HELP!! Need input on problem

[Greg Haile]

thanks SSSammy

I'm running a Performance distibutor but it will be worth checking the pickup.

Greg

[Wayne Maybury]

Greg

I had a very similar problem 2 years ago. Mine would run fine for 10 or 15 minutes then either begin to miss really badly then die completely, or else it would just die like yours does. If I waited a couple of minutes, it would fire up and run perfectly but 10 minutes later it would die again. I changed the coil, the pickup coil and the MSD box, but I always had the same problem.

I remembered that I had pulled the dash out of the car the previous winter so I figured that maybe something when wrong when I re-installed the dash. I removed the dash and sure enough, a 10 wire connector was not properly connected. The connector pin for the wire from the ignition switch to the MSD box was probably getting hot after the engine ran for a while and the contact would break due to the heat. After sitting for just a minute or two, it would cool down so a proper connection would be re-established and the engine would run fine.

One way to check to see if this could be the type of problem you are having would be to completely bipass the normal ignition circuit, I guess by running a wire from the + battery terminal to the small red wire on the MSD box. You would probably also have to leave the key in the normal "run" position to make your other stuff work. Maybe some of the other guys that know more about the electrical and electronic stuff can tell you exactly how to do this.

Wayne

[Silverback51]

The next time it dies, while you are still coasting in gear, pump the throttle a couple times to see if it fires back up. If so, the electrical is good, and you are running out of fuel.

[Greg Haile]

Wayne,

I'm hoping it's not a dash gremlin. Thanks for your input. The heat factor doesn't make sense to me because the car cranks up seconds after the failure occurs and acts completely normal. And like you said if heat were causing the problem it would take a few minutes to cool before starting again.

I get the feeling this will not be an easy one.
Greg

[Greg Haile]

Silverback

Good one. I'll try it and let you know.

Greg

[dawger]

Greg-

Someone mentioned checking the ignition switch as well. I had a very similar issue in my 69 Mustang. The car would shut off as if someone turned the key off, then it would start back up as fast as you could turn the key to off and back on, sometimes just turning it to start would fire it back up, sometimes depending on temperature it might take a few minutes to restart. Come to find out after frustration set in, the contacts on the back of the switch were loose and causing bad current exchanges getting hot and sutting the car off. Might want to investigate there as well.

Cobra some day
Dawger-