Car shut off, why?

[Nicholas R]

Good news!!! I went over the things you guys suggested, I wire brushed the terminals on the ignition resistor and tightened up the female connecting wires. I did the same on the ignition coil and then removed the coil wire it's self and reinstalled it just to make sure it was making good contact. I'm not sure which one was the problem but it fired right up and it was running much smoother and better!!! I let it run for a good while till it was up to temp and it never even hinted at shutting off. Thanks for all the info on this problem guys!

So that means you're going to come down to Kens tonight right? Its really a shame if you dont. You'd be amazed at what you can learn in even one night. You and DeLorean03 are practically neighbors; give him a call.

[DMC81]

So that means you're going to come down to Kens tonight right? Its really a shame if you dont. You'd be amazed at what you can learn in even one night. You and DeLorean03 are practically neighbors; give him a call.

I do want to get down there with you guys as soon as I get a chance. I work kinda late tonight so it just wont work. I have been talking with DeLorean03 some and the funny thing is we work at the same place..lol Thanks for all the help as always Nick.

[DMC81]

Well I thought I had it fixed, I started the car today and it ran for about 10min. and shut off again. I didnt have a way to check for spark at the time but is there something that would cause the car to die after it gets warm? It was not to full temp yet when it died it was at the same temp as when it did it the last time. Would a relay cause this issue maybe?

[WelmoedJ]

1. If you haven't yet checked the internal of your RPM relay, do so.

2. Did you check the wire connector near the fuel pump and the connections on the pump itself?

3. You could run a 12V wire directly to the pump's positive connector and see if your car keeps running.
If it keeps running it's something (wiring, circuits (RPM relay), ground in this area.

4. Check your distributor, the pickup coil inside may be defective or the contacts in the wiring to the ECU bad/dirty, rotor etc..
This only is true if you do not see sparks regularly coming from a spark plug wire (as expected).

[David T]

If it warms up and dies after about, say 20 minutes, I would check for spark. This seems to be a common symptom for a bad impulse coil in the distibutor.
David Teitelbaum

[DMC81]

1. If you haven't yet checked the internal of your RPM relay, do so.

2. Did you check the wire connector near the fuel pump and the connections on the pump itself?

3. You could run a 12V wire directly to the pump's positive connector and see if your car keeps running.
If it keeps running it's something (wiring, circuits (RPM relay), ground in this area.

4. Check your distributor, the pickup coil inside may be defective or the contacts in the wiring to the ECU bad/dirty, rotor etc..
This only is true if you do not see sparks regularly coming from a spark plug wire (as expected).

If I take the pannel off the fuse and relay area should I hear the RPM relay click when I turn the key? I noticed this when I retried to start it.

[DMC81]

I heard that the way to tell if the impulse coil is bad if i crank the engine and the tachometer does not move then that is the problem. Is this a good way to test it?

[Bitsyncmaster]

1. If you haven't yet checked the internal of your RPM relay, do so.

2. Did you check the wire connector near the fuel pump and the connections on the pump itself?

3. You could run a 12V wire directly to the pump's positive connector and see if your car keeps running.
If it keeps running it's something (wiring, circuits (RPM relay), ground in this area.

4. Check your distributor, the pickup coil inside may be defective or the contacts in the wiring to the ECU bad/dirty, rotor etc..
This only is true if you do not see sparks regularly coming from a spark plug wire (as expected).

These are the most common faults that should be done even if your car has no problems. Heat will show up bad connections at random times.

[DMC81]

These are the most common faults that should be done even if your car has no problems. Heat will show up bad connections at random times.

If i crank the engine and the tachometer does not move does that indicate a bad impulse coil? Is this a good way to test it?

[Bitsyncmaster]

If i crank the engine and the tachometer does not move does that indicate a bad impulse coil? Is this a good way to test it?

I would think that is a good way to see if the ignition unit is working (includes the pickup coil and ECU). It still may not show you your problem with the engine unless you still have the problem when doing this test.