engine dies out - overheating?

[geecee]

Very, very frustrating weekend. After renting the second fuel pressure gauge from Autozone, turns out that even the second one possibly was not working right. All that was done...wast of time.
By the way, I found again the link to the Dignostic I mentioned several time:
http://www.wcmotors.com/personal/Fiat%2 ... agnostics/

Almost thinking to let her rot by rust and forget it, but then I bought my own pressure gauge. What the heck, I may need it a lot again....

[81SPIDERMATT]

hang in there.... building frustration will make the victory that much sweeter... silver lining ... i feel your pain.... chin up ...

[majicwrench]

"Possibly not working right"
Can you clarify??
Keith

[Jimb]

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next without losing entusiasm". Sir Winston Churchill

Jim

[geecee]

"Possibly not working right"
Can you clarify??
Keith

The small metal "tooth" (not sure how else to call it) inside the hose of the pressure gauge was missing in the first set I rented, and bent inward in the second one.
My very own set is on is way via fedex. I figured I'll check the fuel system one time when the problem is not happening, and if ok monitor pressure once I can make it happen.

"With this darn car it's one step forward and five steps backward". - geecee

Dedicated to those that like quotes.

[81SPIDERMATT]

well sorry you had to buy one ... kinda glad the gauges were actually non functioning... was worried you were getting readings you did not agree with and calling it broken... baseline measurement and one at breakdown will omit fuel pressure problem with the confidence needed to move one step closer to finding the problem ..or quickly finding the solution..... and some day down the road you will get to be a hero for someone when you say " i have a pressure gauge"

[geecee]

well sorry you had to buy one ... kinda glad the gauges were actually non functioning... was worried you were getting readings you did not agree with and calling it broken... baseline measurement and one at breakdown will omit fuel pressure problem with the confidence needed to move one step closer to finding the problem ..or quickly finding the solution..... and some day down the road you will get to be a hero for someone when you say " i have a pressure gauge"

Thank you!

[geecee]

So the pressure gauge is here and after checking the pressure again, i've got barely 10psi.
Took apart fuel lines, pump, filter etc.....AGAIN. Emptying the tank, the gas looked clean. Good. The filter and the pump had some gunk in them. I'll replace the filter and I was thinking the pump too because when I was checking the fuel pressure I did not hear it running. Checked voltage at pump and read about 10V. Enough to run....so? I took it out and rigged it directly to a car battery. Runs like a charm. What the heck!? I think I'll clean it, get a prefilter/strainer and reuse it.
More to come. Random question, where's the dual relay in a 1980 model?
Relays and switches have all proven to be bad, so I'm thinking I'll replace that one too anyway.

[81SPIDERMATT]

pump ground is by the tail light... check and clean that .... trace and clean wiring to pump.... chances are it is the connections and not the actual wire.. dual relays are behind or very close to the glove box.... never got at mine yet so cant direct you right to them.... gunk in the pump may have allready ruined it.... maybe.. maybe not.... maybe keith can chime in on that ....


yeah you found the problem "area" ..... not far away now

i have heard of guys with a fresh cleaned tank still putting out some crap right afterwords....

[wizard124]

Checked voltage at pump and read about 10V.

Sounds like you are closing in on your problem. Checking voltage at the ignition switch, fuse panel, and relay should narrow it down further. There is an in-line fuse behind the dash for the fuel pump. Corrosion on the fuse contacts, switch/relay connections may be your problem. A dremel wire brush is excellent at cleaning the fuse holders.

[majicwrench]

Ten volts aint gonna do it. You need battery voltage 12+ volts at pump. Start working up the line.
Your doing good.
Keith

[Juarez]

This thread has become wildly relevant to me. I'm fairly certain I'm having the same issues.

[geecee]

This thread has become wildly relevant to me. I'm fairly certain I'm having the same issues.

I'm very sorry to hear that!

So finally I had time and I've made some progress: replaced fuel filter, checked and cleaned pump, fuel lines and installed a pre-pump strainer. Also I connected my new and finally working fuel pressure gauge to the system and cracked the engine.
It started and seemed to run fine, reading 30 psi constant.
I had only little gas and no more time to spare, so I had to stop there. I'll check the voltage at the pump again next time and will take her on the road for a test drive...will see.
Is 30 psi enough?

[majicwrench]

What happened to the "10v" at pump you mentioned a few posts back????????????????? What is volt now at pump??

[geecee]

Haven't got around checking it yet. I've cleaned all the grounds that I could find and ordered a new relay for the pump. Once that's here and I can install it, get more gas but mainly have more time to do all of that...i'll get the voltmeter out and under the car.

Did I say that one of the fuel line may have had a crack? I can't really tell if it was only superficial, but it's gone now.
after all the check abd replacement mentioned above, I'm planning to take her on the road.
Hope that was it!!