On my '90 Camaro RS I just replaced plugs, wires, dist. cap and rotor, and fixed timing, and it was running the best it ever has... and all of a sudden I had no power, wouldn't have made it home if I wasn't almost to my driveway already. As soon as I let off the gas it stalled out. I've been keeping up on maintenance, had 3/4 tank of gas, all that... I can't figure out what happened. I had been keeping my MAP sensor's vacuum line unplugged because when I plugged it in the car would stall, but I traced the other end back and found out it was plugged into a valve on the block, rather than the port it's supposed to be in, so I fixed that and plugged it back in... like I said, it was running great, even my check engine light turned off, and then I just lost all power. It's my daily driver, so help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Update - I checked my ignition coil, it tested fine on my ohmmeter, and I checked the wires from the coil to the distributor (mine is separate... apparently that's not often the case?) and even twisting and tugging on them I couldn't get them to short, so I'm pretty sure those aren't the problem... where else could the problem be? I'm gonna get up early tomorrow and test the wire from the battery to the coil (because I just realized I didn't check that, lol) but is there anything else that could affect the ignition system like that? As I recall, the components go, in order, battery-coil-distributor-plugs, and then the ignition electrical ceases to affect the engine... right?

 

I'm gonna say your alternator keeled over dead and the car then ran almost solely on the battery until it drained it dry. I bet if you recharge the battery or get a new one it'll start right up and run until the car drains it dry again. Pull the alternator off and get it tested somewhere. If your battery wasn't completely ruined by the situation, you could recharge it. If it's a couple years or more older, likely better to just replace that as well though.

For me, replacing the alternator and the battery in a Trans Am takes maybe 15 minutes. Probably one of the single easiest things to replace for me.

 

I had the alternator tested a couple weeks ago before I replaced my ground strap, and the battery was replaced a day before this happened... I'm getting an error code, says my ECM isn't getting the pulse references from my distributor. Would it be too much of a stretch to think that all the jostling of messing with my cap and rotor messed up the wires? I can start the car, but as soon as it catches it tries to die, then it catches again, then it tries to die... would a bad alternator cause that?

 

an often overlooked item is the ICM (ignition control module) . it's the little one inside the dist. that the coil plugs into . ( happened to me ) good luck .

 

when was the last time you changed your fuel filter?

 

Ok, I think I found the problem... at least, *part* of the problem. My 4-pin connecter from the dist to the ECM is screwed up... one of the wires is, in effect, completely ripped out... good news is, I work for an auto parts distributor, so I'll have the right connector on Monday.
I'm gonna change my fuel filter as soon as we get one in... I hadn't done that yet, and I'm willing to bet anything that the guy who had the car before me didn't even know what a fuel filter was.
If this wire thing doesn't fix it, I'll check the ICM... I just don't wanna pull my distributor cap off again cuz that's what started this whole mess.

 

Yeah, that also could cause the same symptoms. Hadn't thought about it though cause I'm just used to the alternator being the culprit. New plugs are definately the way to go over junkyard ones if possible.

I actually JUST had this same exact issue with a plug, but for a completely different system. Plug looked great, but the headlight motor wouldn't do anything, for a 99 Trans Am. I was messing with the plug, unplugged it, etc and... both wires for the motor that went into the plug came out. Not with the pin, just the stripped wires. Right out. Pin was left inside the plug. So a new plug fixed it. When you splice the new plug in, if you used the standard butt splicers, use a double crimp butt connector. Then use some heatshink around that. Dielectric grease on your connections too and hopefully you'll be good to go.

 

I'm probably gonna solder and heatshrink... i've had a lot more luck with that than with crimping. But yeah, I'll do junkyard stuff for trim, body if it's not rusty, and even mechanical stuff if I can check it and make sure it'll work for more than a couple weeks... but as far as electrical stuff, that just seems like asking for another breakdown later on. I just wish I'd checked the code first... coulda gotten this done this week and had a car for the weekend.
...what is this dielectric grease I keep hearing about? What's the point?

 

dielectric grease helps with the contact the wires are getting and help prevent corrosion in the long run, if i'm not mistaken it is closely related to bulb grease

 

*shrug* sounds good to me, I guess... i'll pick up some of that while I'm at it. Thanks a ton for the help, everybody. I didn't realize how much work was gonna go into keeping this car on the road, and I don't mind doing it, but I really knew nothing about cars before working on this one. Thanks again... I'll let you know when I get the part on Monday or Tuesday if that fixes it.

 

I'm seriously thinking about junking this car... i replaced the plug, and i checked 30 times to make sure I got the wires right, and now my car won't even start. She cranks, but the engine won't catch. What on earth could possibly be going on now? Please send suggestions, any suggestions, because i need to get to work and it's getting tough to find people to drive me.

