ral@afinitc.UUCP (Bob Liming) (03/22/84)
I have a 1981 plymouth TC3 (2 door hatchback version of the Horizon) and
am having trouble diagnosing a problem with it.
At uncertain intervals I will lose power and the engine will just sputter
when I try feeding it gas. I have already eliminated the ignition system
and the carburetor as I have already had both of these replaced. The
fuel pump was also checked during a recent tune up and it seemed to be ok.
(The problem did exist before tune up) Also during this tune up I replaced
the fuel filter, air filter, and the spark plugs (the old plugs did not
show any unusual wear).
So far I have not been able to reproduce this problem with a mechainic
any where near the car.
As a variant to this problem sometimes the 'ENGINE' light (oil pressure/
temp/ oil level light) will come on. When checking the conditions that
cause this problem everything seems ok, the crank case is full, the
radiator is full and is not hot, the engine also does not seem to be overly
hot (The first time the light came on I thought the thermostat was sticking
and had it replaced even though the old thermostat worked fine when tested).
After stopping the car and letting it set a few moments the engine light
does not come on when the car is restarted but the first problem seems
to manifest itself soon after.
If anyone has had experience with similar problems could they please
mail a solution to me soon as I'm beginning to get desparate.
Thank you in advance for any response
Robert Liming
...!ihnp4!afinitc!ralajlill@watrose.UUCP (Tony Lill) (03/22/84)
Since my mailer is on drugs an this might be of general intrest.....
This sounds like the problems I have with my datsun 310. The problem is that
when the car is sitting around for a few minutes with the engine off, the
temperature under the hood gets VERY hot. Now we all know hot air expands,
this means that after a few minutes there is not enough oxygen under there
to burn all the gas, especially if you try to accelerate.
The solution I came up with is to run a hose from the air cleaner intake
to the front of the car. This enirely solved the problem, as well as boosting
power and milage while on the highway. (a poor mans turbo).
Another solution is, if you have a thermostat controlled electric fan on
your radiator, is to rewire
it so that it is conected to the battery rathar than through the ignition.
This would mean that it would keep running for a few minutes after you stopped
the car, and keep things cool under there. All Rabbits have it hooked
up this way.
--
Tony Lill
{allegra,linus,decvax,utcsrgv}!watmath!watrose!ajlill
tauxe@uokvax.UUCP (04/01/84)
#R:afinitc:-21800:uokvax:1100014:000:726 uokvax!tauxe Mar 23 12:41:00 1984 I have had a similar problem to that which you describe. The culprit in my case was the alternator?????????????? Yes, the alternator. It seems that the brushes in the alternator somehow either lost spring tension or perhaps got dirty and the output of the alternator produced transients in the electrical system of the car. You could not see this in any of the lights, nor hear them in the radio, BUT they drove the computer crazy. It seems that the spark timing was thrown way off by the transients, and this caused bucking, mis-firing, and in general uneven running. Replacement of the alternator cured all the annoying problems. Hope this helps you a bit. George W. Tauxe University of Oklahoma