At a loss

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DaveFhlug

At a loss

Post by DaveFhlug »

Well, My 1980 2000, stalls when warm at idle in gear. Car has an automatic transmission. I increased the idle speed and it doesn't help, engine continues to stall. When it is cold and warming up, the engine runs fine and idles good and does not stall. After the engine warms up and the radiator fan comes on the first time, the engine will stall at idle, or when coming to a complete stop. I also noticed that when I depress the brake pedal the engine will stall. So, vacuum leak? A bad thermo-time sensor? Driving me nuts.

Dave
So Cal Mark

Re: At a loss

Post by So Cal Mark »

thermo time switch doesn't work when the engine is hot. If stepping on the brake pedal kills the motor, expect a huge vacuum leak in the booster
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TulsaSpider
Posts: 1547
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:33 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Spyder 124 2L
Location: Tulsa, Ok

Re: At a loss

Post by TulsaSpider »

Remove the vacuum hose from the booster and plug it. Now what happens?
1978 Spyder 1800 make that 2L! Finally making real progress!
DaveFhlug

Re: At a loss

Post by DaveFhlug »

okay, I disconnected the vacuum boost hose for the brakes, and no change. Also, I disconnected the thermo-time plug while the engine was running and the engine quit. Just to be sure, the thermo-time switch is in the coolant T up front, correct?

Thanks,
Dave
rlux4
Patron 2022
Patron 2022
Posts: 4211
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:32 pm
Your car is a: 1982 2000 Spider
Location: Granite Falls, Wa

Re: At a loss

Post by rlux4 »

No, that's temp sensor for the ECU, THE most critical sensor on our L-Jetronic systems. The thermo/time switch is under the intake manifold, THE most difficult sensor to get to, But luckily it doesn't need replacement often. It only times out a signal to the cold start valve, and then only on cold starts.
Ron
Ron Luxmore
rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
grittracing

Re: At a loss

Post by grittracing »

is it possibable to fix to much? My 1980 fi was doind almost the same as above described so i went out at lunch tonight and bought some new hose.(being the only hose that i have not changed yet. So i replaced it on my lunch hour in the rain. And no it doesnt want to start! May have to change it back to get home till i can fiddle with it in the dry garage and without holding a flash light in my mouth.
DaveFhlug

Re: At a loss

Post by DaveFhlug »

FWIW, The car has a new timing belt and vacuum advance on the distributor. I checked all the vacuum hoses, and have not found any leaks. Did these cars come with an air pump? I do know that the catalytic convertor was removed by the previous owner.

Thanks for the help guys,

Dave
So Cal Mark

Re: At a loss

Post by So Cal Mark »

no air pump on the FI cars
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TulsaSpider
Posts: 1547
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:33 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Spyder 124 2L
Location: Tulsa, Ok

Re: At a loss

Post by TulsaSpider »

If there was no change in the issue then the booster prolly isn't the issue.
1978 Spyder 1800 make that 2L! Finally making real progress!
DaveFhlug

Re: At a loss

Post by DaveFhlug »

Well, I'm going to stop for a day or two and think about what to do next. Sometimes giving the brain a break helps me. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to let me know. I thank everyone's help thus far.

FYI, the car when is stalls, does it abruptly, no sputtering or anything of the sort. When I let it cool off for a few minutes, all is fine until I get down the road and get to the first intersection or really slow turn. Then it cuts out again. UGH!

Dave
chrisfiat
Posts: 141
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:52 pm
Your car is a: 1976 124

Re: At a loss

Post by chrisfiat »

check to see if it looses spark when it stalls
DaveFhlug

Re: At a loss

Post by DaveFhlug »

Okay.

Dave
rlux4
Patron 2022
Patron 2022
Posts: 4211
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:32 pm
Your car is a: 1982 2000 Spider
Location: Granite Falls, Wa

Re: At a loss

Post by rlux4 »

There are a few things that need to be done on a regular basis with our FI cars. Check that the flap in the air flow meter has smooth and free movement through the full range of travel, clean the plenum and the flap (pivot points esp.) and lube the pivot points with a non oil based lubricant. a light touch of graphite lube would work. Clean the inside of the intake plenum and pull the idle speed adjustment screw and clean it and the hole it's in. Carb cleaner works great for this. Make sure the o-ring is in good shape. Check the condition of the air intake boot. I use a flashlight to light the inside of it with the lights off in the garage to check for holes or cracks. Other things to check if there is a problem are common to any car, timing, gap on the ignition pick up, clean air filter, and so forth.
The temperature sensor in the coolant T is the most critical sensor in our system. If it's bad the car won't run. Any other sensor would affect performance or gas mileage, but the car would still run. It works by varying resistance, so it can be checked with a VOM to see if it's resistance is in the ranges it's supposed to be, but a quick and easy way to eliminate it as a suspect is to put a resistor in it's plug that's in the range of 300 ohms, this will tell the ECU that the engine is at normal operating temp, if your symptoms are the same, it's not the temp sensor.
Do you have Brad Artigue's FI section from the maintenance manual? It is a must have.
http://www.artigue.com/fiat/books/Artig ... 124_MM.pdf
Keep us posted on your progress.
Ron
Ron Luxmore
rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
grittracing

Re: At a loss

Post by grittracing »

a friend came over today and we wrenched on my spider for about 2 hours and fixed a lot of little things and i can now say my car runs ! Took it out had plenty of power ,no more stalling at stop lights.i was even able to pass and i think i got it up over 100 mph at time. But the seat belt inforcement is out so i didnt want to push my luck to long.

1st found a wire that was bare in 2 places. The blue wire inside the dissy.

2nd reset timing

3rd idle mixture screw

4th throttle adjustment

Arabella is purrring !

I did get up under the car and had notice the last owner had hacked up the exhaust pipe there is a section loose and another section about 2 ft long that drops down in size than back up. Taking it to a muffler shop this week.
DaveFhlug

Re: At a loss

Post by DaveFhlug »

Okay, last night I replaced the spark plug wires. The car runs better and the stalling is not as prevalent. Next will be cap and rotor and plugs. I also removed the idle screw and cleaned it up. Where can I get a proper replacement coil? The previous owner installed a NAPA coil. It works, but I do not like it. It may be a case of a bunch of a small things causing problems. I am also going to give it an oil change and transmission fluid change. I'll keep you guys posted.

Dave
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