Hi,I have a 90 camaro 305tbi engine. I was just leaving a shopping center and started the car. I got about 3 blocks away and the engine just died instantly. I tried restarting it and nothing. It cranks but won’t start. I can hear the fuel pump run when I turn the key on. I tried that several times and it runs each time the key is turned to run. Anyone have any suggestions? The ignition coil is stock and was replaced about a year ago. New cap,new rotor and new plug wires at that time.

id appreciate any help anyone could offer before i have it towed.

 

Very likely to be the ignition module.

GD

 

Thanks “General”,appreciate the input. I’ve already replaced the coil,plug wires,rotor and cap,and when I crank it with a plastic spoon under the throttle body there is gas on it that evaporated quickly,so it would be logical the ICM would be the problem. Do those fail pretty often?

 

Yes it's very common on the small cap EFI distributor. Aftermarket one's seem to fail regularly. They do have some heat-sink compound that needs to be used between the ICM and the distributor body and that often is old and dried out and could potentially contribute to failure - make sure the breather screen is clear so the cap doesn't build up moisture and ozone. Also hotter ignition coils, excessive plug gap, burnt cap/rotor, etc. Anything out of spec in the ignition system could put them under an abnormally high load.

GD

 

Thanks. When I called Autozone I made sure the part came with the thermal grease to apply to the underside,thankfully it does. I also got the lifetime warranty part so if it fails again they replace it with a new one. I’m willing to bet if bad rotor and cap and wires and plugs contributed to it failing then that’s likely what weakened it. When I got the car it had 95k I think on it,and the cap failed after 10k miles. Everything on the car was original. I had assumed the previous owner had maintained those things. I was wrong.
I appreciate your help. Guys like you make this site great. Waiting for a friend to come give me a ride to the parts store. I’m praying this solves it and I’ll be back on the road again. I’ll let you know.

 

Usually the compound that you get either with the module or from the parts guy is a synthetic or dielectric grease that works OK. But I think for the best option you could use heat sink compound generally found at computer supply places made for use on computer parts. Comes in small tubes. Used to get it from Radio Shack but I think they're gone now. Either way make sure you use something to coat the bottom of the module or it's life will be much shorter

 

Yep,will do. He said it comes with heat sink compound. You’re also right,all the radio shacks here disappeared years ago. There’s a local electronics store I buy all that stuff from now. It’s the only one left. I sure hope this solves the problem

 

Thanks GeneralDisorder,I installed the new module and it fired right up! I’ll have to buy you a beer sometime! Lol.

 

The type of compound you use is probably inconsequential in this application. Having built PC's since way before it was cool to do so and used plenty of the *boutique* Arctic Silver II/III/IV, etc and some of the new thermal tape's and liquid metals, etc..... it's not going to make a significant difference for this application.

GD

 

Glad you got it fixed! It's common enough that a lot of people carry a spare in the car.

GD