i drove my 85 z with 350 goodwrench motor, new msd, new holley 600 last in mid nov. it has been started once a week since then. i forgot to unhook the battery last weekend so it was dead but thats a problem for another day. when i last drove it, it was running fine. well today i jump it off and it started right up and ran fine for 15 minutes then it idled down and cut off. i repeated that 2 more times. i ran the ignition wires and all were ok. does this sound like a carb situation? im going to get a tach and vaccum gauge to try to set the carb tom. if i can keep it running long enough. any other ideas before i get the .44 out and put it out of its misery?

 

Did you have to jump it the next two times as well?

 

Sounds like you're holding your car hostage...kinda like that scene in Blazing Saddles..."somebody help me or the IROC gets it." Before you whip out the hogleg and start shooting...

Does your battery going dead after a week sound like a carburetor problem? No.

The car should be able to sit for months with the batt connected and not go dead, you have a circuit closed and drawing voltage somewhere.

And if the batt is trashed from all the cycling, the alt may have trouble delivering adequate current to the ignition system or may have died.

What did your voltage gauge show while the car was briefly running?

 

Alternator and fuel pressure is what I would check.

 

yes i had to jump it all three times. it was completely dead. it can sit for 3 days before it dies but like i said that problem is for another day. i need to get it running to get it home. volts went to13. ill find out in the morning if it took a charge. alt is less than a year old and the mechanical fuel pump is about 3. i can see the fuel going through the filter. im ready to take it to a pro and say fix it but i havent worked in over a month because of a stupid broken leg so that will have to wait.

thanks for replying

 

well i figured it out. a dead alt. now i just have to figure out why a 8 month old alt. is dead.

 

Actually, Pasky and I figured it out.

Solve the battery drain problem and you'll be there. Alts don't like the draw that a dead batt puts on them after a jumpstart.

And you posted above that your 'volts went to 13'...no way a dead alt will do that. Something's wrong. Was the 13V indicated with the jump-car still cabled to yours, or with your car running on it's own?

 

Rebuilt alts dont last long from some of the cheap part stores like auto zone. I think they have some 12 year old rebuilding them in some sweat shop some where. If you didn't buy it from a good parts store then thats why It went bad so soon. For some reason Alway had good luck with napa alts and starters pay more but I dont have to go back and forth to the part store to get a good one. Thats worth the extra cost to me, changing the same part over and over sucks. Esp starters on cold days. Im sure some of the other board members know what I mean.