engine and drivetrain She's at it again...fuel issue

[2002]

I had an issue one time with my 32-36.  It would run for a short time and then flood.  I took the 32-36 to a carburetor expert who couldn't find any issue.  Finally one night, to my wife's disgust, I took the carburetor apart on our dinning room table!  The needle valve had some junk in it, and wouldn't close all the way when the float got to the top.  I cleaned the needle valve, bolted it back together and all was well.  This may be you issue - just an guess.

[ClarenceTE72]

I also had the same issue, but with the side drafts. The needle valve, even though I cleaned it would not close fully. I ended up rebuilding the carburetors with new needle valves and adjusting the floats accordingly. No issues since.

[jireland2002]

Check the coil.  After running for a while it will be warm, but if it is too hot to leave your hand on it's bad.

Sounds like a time/temp problem.

 

Invest in a proper timing light and set max advance at 34 degrees

Dirty plugs on only 2 cylinders is odd. Probably not causing the problem but I would do a compression check just for fun.

[AustrianVespaGuy]

I saw the tach going crazy because it would just die and then start right back up most times.

 

This is absolutely a key symptom and DEFINITIVELY means that the problem lies in your ignition circuit!  The tach is driven SOLELY off of the flyback voltage from the coil when the points open.  If it were a fuel issue, the tach would drop normally like you just let off of the gas; it neither knows nor cares about fuel.  Don't waste any more time on the anything with intake system, and you can probably safely rule out plugs, timing, and compression, as they are all 'downstream' of where the tach signal comes from.  Focus on the distributor, points, condenser, coil, and associated wiring.  Your problem lies somewhere there, 100% guaranteed!

 

-Carl

[darrinos]

AVG....I've come to the same conclusion as I've changed filters, cleaned the carb (needle/seat, jets, etc), changed from electrical to mechanical fuel pump, using both and back again to mechanical and it's STILL causing trouble. Ran great for about 3-4 days but now it's doing it again, and unusually, especially when I turn corners even at very low speeds. It's still not starting well, however and I think that to be fuel. Nevertheless, I'm getting pretty tired of going to lunch at work and having to tear into the fuel system each day just to get back to work. I'll be looking at the ignition system out in the parking lot before I leave today. I'm pretty sure I'm going to find an issue with the points...I'll keep you updated. PS....I drove it the other night for nearly 300mi straight through and never had a problem...and now....back to this. I kind of like the astrology idea up there in that earlier post....

 

Darrin

['76mintgrün'02]

I'll be looking at the ignition system out in the parking lot before I leave today. I'm pretty sure I'm going to find an issue with the points...I'll keep you updated.

 

So you checked the dwell after work? Then the timing?  What did you find?

 

I kind of like the astrology idea up there in that earlier post....

 

I like my timing gun / dwell meter...  it tells the TRUTH

 

"time to get a gun,

that's what I've been thinking.

 

you could afford one,

if you did just  a  little   less   drinking..."

 

(Fred Eaglesmith misquoted) 

[darrinos]

So for a status update....I took AVG's advice and focused on the ignition. I adjusted the points in the lot here at work and it ran great all the way home. After I got home, I adjust the points with a feeler gauge because previously it was just to sight. After adjusting them, it ran worse and I know the adjustment was right. So, guessing that the points were still the issue, I put in a brand new set. The car started right up and ran great. I'd previously had a set of these points break on me, and I was beginning suspect these were doing the same thing since I noticed a familiar trend in performance and maintenance.

 

This morning driving it to work it was again, a perfect dream. On the way out to lunch it was a perfect dream. On the way back...it started to cut out again. I'm guessing it's the ignition again, but I don't know why I keep having this issue. I replaced a wire that was burned to the coil last night, but noticed no real change from that. As I'm wanting to go to an electronic system, I'll keep plugging points in until that time, but geez...I don't understand why it changes so quickly from running well to not running well.

[darrinos]

So, I did as I'd planned last night and adjusted the points in the parking lot before leaving work. They were way to narrow, and so I adjusted them by sight. It ran really well on the way home, but knowing that it was probably off a bit, I adjusted them with a feeler gauge to .016 when I got home. I took it for a drive and it was worse! I'd had a set of points do this to me before where it started running worse and worse and then not at all because the spring on the ignition points had broken and continued to weaken. Thinking this may be the case again, I thought I'd replace them to see what happened. The car started right up and ran excellent! It ran great on the way to work this morning, and on the way to lunch. But on the way back from lunch, it started again. Yes, the adjustment screw is tight. I don't understand why the car seems so inconsistent. It can run really well and then suddenly...not. I'm convinced that it's still the ignition, but not sure why this is happening. I plan on putting an electronic (Petronix)in it at some point, but until then, dang...I hate messing with it every day. Any additional info or ideas would be appreciated.

 

~Darrin

['76mintgrün'02]

melted wire was a 'clue'

which wire was it.

 

points too tight imply that the rubbing block is wearing down.

how does the 'cam' portion of your distributor shaft look?

If it is not very smooth it will grind away the rubbing block and your gap will tighten.

