Engine intermittently cutting out at speed

[berndtj]

Hi all,

I posted about this a while ago, and I thought the issue was addressed by fixing the fuel pump relay contacts. I guess that was a separate issue.

Anyway, this is now the 2nd time this has happened. I start off for a drive, get onto the freeway (car is prob not fully up to temp yet). Within a few minutes of highway speed, I notice that the car seems to slightly hesitate when I give gas. This condition quickly worsens, and I seem to have trouble keeping up with traffic. I find the next off ramp and pull over. Both times, by the time I'm a bit off the freeway, the condition is seemingly gone. This happened yesterday, and I was able to putter around a little bit, get gas and then re-started a 90 minute drive with seemingly no drama.

Beyond that, the car seems to run great, so I'm a bit stumped.

In reading some posts, I'm suspecting maybe CDI (Bosch)?

I'll also mention this in case folks think it helps/is related. The seatbelt light/buzzer was going off somewhat randomly (once out of the blue, and other times when I close the ashtray or turn on/off the defroster). I pulled the seatbelt relay which "fixed" the problem, but I'm now going to check the alt/voltage regulator as this appears to be a somewhat frequent cause of the seatbelt light issues.

[john walker's workshop]

Is there an over-rev relay in the front trunk, beside the left hood hinge? Unplug it .

[berndtj]

There is, but it appears already unplugged.

[john walker's workshop]

Check the green wire plug at the distributor for deterioration. The plug gets hot and starts to crumble.

[PeteKz]

It sounds to me like fuel starvation. When was the last time you changed the fuel filter?

[myslateblue911]

I concur with John Walkers Workshop about the infamous "green wire" problem. I had similar problems last year however in my case it usually happened when I was accelerating and I had a complete loss of power.... I contacted Bob Ashlock who actually rebuilds the CDI boxes and he recommended I check the green wire and BINGO!! What I was told to do, was get the car up to temperature, and then park it leaving the engine idling and take the green wire which runs directly off of the side of the distributor and wiggle it back and forth. When I did that the car immediately died. The green wire "looked" perfectly fine. I changed the green wire and have no problems since.

[berndtj]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

Check the green wire plug at the distributor for deterioration. The plug gets hot and starts to crumble.

Green wire doesn't look great... I happen to have a new one from when I replaced all the other ignition stuff (plugs/wires/etc). I think I'll start with replacing it and see where we get.

However, in looking at how it's connected to the distributor. How do I remove it?

[berndtj]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

It sounds to me like fuel starvation. When was the last time you changed the fuel filter?

Fuel filter and pump are basically new, done within last 3k miles.

[berndtj]

Also found a picture of a distributor out and see that the wire is held in by a bracket. Looking at it when installed it's not clear that bracket is removable (hence my confusion). So to replace green wire I just pull the distributor, correct?

[PeteKz]

Originally Posted by berndtj

Fuel filter and pump are basically new, done within last 3k miles.

Ok, scratch that off.

[hughc]

Originally Posted by berndtj

Also found a picture of a distributor out and see that the wire is held in by a bracket. Looking at it when installed it's not clear that bracket is removable (hence my confusion). So to replace green wire I just pull the distributor, correct?

Correct.

[berndtj]

I'm now laughing at myself "just pull the distributor". That sucker does not want to move! Well, it'll rotate.

Got all the marks lined up. Is there some trick? The Bentley sure isn't helpful.

[john walker's workshop]

Scribe a mark around the washer under the nut so you can get it back close to where it's timed. Point the rotor to #1 before removing.

[mikedsilva]

Have you tried getting the motor running and idling, and then gently wiggling the green wire to see if you can induce a faiure?

We went through VERY similar symptoms to you last year and it was the green wire.
Here's a video

[berndtj]

All done, thanks y'all! Initial impression is that it does actually seem to run a little better. AFR meter is showing more leaning when off-throttle as it should, but it really hadn't been. Who knows. Anyway, time will tell as to whether the initial issue is now resolved, but regardless I'm quite happy to have this done.

A couple words of advice for any about to do this job:

1. Don't try to remove the distributor from a cold engine. It just doesn't budge. Warm up the engine, and it pulls right out.

2. Buy extra crimp connectors. I had to redo it once, because I didn't leave long enough wires to fit into the FI connector. Glad I got that 5 pack on amazon .