The Galant Center - Powered by vBulletin

Thread: Starting/Running Engine Problem

Showing results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1

    Icon5 Starting/Running Engine Problem

    So the long story is that I tried to replace my radio with one I found in my garage. I had to cut and connect every wire going to the back of the stock radio to fit the new connector for the radio I found. I found out (the hard way) that the radio from the garage was broken and did not work. So it currently is sitting in my backseat with the stock one.
    I then drove to friends house, and all was going good. We went to leave to go to lunch and after I backed out of the driveway and right as she shifted into drive, she died, didn't sputter or anything just shut off. Tried to start her back up and when I couldn't, we pushed her back into the driveway.
    Called my dad to come help (hes an ex-mechanic). he showed up and the car started right up and he got about 5-10 minutes home coming off the expressway with the RPM sitting at about 4grand and she just cut off.
    She seems to run fine until she gets warmed up, then doesn't want to run anymore, and when she dies, you can't get her started again. She will just barely turn over, the needle hits 1000 and she shuts off, like i turned the key off.

    Just replaced the distributor cap and rotor along with the valve cover gasket.

    Thanks in advance for the help, sorry for such a long story

  2. #2
    Did u make sure the wires that you had connected to the radio had no copper showing?

  3. #3
    Yeah, they are all secure and look good.

  4. #4
    Experienced TGC Member
    Join Date
    12-27-2005
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    1,520
    One of three things come to mind:

    1. Coolant temperature switch
    2. Coil inside distributor is going bad (most likely case)
    3. Oxygen sensor

    options one and two will more than likely never throw a CEL. When my distributor went bad it didnt. Master mechanics at the dealership had my car for 3 days and couldnt figure it out.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Shadow19 View Post
    One of three things come to mind:

    1. Coolant temperature switch
    2. Coil inside distributor is going bad (most likely case)
    3. Oxygen sensor

    options one and two will more than likely never throw a CEL. When my distributor went bad it didnt. Master mechanics at the dealership had my car for 3 days and couldnt figure it out.
    Yeah I had a CEL for an EGR fault and the rear O2 sensor. after i checked the codes they never came back though. Still no codes. Any way to diagnose to see if the coil is bad?

  6. #6
    TGC Lifetime Patron oakrdrs187's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-14-2010
    Location
    Coachella, CA
    Posts
    5,954
    Believe me, what is happening with your car has nothing to do with the wires you messed with, nothing.

  7. #7
    Experienced TGC Member
    Join Date
    12-27-2005
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    1,520
    Quote Originally Posted by Thestangcrave View Post
    Yeah I had a CEL for an EGR fault and the rear O2 sensor. after i checked the codes they never came back though. Still no codes. Any way to diagnose to see if the coil is bad?
    From experience, the EGR code takes a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time to come back. However, I highly doubt this is your problem. Im not sure how you test the coil in the distributor. Do you have a pick and pull around you? If so, go snatch a distributor and check it out. You may be able to go get a spark tester at an auto store and see if the spark is weak when the car is warmed up. The rear O2 sensor will not cause this problem either. In fact, mine is disconnected and has been for over a year. That code COULD possibly mean your cat is clogged though.

  8. #8
    Update: Replaced whole distributor, and now she runs like a champ. Thanks for all your help guys.

  9. #9
    Experienced TGC Member
    Join Date
    12-27-2005
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    1,520
    Im glad you got her back up and on the road. Its always a pain in the ass when its something stupid

Posting Rules

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •