loco@ttidcb.UUCP (CM Dev. Group ) (07/08/85)
i have a 1982 toyota landcruiser and have had the same problem.
it initially happened while driving(out in the middle of the mojave
desert of all places!), the car would just die. i'd pull over and try
to restart with no results, we got out scratched our heads, got back in
and wahla it would start. this wouldnt happen again for 6 months, i
thought the car had healed itself :^). well it happened again, this time
as i was pulling into work. perfect timing, i rounded up all the hobby
mechanics, computer technicians and testing equipment i could find.
well we couldn't find the problem, i reseated an inline plug and the car
started. this doesnt make me feel any better(too easy). it may be an
intermitent short(i hope not). if anyone has had similar problems and
can help please copy me as well.
bob peterson @ citicorp/tti
{randvax || philabs}!ttidca!ttidcb!petersonandrew@grkermi.UUCP (Andrew W. Rogers) (07/09/85)
In article <404@ttidcb.UUCP> loco@ttidcb.UUCP (CM Dev. Group ) writes: > >i have a 1982 toyota landcruiser and have had the same problem. >it initially happened while driving(out in the middle of the mojave >desert of all places!), the car would just die... >if anyone has had similar problems and >can help please copy me as well. I had a Mazda RX-4 which did the same thing - stall unpredictably and restart only after letting it sit for a while. The problem was eventually - *damn* eventually, if you know what I mean - traced to a defective part in the evaporative emission control stuff which was causing fuel starvation. (After sitting for a few minutes the vacuum that was causing the problem disappeared, and it would restart.) AWR
ned@SCIRTP.UUCP (Ned Robie) (07/10/85)
> > i have a 1982 toyota landcruiser and have had the same problem. > it initially happened while driving(out in the middle of the mojave > desert of all places!), the car would just die. i'd pull over and try > to restart with no results, we got out scratched our heads, got back in > and wahla it would start. this wouldnt happen again for 6 months, i > thought the car had healed itself :^). well it happened again, this time > as i was pulling into work. perfect timing, i rounded up all the hobby > mechanics, computer technicians and testing equipment i could find. > well we couldn't find the problem, i reseated an inline plug and the car > > bob peterson @ citicorp/tti > > {randvax || philabs}!ttidca!ttidcb!peterson I had a similar problem with a '73 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. It always happened in hot weather. I was told by several knowledgeable people that it was probably a vapor lock. Someone told me that wrapping the gas lines in tin foil might fix it. I never tried it and never found out for sure that that was the problem (I sold the car). You might want to look into the possibility, though. As for the tin foil trick... I have my doubts. -- Ned Robie
clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis) (07/11/85)
In article <404@ttidcb.UUCP> loco@ttidcb.UUCP (CM Dev. Group ) writes: > >i have a 1982 toyota landcruiser and have had the same problem. >it initially happened while driving(out in the middle of the mojave >desert of all places!), the car would just die. i'd pull over and try >to restart with no results, we got out scratched our heads, got back in >and wahla it would start. this wouldnt happen again for 6 months We just had this happen to our '83 Buick Century a couple of months ago. It would run fine for a little while, get hot (just after the electric fan switched on), and the engine would die. Attempts to restart the car immediately would have the engine kick a couple of times and stop. Letting it cool for a little while would allow it to start, but soon as it got hot again (at low speed inside a city) it would die again. This started happening one day, and got so bad that we couldn't move it at all. We had to push it twice - once we got hung up under a parking lot entrance arm, the second on an elevated freeway. We have had the car stall before, but not so persistantly, so it probably was an ongoing problem. We got it to a garage, and the mechanic had us run the car in idle until it got hot. Once it died, he removed the wires from the plugs and had me try to start - he then attempted to draw a spark from the wires. During the time that the engine was dying, the spark would be relatively feeble. After swapping the distrib cap, HT wiring, and coil with spares to no avail, he finally decided that it had to be the ignition control module (inside the distributor on the Century). He replaced that, and voila - no further problems since. (unfortunately, this was on a Friday night and we had to leave the car til the following Monday when he was able to get a new ICM from his supplier) Unfortunately, the ICM cost $100 (CDN). He also charged us two hours labour (which I didn't begrudge because this was well past the garage's closing time) because it took so long to cause the car to behave badly between cool-downs. Fortunately, the problem was repeatable once it got so bad. If you have had the ignition system checked and nothing seems to be wrong, go buy a ICM and replace it yourself. It'll be a lot cheaper (provided that the ICM IS at fault). And it is, from what I saw of our distributer, really easy to install. If you are lucky and the problem repeats itself with the new ICM soon enough, maybe you will be able to return it. Mysterious wierd ignition problems (especially intermittants) that don't seem to be traceable to wiring/coil/plug failures are probably due to the ICM. The ICM is a solid-state device - thus, frequently having temperature related (and other hard-to-understand) failure modes. Cars didn't use to have ICM's at all - which is why most people wouldn't think of it. The electronics and plumbing are getting so complicated in new cars that mechanics and do-it-yourselfers have a REALLY hard time trying to diagnose problems. I much prefer working on my '75 slant-six. -- Chris Lewis, UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!clewis BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 321
scott@opus.UUCP (Scott Wiesner) (07/12/85)
> the car would just die. i'd pull over and try to restart with no results,
My 79 Honda Accord had the same problem. I had it happen about half a dozen
times before I got off my lazy butt and took it in. The mechanic went right
to the problem: a bad fuel cutoff relay. That's apparently a relay designed
to cut off the fuel supply when the ignition is shut off so the car won't be
able to diesel. The relay took on a mind of it's own, deciding to cut off
the fuel at random times. I generally had to wait from 1 to 10 minutes before
I could start the car again. $25, and I've never had the problem again.
Scott Wiesner
{allegra, ucbvax, hao}!nbires!scott