454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

Hi guys,

I have a Chevy 454 in my 91 RS and it starts up and turns off after a second. My guys just put a new intake manifold and carb in and re-ran the fuel line, and replaced the rotor and distributor cap.

When I picked the car up on Friday, it ran strong enough to have me smiling the whole way home, but come Saturday night, it began with this annoying problem.

I pulled off the fuel line at the carb and there is definitely fuel there and the carb appears to be working correctly (vacuum,s etc). I assume this is a distributor problem but would really appreciate any help you guys can offer.

Thanks

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

is your timing right? maybe you forgot to tighten the dist. hold down.

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

Does the carb have a choke? Is it functioning correctly? It should be almost completely closed when you snap the throttle open really quick when its cold and not running.. the choke blade should be only open about 1/8" or so. How fast does it idle for the short time it runs?

If the choke isn't set right, or isn't there at all, it will run like crap and probably stall alot when the engine is cold, but it will run just fine once its warmed up.

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

what happens when you hit the gas? You may need to pat the gas untill the engine warms up.

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

Theres many ways a car can "die" and depending on what its doing, we can help you figure it out.

1) Does it run for the exact same amount of time every time, or does it vary?
2) Does it stumble and then die?
3) Does it slow down, and eventually cut out?
4) Does it "diesel" when it dies?
5) Does it sound like it missed a beat when it died? Like a back fire?

How do you start the car? How many times do you pump if you have a carb, and do you rev it when it starts?

Ive had a "car dies" problem a few times and it was always something different.
Dieing battery for example, will slowly cut out, and run on fewer and fewer cylinders until it dies.

Off timing will cause it to "miss a beat" and back fire out of the carb. (retarded).

Ive also had a "runs perfect for exactly 3 seconds and then suddenly stops". I had grounded my ignition wire, while installing my alternator bracket. It was pinched and grounded through the block.

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

Under the hood as we speak... any immediate help is much appreciated!

The car runs for the exact same amount of time every time before it stumbles and dies. I try and rev it when it starts but it continues to do the same thing, even after I wait for a while between tries (just in case I am flooding the engine).

The carb is brand new and appears to be functioning correctly. It got me back from the shop beautifully.

86camaro383, what do you mean by tightening the distributor hold down? The 4 bolts that connect the cap to the dist?

THANKS!

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

More information is needed. What distributor are you running (vacuum advanced? stock distributor in Open Loop? what?) How is fuel being supplied (mechanical fuel pump? stock electric fuel pump? aftermarket pump? what?). If your running the stock fuel pump, but with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and/or rigged the stock distributor to run with a carb setup, it might be your VATS, and/or fuel pump cut off. You see, more information is needed.... :)

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

Once it starts, if can you feather the throttle and keep it running?

Re: 454 Fires for a second and then dies... help please
 

i am betting the oil pressure sending unit has crapped the bed... unplug the sensor and jump the farthest pin to the left and to the right on the connector then listen for the pump and start the car...

mine did the same exact thing on the ride home after my engine swap... fuel pump was priming the bowls but wouldnt run after the engine built oil pressure... replaced the OPSU and it blew again in a couple of weeks had to setup a relay to my ignition kill switch to run my pump