Does anyone know what this relay powers? It appears to be actuated by a vacuum line which runs to the intake manifold. The vacuum line is broken.

Bonus if this is something that would keep an engine from running.

 

That is your MAP sensor (manifold absolute pressure). If bad it would not keep the engine frome running but it would run very poorly.

 

Right: not a relay.

It'll cause a runs-like-crap problem, but not a no-run.

Fix it regardless. Once whenever you DO get the car to run, it'll move to the forefront of being The Problem, even though it may not be just yet.

That archaic aftermarket alarm system, on the other hand... and all those splices and other hack jobs in the big thick red wires.... all that needs to jump into the trash can, NOW.

 

Thanks, guys.

I'm a little confused though. I'm running an edelbrock performer carb, as far as I know there's nothing electrical controlling the engine.

Does the sensor still perform some kind of function? It's an 86 305 with a vacuum advance distributor.

 

On my todo list. The alarm was disconnected long ago...piece of junk, courtesy of the PO.

 

No, not really; other than, a broken vac line, if it's still hooked up at the motor end, can cause a runs-like-crap, no matter what brand the carb is.

Didn't know about the Eddie carb though, kinda hard to tell what carb you've got from the pic or the text of your original post.