After:
Complete tuneup, all everything
90% renewal of terminations in ignition system
Removing EVERYTHING related to the interlock
Cleaning all the connections at the relay panel

Some joy.

When the car gets warm, it's idled up to about 1100, from previous 950... that told me I got the lost spark back.. one problem down. Pulls smoothly, and just runs way better.

BUT, still, on any drive, 3 to 30 minutes long, there will be a time, at least once, where I completely lose ignition.. just as if switching the key off, OR, it may feel like I switched off only HALF the ignition..

EDIT: All I have to do, is reset the key, off, and on, then pow! Off to the races... maybe once, maybe twice.

So, next thought: relay panel, injection brain.

Anyone want to venture a wild stab? I cannot make it happen while testing. heh.



M

QUOTE (redshift @ Aug 3 2005, 03:45 AM)

EDIT: All I have to do, is reset the key, off, and on, then pow! Off to the races... maybe once, maybe twice.

Ummmm.....new ignition switch? Bad connection, contacts in the switch?

Quite impossible! I wish!

I feel terrible. I got tangled in the wiring, and missed grasshopper coming thru town.. ... while I was pulled over off HWY 80, doing some probing with the meter... sweating, and cursing.

Swapping relays around a bunch hasn't moved the problem, I think I will strip the panel down today, and work at that for a bit.



M

stock ignition, or aftermarket CDI?
when you lose power, does the tach still register, or does it instantly drop to zero?

I never thought about it! Tach registers.

Stock ignition.

Hmm..


M

Rich, it's the brain, isn't it?


M

QUOTE (redshift @ Aug 3 2005, 08:14 AM)

I never thought about it! Tach registers. Stock ignition.

ok; if you had a MSD box, that's a classic symptom of failure in the hi-voltage section (BTDT - twice).

if your tach continues to register you have ignition - at least up the Terminal 15 side. IIRC, the seat belt interlock only affects the starter circuit, but put no faith in that statement, because 1) i've never claimed to know much about cars so equipped and 2) i have no idea what else might have been done to your car.

but if the tach registers during your loss-of-power it tells me you are looking at a failure on the secondary side (coil, cap, rotor...) or a fuel problem, no matter how much it might feel like loss of ignition...

QUOTE (redshift @ Aug 3 2005, 08:17 AM)

Rich, it's the brain, isn't it?

i wish i were qualified to offer an opinion on that, but i'm not.
but since they rarely fail, there are lots of good ones sitting in parts boxes in garages; you should have no trouble finding someone to loan you one.

what i hear is that the harness fails far more often than the ECU; might be time for a call to Mr Bowlsby...

Sounds like good advice.

I wish I could make it fail while testing.



M

I've seen similar intermittent problems occur from bad FI trigger points. The car would unexpectedly lose power/shut down, then be fine for a while after restarting. Owner wanted me to replace the fuel pump. New trigger points completely eliminated the problem.

I will check them out, not brand new, but cleaned up, and uhh.. around 17k on them? Maybe 20.

As frustrating as the problem can be, it's very interesting too.



M