Spider slowed and died on long trip.. help.

[radionovember]

Hey guys...

I have an 82 Spider 2000 FI. I was driving it home to NC from Nashville this past weekend to see the family for Thanksgiving and about 3 hours into the trip, the car just slowed and died. I was pulling up beside a truck at 65, hitting the gas when it just started slowing down. I shifted down and it was catching so I'm thinking its not a trans or clutch thing, but it's as if it wasnt getting fuel. I pulled off and checked my gauges and levels on fluids and everything seemed good. Tried it again and it seemed to have gotten better for about 1 exit but then totally slowed and died again.

Towed it to a shop since i had no tools and changed the fuel filter and pump. it has 35 psi on fuel pressure so that seems good. Got back out on the interstate and made it about 10 minutes before it slowed and this time just completely died. I have power and it acts like it wants to turn over but wont now. Can anyone give me some ideas as to where I should look now? I feel kinda lost here...

Some extra info: Just did a full tune up and replaced the Aux Air Valve to fix a idle problem days before. The duel relay went through a period where it was clicking really fast under the dash for a while. adjusted the idle and throttle position sensor to fix it but i'm not sure if all that clicking would've messed anything up.

Thank you guys for any help you can give me here...

[wikkid]

Air leak? How are your vacuum hoses? Have you recently taken off and inspected the big intake hose? Maybe something opened up in the AAV hoses when you replaced that - was that the only work you recently did?

[grittracing]

I would start with the hoses, I don't know these cars like most of you. but I have had electrical issues on Harleys ( i run a bike shop and a Harley drag race team)that mirror that. when they get hot they shut down till they cool down than reset. I have had relays, cracked coils,loose wires,and even a vacuum hose laying on the coil on a f-150 truck do that.that one had me scratching my head. I would drive it for a few days just be driving along and it would just slow down and die.get it towed home work on it thank i had it fixed drive it for a few more days it would do the same thing, than the tow bills stated getting up to more than it would have cost to put it in a shop. so I took it in to a electrical shop. they scratched their heads for 3 days than called me down and told me your not going to believe this! he popped the hood truck running, he laid the vacuum from the brake booster on the top of the coil the truck died in just a few min. zip tied it back up out of the way the I drove the truck for 3 years more before the 8 mpg it got and the almost $4.00 per gallon got to much.so i say the air leak sounds better since you where just moving things around.please post when you find the issue. hope it didn't spoil your turkey day to much.

[radionovember]

You guys are incredible for getting back to me so quickly... even on Thanksgiving.
This thing has had me pretty stressed because this is my only car and this week has become REALLY expensive. The last time is shut down I had it towed back to the shop I had it at and he wont be back till Monday. Ill either have grab the car and check the hoses in a parking lot or have him do it but thats definitely the first thing Ill do now. Ill make sure to let you know as soon as I figure this out. Thanks again!

[lanciahf]

Check the inside of the fuel tank if its rusty inside you could be destroying the fuel pumps. To check the tank remove the fuel tank sending unit in the trunk.

Also to check if your fuel pump works perform the following steps. Turn the ignition key to "on" and move the flap in the Air flow meter. You will probably have to remove the AFM from the air filter housing to do this. You should hear the pump run.

Online shop manual & parts diagrams at http://www.njfiats.org/joomla15/index.php

Could also be your ignition module, does the car restart if its had enough time to cool off?

[radionovember]

Maybe something opened up in the AAV hoses when you replaced that - was that the only work you recently did?

i also replaced the master cylinder when i replaced that AAV. before that, I just had the idle adjusted because it was idling at around 200 when it was cold and i would have to sit with it, foot on gas, till it warmed up. otherwise, dist cap and rotor, vacuum advance, plugs and wires, oxygen sensor, air filter... i had done the fuel filter too but ended up doing it again along with the pump on tuesday.

thats all i can think of right now.

[radionovember]

Check the inside of the fuel tank if its rusty inside you could be destroying the fuel pumps.

Could also be your ignition module, does the car restart if its had enough time to cool off?

i thought about the tank possibly having something in it, but i've been driving it for 4 or 5 months with no issues and i'd just driven 3 hours without any problems so i was trying to save draining that tank again as a last resort. i just assumed i'd of seen problems before now if that were the case but i could be totally off on that. i'll definitely look into that after checking these hoses though.

the car has restarted after cooling off but would the ignition module make the car slow and die while driving?

[jimincalif]

When my rusted tank killed the fuel pump, it would not run until I took the pump off and cleaned it out, so that may not be your problem. It easy to inspect the tank without draining. Just remove the sender unit on the top of the tank and look inside with a flashlight.

[So Cal Mark]

have you tried loosening the gas cap when it loses power? It may be pulling a vacuum in the tank

[wikkid]

It may be pulling a vacuum in the tank

That would really suck.











OK, I'll sit in the back now and just be quiet.

[radionovember]

have you tried loosening the gas cap when it loses power? It may be pulling a vacuum in the tank

I hadnt even thought of loosening the gas cap but ill try it. I wont be able to get to the car again till Monday but ill take a look at that.
I was just thinking, I drove for 3 hours perfectly, stopped for gas, drove 2 exits and it shut down. pulled off, waited a bit, drove 2 exits, and it shut down again. towed it to a shop, changed the fuel pump and filter, drove it 2 exits and it shut down again.
Could I have left the gas cap off or something and that caused a problem? Is there anything there in the stopping for gas right before the problem? Recently the duel relay under the dash went through a period of clicking on and off like crazy, but I havent installed a new one yet... although I do have one. I wondered if maybe that relay could have gotten worn out or locked up and caused a problem?

Ahhhh well... I guess it's all speculation till I can get back to Knoxville and look at it on Monday.

[wikkid]

It could also be related to your relays. The dual relay sends power to your fuel pump, when it receives the signal from the ignition switch (run or start positions), and from the air flow meter, when intake air is flowing through it. If you can test power on the green and black wire coming from the dual relay, you should have a steady 12V on that lead to power the pump (either when cranking the engine, or with ignition in run position and the air flap in the AFM held open). Thanks to Ron (rlux4) for that test method suggestion.

[jsab]

Perhaps you bought a tank full of water...

[radionovember]

looks like in the end, it was all about the timing. somehow, the distributor timing went way out of whack and i basically just needed to get that adjusted and it was back to the way it should be. thanks for all the help, guys!