Sputtered and Stopped

RRoller123 · Post by **RRoller123** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 7:14 am

So this goes in the perfect timing (no pun intended) category.

Staging the house for sale, first open house tomorrow, I move the Spider out to the driveway so I can set up the cabinet shop to look like a real business operates there. Ha! Little do they know.

A fellow comes by to purchase the majority of my left over hardwood and plywood, and he has a MG Midget and we get to talking and I go to start up the Spider to show him how it runs, and it sputters and dies. Just like that. No warning, never did it in the last 4 years. (other than the "click of death").

So the Spider now sits in the middle of the driveway (it will actually make a good showpiece), and I missed the first car event of the season this morning at Herb Chambers in Sudbury, and I can't work on it until Monday, after the Sunday open house.

Question:

With the Computronics ignition, can you hold a wired spark plug against the head to check for spark? At ~65K volts, I am not sure of this. I thought maybe I would just put my inductive timing light on the leads and see if there was spark that way?

Plus the Fuel pump has been pretty noisy for awhile, so I will put the pressure gauge back in and see what that shows.

To quote Gilda Radner, "It's Always Something".

Pete

RoyBatty · Post by **RoyBatty** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 7:57 am

Who is this Gilda you speak of?
I only remember Roseanna Roseanna Danna Saying that.

GeorgeT · Post by **GeorgeT** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:07 am

RoyBatty wrote:Who is this Gilda you speak of?
I only remember Roseanna Roseanna Danna Saying that.

Gilda was Roseanna Roseanna Danna!

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:37 am

rather than pull a plug wire to check for spark, use a test light on the primary wire connector on the trigger unit. You should have a pulse signal on two of the wires at the trigger unit with the engine cranking. The other two wires are power and ground

RRoller123 · Post by **RRoller123** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:03 am

Thanks, I will try that. I can use my stethoscope to see if the injectors are firing, by hearing the clicks. I do suspect a fuel pump problem, hope that is all it is, easy fix.

Oh yeah, Gilda wrote a book about her cancer journey with that title: "It's Always Something"

Pete

RRoller123 · Post by **RRoller123** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:30 pm

So not sure what happened.... I installed my fuel pressure gauge and that looked fine at 37psig, and the Computronics has the red light flashing during starting tries. So I was about to check for actual spark and I said to myself, what the Hell, let's see if it will start. Started right up. Gremlins again. Loki at it again. Ran it for about 50 miles out on 495 at 65mph and had a blast. Runs perfectly.

And just accepted a full price offer on the house too.

RV here we come.

AriK · Post by **AriK** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:47 pm

Pete, you might have had the classic case of lawnmower syndrome. You mentioned starting the car for a brief moment in order to stage your garage as the perfect workshop. Please allow a few moments for your engine to warm up before shutdown. Our middle aged+ engines deserve better treatment.

Background: LMS is a nostart condition. It occurs after a stone cold engine has been run just long enough to back the car out of the garage in order to use one's lawn mower (30 seconds or so). The theory is that the car's computer commands a rich fuel mixture when the engine is cold. When the cold engine is turned off, the gasoline from the rich fuel mixture dilutes the oil that helps form a tight seal between the piston rings and the cylinder wall. The result is insufficient compression for the engine to start.

Congratulations on such an easy sale, that's awesome! Time for dreams to come true and materialize. Cheers!

RRoller123 · Post by **RRoller123** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:48 pm

I like that LMS!! Ha! That is probably it. But I also jiggled and reset all the FI and Computronics connections too, so maybe the one at the AFM or CT unit was loose. Not likely though. I like the LMS explanation better. Or Loki. He has been quite active with us lately.

Exit98 · Post by **Exit98** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:03 pm

Pete

Congratulations on the home sale and good luck with your next adventure. I hope you two have a great time.

So are you pulling the Spider on the back of the RV?

RRoller123 · Post by **RRoller123** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:10 am

Thanks! Still have to get past the dreaded "Home Inspection". No towing the Spider. Will go back and get it with a U-Haul car carrier. We will be staying in each place for months at a time.

RoyBatty · Post by **RoyBatty** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:07 am

GeorgeT wrote:
RoyBatty wrote:Who is this Gilda you speak of?
I only remember Roseanna Roseanna Danna Saying that.

Gilda was Roseanna Roseanna Danna!

Ummmm
I know, thus the

"I tell ya, I thought I was gonna be sick"

Sputtered and Stopped

Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped

Re: Sputtered and Stopped