2017, 08:14 PM
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#1
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 2,148 Joined: 2-February 10 From: Atlanta (area) Member No.: 11,316 Region Association: South East States |
Well, it is not "if an issue will occur on a race track" but rather just a matter of when! Sunday morning was gorgeous at roughly 65 degrees and cloud cover. The grip was surprisingly good and the dense, cool-ish air enabled the engine to run really strong.
The night before, a few of us "walked the track", taking in the nuances that really can only be seen on foot, kneeling down and taking our time. More drivers should take advantage of this to become more familiar with details that are completely missed behind the wheel of a car. Anywho... We were discussing an asphalt patch that is on entry into the downhill section to turn 10a...specifically, how the patch had an elevated center with ramps on either side. A friend mentioned, "hitting that at speed would cause quite the jolt to the car and driver". Also of concern was the potential loss of grip and the unsettling of the chassis at such a critical point. He was correct as I bore out witness the next morning. We have still not found the smoking gun and only hope it is not internal; the top-end is fully functional with each of the valves operation correctly. The engine does not turn over quickly and that obviously is a cause of rather great concern. I have been doing track events for some time now, over 15-years, and have never encountered such a failure. I guess I can say...enjoy the failure at my expense. PS: Talk about cutting it close...lose an engine down the hill; try to jump start the engine at turn 10a and just BARELY make it up the hill over T11 to glide back to the hot pits. Whew - that was close! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Cheers! Tony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRvMJeXJxTQ My son came in from college - great memories at the track with him! |
ottox914 |
Oct 17 2017, 09:23 PM
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#2
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The glory that once was. Group: Members Posts: 1,302 Joined: 15-December 03 From: Mahtomedi, MN Member No.: 1,438 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
I've had a few similar electrical mystery problems in the past. Car would crank but not start until you let off the key, and on that last portion of revolution of the motor, it would usuallly start. After that it would start just fine all day. Just that first start. Used a basic volt meter in the morning, battery was 12+ volts. Borrowed a load tester and the battery fell on its face. Seems letting off on the key lightened the draw enough that the aftermarket ecu saw enough voltage to operate- there just wasn't enough to turn it over and power ecu at same time. After a start and charge, you could generally start again with no problems or symptioms.
New battery solved that one. Took awhile to figure it out. At an autocross the car just stopped dead mid run. No warning. No painful motor sounds. Rolled off track and hit the key- no fuel pump could be heard. Checked all fuses, all were good. Nothing looked wrong. Ran wires for + and - from the relay up to the pump. Maybe a wire had grounded out. Still nothing. Trailered it home. Next day found a 15 yr old crimp between a ground wire and ring terminal for the ecu had let go, and I lost ground to the ecu. No ground, no crank signal. No signal, the ecu would not trip the relay to power the pump. 5 minutes later it was all good again. Not hearing the fuel pump was not the problem, just another clue. That I didn't see for what it was. Electrical can by tricky. One clue can mask another problem and get you thinking the wrong way. You can have the answer right in front of you and miss it. Based on no sounds of mechanical death, I'm thinking electrical also. Look at your clues carefully, test theories. My experience is that electrical issues are seldom a smoked board or other big deal repairs. Generally something simple- a battery or ground in my case. Good luck, and great car. Fun to watch it eat up track. And whoever happens to be in front of you. |
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