After driving the car for a while, it starts choking and gaging and dies. After it dies It starts right up for like 7 seconds and does the same thing. After 20 minutes or so of not touching it, she will start right up and be fine. WTF!!! There is a new fuel pump, and module in the distributor. I have no idea what else it can be. The car is a stock 305 with 150K miles. I am in the process of changing the cat. Could that be the problem? There is no rotten egg smell. What else can this be? I know that the wiring under the hood is not perfect. It wasnt redone, but it just looks old and dirty. Can it be a bad sensor? Where do i start? I have the OBD1 computer in the car. I bought the GM code scanner, but I need to wait for the problem to happen to plug it in because the computer does not record the problems! HELP!!!

 

Hey whats up, are u sure ur not overheating, I had the same type of problem and it turns out I had a bad thermostate and i was overheating(just a thought), other than that u might wanna check ur distributor if u modified it in anyway, make sure everything is in place, I changed my cap and rotor one time and didnt put everything together properly it caused the car to do what ur discribing, also is the smell coming from inside the car or is it outside or under the hood?.
Is there a check engine light going on at all , if soo whats the code. if the light isnt going on u might wanna check for codes anyway

 

Thanks for the help. But it's nothing you mentioned! The dist. is fine and there is no smell! I havent had a chance to scan it because I didnt have a scanner when it happened!

 

Yup It deffinantly could be a sensor and lucky for you theres only about a million of them.

 

So basiclly I should wait till i happens and plug in my scanner? great!

 

you dont have to get a scanner but if you do already thats great. id clear the codes before you plug it in. you might have some stored codes. unplug the neg cable and wait a few seconds, run her and wait until she stalls and then check to see if she got codes.

 

The car is an 85, so I have the OBD1, which does not record the codes, right?

 

Oh you got me there bro. check your pm.

 

hookup a fuel pressure sensor and run it for a while might have a bad regulator, spark usually doesn't die while running its usually fuel.

 

Mcdamit, this is one thing that I am not sure of. Where is the regulator? What does it do? Where can I get a fuel pressure sensor? Thanks

 

ANY OTHER IDEAS GUYS?

 

You can pick up both items at any autoparts store.
Note: you dont need all the bullcrap that comes with it, just the hose, the connection for a chevy at the end of the hose and the guage itself.

A fuel pressure regulator gauges how much fuel sits in the fuel rail in terms of psi. What isn't used it recirculates through the system. This is also how your intank pump is cooled. Fuel pressure is good @ about 40psi. 36-45psi is to be expected, when it drops below that the injectors will cease to fire.

Note: you hookup the fuel pressure sensor to the cap on the fuel rail. It looks like an aluminum cap to a shradder valve on a tire, unscrew the cap and screw on the gauge. then start the car. The fuel pressure regulator is to the rear of the fuel rail and looks like the picture shown below.

 

OK, I see! I knew what the fuel pressure guage was. I didn't know it was also called the fuel pressure sensor. My bad! I have done this before, and the car was fine, but at the same time, it wasn't when the car was acting like an idiot ( shutting down). But doesnt that guage tell you if the fuel pump is ok?

 

yeah sorry about the confusion, i was tired and I figured you would know what i was talking about. And yes it would tell you that the pump works just by the factor that you have any fuel and you should also hear it kick in and kick out. Also check the pins in the connection to your maf sensor this would cause the car to stall. Does the engine run rough @ all? Does it die when the engine gets hot? Then restart when it cools?

edit: people who run N20 engines will sometimes call it a sensor because they will hook a mechanical or electrical gauge off the rail to know if they have enough fuel pressure to aviod detonation

 

Please explain what you mean about the pins in the MAF. The car has been sitting for a bit in my yard, but it starts, idles rough, and then as she gets warmer or if I drive it she is fine! Please read my first post as to exactly what the car does. I dont know if it starts because it cools or what. I dont think 15 to 20 mins is enough time for that motor to cool down much!

 

your tpi right? the wiring connection to the Mass Air flow sensor. Just unplug it you may need a flat head screw driver. If the maf is damaged or the pin inside the wiring connections is damaged it amy cause the car to stall. It will also usually create a rough running condition. Thats all i can say for now because I dont know the fuel pressure is, how the engine is running, etc. You may also want to read a thread on here with someone that has a similiar problem, it is recent and if i can find it i will post it. I dont know what the outcome of that one was.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=312369

 

Yea, I'm TPI. I am trying to figure out if it something small and stupid like a sensor or something. I dont want to change the $300 and change MAF if thats not it! Same thing with the injectors! I want to be sure before I invest that money!

 

i know, im not telling you to change ****, im saying test them, look at them, if you want i will ask some else who is better at this **** than me. In my exprience little stupid **** such as a bent connector pin and even a catalytic convertor can cause this. Normally anyone will tell you to check your connections. Simply because when you change your airfilters you can screw them up.

 

Thanks for that other post! It sounds like the same problem! I am going to check and clean a lot of connections under the hood tomorrow and see what happens then. Also, I left the car running, not driving, for an hour or so, and the problem did not occour, so could this have anything to do with something getting hot?

 

dammit mlanzo, lol, i told you to check one connection lol. Jesus, your funny.....

my point was to read that thread so you can get more ideas. You should spend more time troubleshooting than you do worrying. It could be something as simple as a $45 ignition control module that is getting to hot. But without a sufficent info i cant tell you anything. Keep in mind we aren't working on the car, all we know is what you can tell us, and what we can tell you to test.

 

I know, i am writing faster than i am thinkin. I meant that under my hood it looks like some wires where pulled and may not be making a full connection!

 

what are they just hanging there? if you have wires all over the place we can provide pics, and tell you what they are if you could do the same. But most of it is just diagonistic work. After that its just a ratchet, wrench and some gaskets. Is this your daily driver or no? If it isn't, well it will run again. Just have to find the problem and not replace the engine bay like some people.

 

This may be a stupid idea, but have you checked the P.C.V. valve to make sure it isn't messed up? I've seen the P.C.V. valve kill more than a few cars. Also, you need to make sure the connectors are plugged in where they belong.