CIS MAJOR headache

[keithdog72]

Having a little trouble adjusting my CIS. I know very little about this particular setup, but I am learning alot from this board. Maybe someone has BTDT. I'm not sure what else to check, I have spark and fuel. I cant seem to keep the car running any longer than 30-45 secs before it craps out on me. I had the engine out for a new clutch and replaced only the cold start valve because I thought that was the culprit of my hard start problems. Guess I was wrong because I can't even get this thing to idle long enough to set the timing. could it be that the fuel pressure is too low? Any input is appreciated. Maybe someone in my area could give me a hand?

[catuck]

Have you checked your points?

[keithdog72]

yes, they have been gapped and re gapped

[vash]

my car did this. actually my CIS has done everything! yank an easy fuel injector. it isnt that hard with the $7 dollar tool that hooks it. then get your FP to pump and push up on the air sensor bar in the airbox. spray the injector into a bottle. you should be getting a frightfully hard spray. like a continuous spray from a spray bottle. hard and misty spray. my car did just that, it would start for a bit, and then nothing. putter and die. turned out that my fuel pump wouldnt maintain enough pressure. i only got an anemic dribble from the injector. at first i thought that was how it sprayed, but once i changed the FP, the spray was entirely different. hard and misty, and i got alot of fuel mist floating out or the can! i think my FP gave up after i changed my filter and accumulator. sucking air during the purging/bleeding session killed it. maybe you did the same thing on your engine drop.

[keithdog72]

could be a possibility. Not exactly what I wanted to hear(tight budget and all), but it does sound logical. I will try pulling the injector. Thanks

[vash]

it is free to check.

[konish]

Keith,
As unfixed said...could be a FP problem. Cold start valves really only help to fire the car, but many replace this as a culprit in a hard cold start environment. If the engine cranks and fires, it isn't the cold start valve. Also, hate to be a jerk on this, but did you do a search for CIS related issues on this BBS? I only say that because there is a WEALTH of BTDT problem solving. Did you check you cold control pressure and system pressure? I'm guessing FP too...especially if you see a very low control pressure...


R/Dustin

[keithdog72]

yes, I did a search. Unfortunately, couldn't find this exact problem or the solution. it seems that I am ALWAYS searching this board. If only my boss knew

[Dr. No]

My fuel pump would not pump, although that was the least of my CIS rebuild problems. It would just sit there and whir. I poured a few ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil in it (it was at hand), let it sit there a few minutes and turned it on again. It showed me how much pressure it can generate when it works--it shot MMM into the neighbor's yard. True story.

I agree--looking to see if the injectors inject when you push up on the pressure plate from inside the air box (and don't inject when you don't push) with the key turned to "on" is the next step, and easier than hooking up a fuel pressure gauge. Be prepared to aerosolized gasoline, no spark sources. If they don't inject it's probably the pump, if they don't stop, the fuel distributor (look at CIS injectors injecting continuously).

[vash]

dr no! aerosolize! that is a good word, that describes it perfectly! i cant believe i used "hard and misty". boy is my face red! good luck!

[keithdog72]

ok guys, pulled an injector got a good hard spray. it was aerosolized what else you got. just readjusted points again to no avail. i feel like i am overlooking something small

[Sunroof]

Keith.
If your neat the I-75 corridor you may want to consider talking to Ryland Mills at Ryland's very close to Dobbins AFB (2002 Airport Industrial Park Dr) - 770/951-9305. Ryland's a decent guy who has alot of expertise and may suggest some things over the phone to try.

My 73.5 has had the usual CIS issues, but over the years its just about all replaced down to the airbox. Its a puzzle as to what it could be if you really have spark and fuel. Your CIS has the thermotime switch and that is one area I would research. Have you looked at the CIS trouble shooting chart as well in the tech-articles?

As an Atlanta P-car owner for many years, a good number of the mechanics (Ryland, Bob Sanderson-Performance Imports, George Hussey-Automobile Atlanta, Jack Lewis-Jack Lewis Enterprises, Reggie Cumming-Proformance Place, Franz Blam, Beal Hardy-Checkpoint Auto, etc,) may give you an opinion on the phone most of the time.

Wish I could add more............

Bob
73.5T

[yelcab1]

Originally posted by unfixed
dr no! aerosolize! that is a good word, that describes it perfectly! i cant believe i used "hard and misty". boy is my face red! good luck!

To us carburetor drivers, the term is "atomized gasoline."

[Jason 74 911]

My 74 did the same thing. Upon initial testing it appeard to have spark. After a couple of hours of troubleshooting, I decided to bypass the CDS and hooked up a Bosch blue coil from a VW bug. She fired right up. Bought a CDS system off ebay for under $50 and it works great.

Hope this helps.

Jason

[joecrum]

Idle set to low?

[Jim Sims]

If the car starts and runs for 30 to 45 seconds it likely has nothing to do with the cold start valve, thermotime switch, etc. These items are out of the picture as soon as you stop running the starter; ie they only operate through the starter circuit. I also doubt the ignition is at fault unless the timing is way off - have you static timed the car? Did you disturb the distributor? This sounds more like a bad air leak somewhere. Has your system experienced a bad backfire lately? What is the condition of the airbox? Exactly what did you take apart while you had engine out and were working on the CIS system? Is everything hooked back up? Jim

[keithdog72]

Well, I love my car again. Came out this morning and reset my static timing, then regapped points (double checked with dwell meter). Tried to start.....still nothing. Checked for spark, good. I then decided to play with the mixture control. After making it a little more rich, she fired right up. I suppose my car is just very tempermental. I would just like to thank everyone for their input. Without this kind of support, I would always be frustrated.

PS. Hey Jim, what took you so long?

[Jim Sims]

You still may have an air leak if it ran before and you had to change the mixture to get it to run now. Been very busy at work. Jim

[keithdog72]

I will be checking for air leaks first thing in the morning, maybe I will even take this thing to Hershey. Don't know for sure. Thanks again to everyone for your input, I will post results here. Where are the most common air leaks, I have already checked the air box. Any other common areas for "leakage" ?

Jim: you let work get in the way of helping all of us with our problems??