Car won't stay running!

RavageVJS2D

Registered User
Hello all,

A couple weeks ago I was driving my 90 SC with no issues. Recnetly I went to drive the car and it died on me about a mile down the road. When going to start it again it will run for about 15 seconds and then no matter how much gas I give it, it will not stay running. It will seem likes it choking/flooding but there is no excessive fuel smell. If I start the car the following day, it may run longer than a minute or two and then all the symptoms will come back.

So far I have done the following...

Changed the fuel filter
Changed the plugs
Cleaned throttle body
Cleaned MAF
Checked for vacuum leaks (none found)
Radiator full and staying at same level
Oil is good, and all fluids are topped off

I hope you can help as soon as possible, my emissions is due and I have no way of getting this car running right now! That is my least concern as my baby is dying....
 
Hi. First off, I am sorry to hear about your other trouble. I will say a prayer for your family. (Unless I misread that and you were referring to the car dying.)

About the car: it sounds like it is probably an ignition or fuel problem.

The easiest thing to check is the fuel pressure. You can rent or buy a fuel pressure test kit that will thread onto the Schrader valve on the fuel rail. You need to check this while the problem is occurring, as the fuel pump might be working intermittently. It should be 39 psi above manifold pressure. (So if you the engine is pulling 15" of vacuum, that's about 7 psi vacuum, so the gauge should read 32 psi.)

If you DO have good fuel pressure, then I would suggest checking the crank sensor signal (as you crank the engine over). That will require a multimeter and some straight pins at least.

Another quick check you can do is to remove the belt and try to wiggle the crank pulley / harmonic balancer. If it wiggles, the HB has probably failed and it is making a bad signal for the crank sensor. (The crank sensor is a Hall effect sensor that reads a trigger wheel that is mounted to the back side of the HB.)
 
Still alive...

Sorry everyone,

I have been tied down at work and not able to respond yet. It's been raining bad the past week or so here and the car is outside. I will be working on the car this weekend and give you any updates I find based on your suggestions. i appreciate you taking the time to write, I thought I should take the time to resopnd with an update.

Thanks,

- Denis R

P.S. - The dying baby was referencing the car (thanks for the concern though).
 
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