 

is the car getting fuel? take the air cleaner off and have some one crank while u look in through the Throttle body is gas squirting in?

 

I'm no expert in diagnosing, but I do know that when we tore off the top end of my engine back in college we fastened the distributor in wrong and it came loose, engine ran beautiful but once the distributor twisted it dogged out and died....but I'm guessing you'd have noticed something like that by now.

 

If I'd twisted the distributor (again) it would at least try to catch. This is acting like I have no fuel. i've got 3/4 a tank.

 

still sounds like it good be a filter to me... the only think missing is the fact that when mine was clogged, the check engine light flashed erratically every time it bogged down

 

Sounds like you are at a point where you need to start running some tests instead of throwing parts at it. I would recommend a fuel pressure and spark test to start with. Remember, your car needs air, fuel, and spark to run. Typically when it cranks but wont start it is either fuel or spark causing the problem. Running the tests above will likely narrow it down significantly.

Also, since it went from running great to not running at all it is almost certainly NOT something that would only affect only one cylinder such as plugs, wires, fuel injectors etc.

 

Does it have a mechanical fuel pump or electrical? My first car had a fuel problem and we ended up replacing everything in the fuel system except the fuel pump because we could hear it kick on. We eventually gave in and bought a fuel pump for it, dropped the tank, and found 2-3 handfulls of dirt/sugar clogging the fuel strainer at the bottom of the pump. Made it run real shitty.

 

@joe350 - Yeah, I'm tired of buying parts for it... :P Truth be told, so far I've only thrown routine maintenance parts at it and things that i knew were broken. I feel dumb asking this, but... how do I run these tests? I'll search around and see what I come up with.
@joiner - I honestly don't know. I can hear it come on when I turn the key to the "on" position... would that indicate an electrical pump? I'm afraid this is the first serious work on a car I've ever done, so everything I know about engines is coming from working on this car. :P

 

As my Trans Am is tarped, I found an image online. Look under your hood on the passenger side of the engine. That's where mechanical fuel pumps are located if they are used. Here's an image of one.

http://image.moparmusclemagazine.com...+fuel_pump.jpg

But if you can hear a whine in the fuel tank when you turn the key but don't start your car, it's electrical.

 

With a 305 TBI engine you have an electric in-tank fuel pump. To run a fuel pressure test you will need a fuel pressure gauge available at any parts store. There should be a capped valve on your fuel rail somewhere to screw the gauge into. For a TBI I think the pressure should be in the 12-15 PSI range, but check that somewhere else.

For spark, get a spark light or timing light from a parts store. A spark light is something that plugs in to the end of a spark plug wire and will light up if there is spark when the engine is running. Timing light judges timing but will not work if there is no spark so it will do.

 

Yeah, unless your car has no rust underneath it (hard to find on something that old), you should do as many tests as possible to try to prevent taking that fuel tank off. You'll end up with cutting straps, breaking bolts, busted knuckles, and a lot of yelling obsenities. My first car had no rust underneath and was the quickest and easiest fuel tank drop I'd ever seen. You can test spark without a spark light or timing light. If you're careful you can pull the plugs out, keep them in the wire, and turn it over to see if they spark, or you can just pull the plug wire and put a screw in there and have it sit close to the body of the car or the engine (something in the ground system) and turn it over to look for a spark.

 

So, I replaced the fuel filter, hoping it was clogged up there, but it's not... I can get the car to start up with some starter fluid, but it dies pretty quick after it starts.

 

Thats right, it's a TBI... Someone earlier suggesting opening the air element and having someone crank the engine to see if the injectors are firing. This is a good idea. Since there are only two if one goes bad then your engine will not run. Since it runs with starter fluid I am leaning towards a fuel problem of some kind but I would still run a fuel pressure test before moving forward with anything.

 

I'm gonna pull a line after my fuel pump, turn the key to on, and see if fuel comes out when the pump turns on, and i'm gonna test my injectors... kinda won't have money for a fuel pressure tester until payday next week. If my pump is pumping gas, would a fuel pressure test tell me anything important?

 

It would be nice to check what fuel pressure you have because it could happen that your fuel pump is working (so fuel will come out when the pump turns on) but unable to make enough pressure.

 

Ok, I believe I've found the problem... last night I checked my pump, it's good, pressure is good, injectors looked good (no gunk), tested the right resistance, so I pulled out my wiring diagram and hooked up my multimeter to measure resistance between the injector harness and the ECM as well as the injector harness and the fuses... and I found a definite short on one of my fuse wires. The wire looks good at both ends, so I think I'm gonna have to pull it completely out and put in a whole new wire. :/ Not a project for tonight, and I'll be away all weekend... looks like she's gonna sit in the garage until next weekend too. :'(