It is also recommended that you put distributor grease under that rubbing block, so it will last longer.

 

You had better luck with the new points, because you cannot accurately set used points with a feeler gauge (see post #12)

[darrinos]

So I left the office yesterday determined to open the distributor and set the points...yet again. When I reached for the cap, one of the plug wires came off. Suspecting this was the issue, I shut the hood and started it up. Still starting a little hard, but start she did and seems to be running perfect ever since. Thank you, AVG! I think lunch hours will no longer be spent re-working the fuel system as it seems more often to be the ignition. That Petronix is sounding better all the time.....

[darrinos]

Mint, the distributor shaft is smooth and shiny, but sometime I wonder if it's a little too smooth...like not enough action...some of the high spots seem higher than others. As for which wire it was that I replaced, I'm really not sure. I apologize that my only answer is "the burnt one"....I traced it back only to where I didn't see it burnt any longer, which was down on the left side below the master cylinder where it went into the harness with several others. It was one of the 3 that went to the positive side of the coil. The points being tight is a clue that the block was wearing down but these were only about a month old, and that's why I feared that they were beginning to give away like the last set did. Looking for a better quality set now...I see there are some on Ireland's site, so might be ordering them. No more O'reilly's points for me.....treating her to an alignment Friday.

[71bmr02]

Apologies if this has been covered already as I haven't taken  time to read all the responses.  I had nearly same problem recently, tach not reading correctly, idle problems etc.  traced it to a bad coil, replaced coil, problem fixed (at least for my ride)

 

Gale H

['76mintgrün'02]

the coil has been mentioned, but not by Darrinos...

 

Darrin--

 

have you taken jireland2002's advice and felt the coil to see if it is getting hot?

I have read that they can work okay until they get warm and then start to fail.

 

that melted wire may be a clue... couldn't you still look at the color of that wire and report back?

there is a chance that it was the resistor wire that melted and a piece of 'regular' wire would not be a suitable replacement.

 

the shiny shaft on the distributor is due to friction.

have you been putting grease on the rubbing block?  this is important.

 

 

Pertronix may be a good choice for you, since you will not use a dwell meter.

Melted wires imply a problem beyond dwell angle, which may fry an Ignitor.

They are expensive, so I would make sure everything is working before putting one in.

(IMO that money would be better spent on tools).

 

There are a lot of threads about coils and how to measure the primary and secondary resistance.

 

If you do not have a voltmeter with an ohmmeter, that is another tool I would recommend purchasing.

A local hardware store had their $20 voltmeter on sale for $8... not fancy, but it works.

I found this Dwell/Tachometer yesterday for $2.50 and couldn't pass it up.

 

 

 

 

I would send it to you, if you would promise to use it, as well as your timing light.

 

"I set my points by eye and my timing by ear..."

This is fine, as long as you use the tools to see how you have done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Buckeye]

 You may want to invest in some quality ignition components after all.

 

I am not big fan of Bosch ignition components for our cars unless there are no other options such as ignition coil.

 

Distributor Cap - Beru VK106   (if current cap has male tab)                             

Spark Plug Wire Set Karlyn-STI K-109L                                                 

Distributor Rotor Bermi (5Kohms) 12111354503     

[darrinos]

Ok, ok....I'll get a timing light...geez...AND a dwell meter. I haven't ever checked the coil because I replaced it last year thinking that maybe it was part of a problem I had then, but instead it turned out to be a FLY in the 90 degree elbow from the fuel pickup. (Yes, a FLY) Anyway, since it's fairly new, I've not checked it, but I suppose I will, especially because of the burned wire. Since it was burnt, it was kind of a burnt color...well, dark at least. So that's a subject that I need to follow up on.

 

However, I've got a different situation, and it seems to me it's obvious because of the name of the part..."breaker points". About 6 weeks ago I was motoring down the highway in southern Missouri...it was a hot day, about 95 degrees, and the car just shut down. DEAD. After investigating, I found the the spring on the "breaker" points had, well...broken. My dad drove 1hr to save the day and bring me a set. Those lasted until earlier this week when the car was running funny again and as stated in an earlier post, I replaced them. The car ran perfect. But today on the way home from work, I started noticing a little miss here and there and a surging feeling. Guessing it was the points, I readjusted them and it purred once again. Then about 1 mile from home, it completely shut down again. I took off the cap and the end of the "breaker" points had broken off. Grrrr! Luckily I had the other set that I'd removed and they got me to the parts store where they promptly gave me a free set.

 

New points=happy car. Ok, so I've not been putting grease on the shaft, so I'll go do that now. But is there something else that could be causing the appropriately named breaker points to continue breaking? In the meantime, just to make everyone happy, I'm going to spend some money and get some more tools...yay! I'm sure it will be money well spent, even if only to get "Mint" off my back...lol. I appreciate all of the advice. I plan to use it. Please, your suggestions on the points...other than grease. I know one thing...I sure don't trust O'reilly's "Import Direct" brand very much at this point, and THAT, they say, is their better brand.

 

Darrin