It's not good.
140 miles from home and need to get back on the road tomorrow to drive back for a day of work.

I was working on install of a new AC compressor. The only thing I disconnected was the FI harness and the two first injectors to move wiring out of the way.

Needed to go out and get bits for the AC business so I put things back together and went to drive.

The car started fine. Warmed a bit. Stalled flat x3. Will start up again, idles and sounds normal, them flat stall. Not even struggling to stay running. On,,, then flat off. The problem with stall was worse at first, got better as car warmed up, but did stall again.

I've checked what I touched during tinkering with AC. All seems (and is) right and in place. Not sure what to do. I've jiggled wires around in the area while running that might have gotten jostled around during messing around in front of the V around AC location and the car will not predictability stall due to jostling and moving wiring around.

Ive looked at shielded wire connection much further back in the engine compartment, all seems right there.

Not sure where to go from here.

 

It is electrical, that is for sure. Check those little amp thingies on the rad panel and their wiring to the dizzy.
If your FI harness is not new as you have moved it, I something may have cracked in that too. But my money is on the amp to dizzy loom.

 

I'll be and am checking... I'm driving now,,, just to see how it goes. No choice. I have to drive about 150miles tomorrow morning. Clench butt style - which I hate, lol

​​​​​​​Fingers crossed.

 

This wouldn't be so bad IF I wasn't so far from home, BUT. I've been reading some other posts about tach, ECU and the shielded wire... Sometimes, when I start the car, it takes a second or 10 before the tach on the dash picks up and starts reading. Is that a possible concern connected to the shielded wire and a connection problem OR is the tach on the dash fed and run by a whole separate circuit?

What a thing!

 

Hi Jay

Maybe you disturbed the Plug on the CPS as its right in amongst the wires for the AC Compressor and can stop the engine dead

Ask me how I know or rather don't

Alex

 

Thanks OB I did that... I at least can tell you that the side form the CPS sensor UP to the plug near the AC area is new (I replaced it early on but NOT the one on the bell housing) but from the plug on,,, I couldnt say. Its literally under "wraps". I also wiggled around the AMP plug wiring on the LH side of the rail a LOT. But it is also under wraps and I cannot see the condition of those wires. Doesnt give me a good feeling. The STALL didnt reproduce itself.

The FI loom i redid not long ago... When I go the car and started the work I had completely repmoved it, unwrapped it, and posted pictures here for instructions. From the photos members here helped me to decide (and I could see myself) they looked good and believe it or not still fairy subtle and with no cracks. I dug it out of the bottom of the V and it had been out of the V until I replaced all of the individual plugs a few weeks ago. Its now up OFF of the V floor on the rail.

I drove the car mabey 10 miles today, until good and hot and the problem never reappeared which is good BUT leaves me with a WHAT HAPPENED kind of feeling. Sucks. I just renewed my roadside policy and can get a tow (for free) for 100 miles. I HOPE I will not need that. I have to drive back into NYC tomorrow at 6am. About 120 miles.

All for a bit of AC.

Im still VERYopen to ideas. Of course, very willing to do the work. A BEAUTIFULLLL machine. I love the car!

 

Hi Jay

Not much else it could be apart from that and the Ignition Amplifiers as suggested by Greg

Apart from maybe Changing the Distributor Cap and Rotor like I think you were planning to do

Did you get a Genuine Marelli with Brass Contacts inside, as opposed to Alloy

If not I would hang on to your Old Marelli Dizzy Cap and Rotor and maybe even consider putting it back and keep the New one as a Spare

 

The only time I've ever had my car flat out stop was one of the position sensors, eventually both did it. we have two and they DO cause issues mine caused a Lights Out scenario as soon as engine exceeded a certain temperature, consistent with about 45mins of drive time juuuust enough to break the connection. If your sensors arn't new I'd do them both as a matter of preventative work at a minimum.

Even a failing coil can only kill one side of the engine so I'd look to the sensors and the water temp beside driverside (US) air intake as that'll kill it to.

 

Thanks Van and OB.

I drove home this morning (2hrs highway) and when running,,, everything seems fine.

At one point I got her up to between 75 and 80. Tentatively confident. At that speed is when tach started acting erratically, dipping RPMs. I started the pull over to the shoulder and when I got onto the side of the road, she stalled. I waited a second, turned the key and she started right back up. I sat idling a minute or two, then pulled back on the roadway and drove the last hour. No more than 65mph,,, and no issues... I'm thankful to have made it.

I believe the new dizzy is Merelli or a Merelli reproduction by Standard Motor Products. I will see better when I pick it up later. Coils are also from Standard.

I've replaced the front CPS, not the rear on the lower bell housing. But I will be. I have checked ANY of the wiring there.

I need to figure this out. I'll need all the advise, suggestions and direction I can git...

 

I know nothing about the marelli system, but usually it must be the amp to dizzy wiring if the tach is going funny. Or the amp itself giving up. I would make new loom and renew the amps!

 

I could be wrong but MAYBE the tach is responding normally to real problems showing up in the RPMs... This problem happened suddenly,,, messing around with the darn AC work.

I have to be careful here. Them things are expensive, lol

 

I was just looking around and saw it for 75bucks USD, and thought, what the hell, it's just money, right? Saw others for WAY more money. What they say about sounding to good to be true...? We'll see.

Lol... I should punch myself in the nose...

Seems like it might be a mistake to have one new and one old... Mismatch. But I don't know much

 

Hi Jay

That ICM is a Bargain!

Don't worry about a Mismatch, you are very unlikely to ever have both of them burn out at once

Alex

 

Those are OUTRAGEOUS. Except...if genuine marelli for 100 or under but unlikely to be legit. There are fine crossover parts.

https://www.ebay.com/c/1730538051

I got mine in the US ebay, you can cross reference part nums but I doubt this is the cause...

 

Hey Van...

How do you deal with these? Plug and play? I read things about having to adjust or modify them...? And,,, do they amplify - enough?

When you say outrageous,,, what do you mean? Cost? of the Merelli stuff?

And GOOD NEWS.

i was under the car as far as I could go without getting under it and I think I'm seeing the wire from the CPS lead (if you can call this "good news") touching and melted on the LH exhaust not far past the downpipe... I couldn't really get to it get to it tonight to see how far it had gone, but I'm hoping it's simple as that. Fingers and TOES crossed. Really!!!!!

Could it be as simple!? Nothing is.

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The exact unit I linked to is somehow direct plug n play. I did alot of research it just happend to work out. Yes marelli originals are outrageously priced.

One thing I'd do if it was me in a while I'm there situation, buy a spool of wire shielding even just plastic accordian stuff and wrap any new sensor wires and double back with tight black elec tape, the added layer will resist abrasion.

You can get tougher thermal rated stuff but thar usually isn't at your local harbourfreight or napa.

 

Hi Jay

Melted CPS Lead

That's your problem right there!

Throwing parts at something like that is never a great idea but knowing at first hand how dangerous CPS failure can be, I would go and get another one of those ASAP

Alex

 

I forgot to come back and update this thread when I finally figured out what my problem was. In the photo you can see that the spade for the coil plug had bent over and out of line with the female end of the plug. The plugs themselves were a MESS which caused the improper fitting when pushed into the cup of the coil plug... I think I must have given this information in the wrong thread or in a different one.

Since, new coils, cap, coil plugs with sections of spliced in wire and problem is gone,,, but today I ran into another. I'm starting to see the end of the tunnel, I think, lol. Or maybe that's just tunnel vision, haha. Can both thing happen at the same time?