View Full Version : Car won't idle all of the sudden - car in parking lot @ local shopping center
whytry
03-01-2008, 03:47 PM
Went for a drive got on it, just throught 2nd into 3rd, got out of it, coasted for a short distance, turned into shopping plaza and the car started idling horribly, and then died. Went to start again cranked for awhile and started smelling gas, then it finally started. I would say it cranked for about 30 seconds before starting, was acting like it was flooded (smell and AFR reading was 9.6) then finally started and sounded like it had a bad miss, really bad, and then died again. Cranked again for about 30 seconds and started again, would not idle below 1500 rpm, and it was rough at best. now if I gave it some throttle it cleared out and I could not hear or feel a miss at all, but let off gas and without idle turned above 15-1800 it would die on its own, almost slowly loosing RPM until it got below 1000 and dies.... I have checked timing, its good, dist locked out @ 40 which is where its been for awhile and I've put about 200 miles on it without problems until now....
Emergency room, because its sitting in the parking lot in a shopping center not in the garage at my house..... I've turned the idle up enough to get it to run but when I go to put it in gear to drive off, when the clutch engages it dies...
Ideas, thoughts, past experiences? Help
megaladon6
03-01-2008, 03:52 PM
carb or efi?
Is the IAC and TPS still intact and functioning? I'm assuming this is for the 68. MAP or MAF connected properly? I'm betting it is something simple like that.
whytry
03-01-2008, 04:41 PM
It's carbbed.. Sorry for that...
Have you tried checking for vacuum leaks? Spray ether all around the carb while it is running and the air cleaner is on. See if it responds. Only thing else I can think of is to make sure all the screws and settings are still intact and check the movement of the carb to ensure it's correct. Any chance this thing is starving for fuel from say a bad fuel pump or clogged filter?
OHCbird
03-01-2008, 05:55 PM
So- it sounds as if it's rich... What are you using for a fuel pressure regulator? It sounds as if it's dumping fuel in there- maybe a boost reference line is off, or you ruptured a diaphragm of sorts.
I say this because it sounds as i f your problems all have to do with the idle circuit... which is very succeptible to fuel pressure.
Let us know what else you find.
JEFF
MrQuick
03-01-2008, 07:17 PM
Yeah, I agree.
If it went that fast it sounds like you lost a power valve or stuck a needle seat.
whytry
03-01-2008, 07:41 PM
upon some inspection it looks like the boost referenced fuel pressure line was off, put the line back on it still is having same issues... I probably got 15 miles on it without the boost line connected, not really standing on it, until it happened...
How do I know if I lost a power valve? Is there something visual I can see upon inspection? I'll try to check needle and seat too. I gonna get some dinner and then go back and start working on it more..
We pushed the car under some lights so I have some time to continue working on it before the parking lot becomes a ghost town, right now it's @ the gas station in one of the 15 minutes spots...
MrQuick
03-01-2008, 07:48 PM
If your line was off would that give you max fuel pressure? Might be the original problem but now your plugs are most likely fowled. Pull an easy one and see how it is.
If its super wet, i'd recommend replacing all but pull them then crank it over to clear the cylinders.
You will need to run it a bit to check the valves and or needle seats. Carefully look down the carb horn at idle and see if there is fuel dripping out. Should not be any at idle. Wish I was closer.
whytry
03-01-2008, 07:57 PM
No Vince, fuel pressure was rock solid @ 7 psi.... It might have gotten lean when boost was building up, or low in bowls but pressure did not go to max. Thanks Vince, I appreciate it. Eating and typing now, should be about 20 minutes till I head back over.
OHCbird
03-01-2008, 08:34 PM
If the powervalve is busted, it'll dump fuel in there. If it's a blower-carb (it is), it'll have a modd'd powervalve in there due to the boost.
whytry
03-01-2008, 08:40 PM
Is there a way to pull to PV out and check it? Or how can I check for a busted PV?
whytry
03-01-2008, 08:43 PM
Fuel pump is electric, so I can turn it on without starting the car if that helps....
MrQuick
03-01-2008, 08:45 PM
That would help for needle seat failure detection. You can pull it out (requires bowl and front metering block removal) and see if its wrinkled. or just suck on it...you can tell cause you'll have evidence of fuel on both sides of it.
See if its dripping out the boosters at idle. Carefull or your destin to loose an eye brow or two.
whytry
03-01-2008, 09:19 PM
Luckily, I friend came to help and he's got a trailer we can use, well trailer it back to the house tonight and I'll get to work tomorrow... I'll have all my tools, etc...
MrQuick
03-01-2008, 09:20 PM
cool, get some rest. glad to see it will be safe.
whytry
03-02-2008, 10:06 AM
getting a late start. I'll post up what I find out shortly....
whytry
03-02-2008, 11:43 AM
Ok, pulled carb hat turned on fuel pump, and its dumping fuel in on the secondary side with the car not running, dumping at a pretty fast pace.
70bird
03-02-2008, 12:27 PM
If you know you have 7psi at the carb,and since it happened suddenly, I'm willing to guess there is some debris in the secondary needle and seat. Holley carb. right?
paul67
03-02-2008, 12:50 PM
I thought max recomended pressure was 4 1/2 psi as it blows the needle down.
MrQuick
03-02-2008, 12:53 PM
A good working needle seat will tolerate 11psi. Not that you might need that much.
Pull the seat out, inspect for debris, blow it out and reset the float levels. Don't forget to inspect and clean or replace your plugs.
I used to carry an extra set of seats in the glove box.
I carried a large screw driver and tapped on the carb to clear my stuck needle and seat. This was when I was in high school and regularly ran out of gas. After filling up a couple of days after this would happen. Simply tapping on the carb with the Handel of the screw driver would usually clear it.
comp-spec
03-03-2008, 08:57 AM
Look at the rear needle and seat sounds like its stuck might have a peace of dirt or something in it
whytry
03-03-2008, 09:25 AM
Well it was a stuck needle and seat in rear... There was some debris in there, looked like part of a gasket!!! Not sure how it got in there and through the filters and all but it did. As my luck would have it I cleared it out, replaced the plugs fired it up and it ran pretty good. But I have been having bad luck with this ride of recently, and it continued. I had my electric fan and water pump hard wired into the car to while looking for some type of fusible distribution block for the wiring and it was grounding out somewhere and smoked the wires... Sometimes I feel like if I didn't have bad luck I would have no luck....
This can be moved into another section now, got it running. Thanks all!!
MrQuick
03-03-2008, 11:41 AM
glad to hear you got everything...well that part fixed. The electrical should be easy, just a fuse link, a relay and new wire.
Hows the weather up there these days?
whytry
03-04-2008, 08:34 AM
Weather's awesome, upper 60's low 70's. I am hoping to drive to tomorrow to work. For the wiring quick question. How to run them?
Battery power to fuse to relay then to fuel pump, for example? OR
Battery power to relay to fuse then to fuel pump?
Brad,
I referenced Painless Wiring's site when relaying my fuel pump.
http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcatalog/images/1098relay.jpg
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