i've got an 89 TPI that recently started to shut off randomly while driving and idling. i had started it and it ran for about two minutes then shut off with no sputter or hesitation. after 20 minutes of cranking i got it to start again but it olny ran for two minutes again. i figured it was my fuel filter but after a few hours of sitting while i walked to the store it started and after it ran for 5 or so minutes i decided to drive it home. it died once more on the way home (20 minute drive on the side streets)

i had replaced the fuel filter 2000 miles ago and when i pulled it off it was pretty grimmy. after i put the new on in it ran great for about 50 miles then shut down again and would olny run for 2 minutes then shut off.

the motor sat for a 6 years and car sat for 11 years without being touched.

i had replaced the fuel pump, and filter. along with the ignition module in the distributor. the car also has an MSD 6al box and an accel coil. the car has run great for the past month(2000) miles but i have no clue to why its shutting down like it is.

i was thinking that perhaps it could be a failing EST module... i also saw on the partsamerica.com web site that there is an injection filter? i dont really trust the site for more than getting filters, but is there really a secondary filter screen that could be clogged? the coil and MSD box have alot of "extra"wire in the engine bay, is there a chance that the length of the wires would have anything to do with it?

my car runs great and drives like a bat out of hell (for two minutes) then it dies. i know its something relativly small but i have no ideas. its such a sporatic problem but my car leaves me hanging everyday, i know i dont like to see irocs on the side of the road with the hood up but thats where mine has been spending most of its time.

if any of this sounds familiar please, please, please let me know. thank you up front for any advice

 

I’m guessing some of the more senior members would say start with the basics. Check for spark and fuel. When the engine won’t start do you have spark? Do you have a fuel pressure gauge to check for proper fuel pressure?

I know you stated you replaced the ignition module, but I had a past experience with an ignition module that sounds similar. (Did you put the thermal paste under the ignition module. If it overheats it will quit working.) My car would drive fine, then just cut off. Then after sitting for a while it would start and run fine again, then cut off later. The dealership mechanics could not replicate the problem and when I drove it off the lot, it cut off at the first intersection. The short story - I had a bad ignition module (no spark).

 

so once my car cut out i put a test light on one of the injectors, light stayed on the entire time with a slight blink but defanitly no pulsing. im assuming its a bad coil pick-up in the distributor because the computer uses that signal to energize the injectors. my new question is how do i go about swapping out the old one, that looks pretty corroded like some water got in there and the wire spool has just lost its integrity, the reason for sometimes working then cutting out without a sputter then working again until it got too hot again.

if any of this sounds crazy let me know... or any direction on changing it with hand tools. if i can fix it without a new distributor, i'd be happy.

 

will it run if you keep your foot on the gas? If so IAC motor. Mine went on me on my way to new mexico and it would not idle with out me holding the gas down a little. Just an Idea.

 

Did you ever think about the alternator?

 

i was thinking about the IAC and i even noticed that it was olny finger tight in it's housing, it was kind of dirty when i took it all the way out so i cleaned it up and stuck it back in... i think i need to replace it because i have a high idle when the car first starts. anyway, after that the problem was still there, so i replaced the coil pick-up and it was still there. i pulled off a plug wire and to check the spark, it was olny there for about to cranks if that. DZcode was on the right path. long story short, not my ignition module, but i HAD the MSD 6al box, which is now toast. i re-wired the system minus the MSD box and she fired right up and hasn't given me troubles yet...keep my fingers crossed.

i still need to get the ecm scanned becasue the ses light comes on about every 5-6 times i start and run the car, im kinda thinking its the IAC or the EGR. the scan tool should let me know, or point me in the right direction.

i've always been a gm car owner all from the mid to late 80's, and my experience is that once you start adding electronic "boosts" to the car, stuff starts tweeking out... the 20 year old stock parts far outlasted the 5 year old MSD box