cis hell
 

I just had the same problem on my 82 sc. replacing the fuel distributor fixed it.
We had one other indication, when the ignition was switched off fuel pressure @ the distributor dropped to 0 within a few seconds even after changing the accumulator

I guess I can correlate the outside temp, in the morning it was a pain, easily 10 minutes trying and trying to start the car, once the engine was warmer it was better, then the mixture was adjusted and the car was running almost perfectly for the rest of the day then next morning it was the same story... I waited like 4 days having the same issues over and over...

My mechanic found the problem, replaced the boot and reset the mixture and I have to say the car has been running like never before, cold or warm...

Bye
-J

Thank You Tom
 

I too thought I was in CIS hell, and had been reading up on where to begin. I've checked for vacuum leaks, adjusted the idle, etc.

After changing the fuse - no irregular idle. Who would have though it was that simple. Tom - thanks for the heads-up.

Dustin

Should we CIS people just plan on changing to EFI via Tony's EFI conversion... or should we expect these kind of hair pulling episode with that setup also?

UPDATE Problem Solved
 

I finally solved the problem.

The ultimate cause of the problem:

O-ring on the fuel pressure valve in the fuel distributor had split - it split into two seperate O-rings and letting fuel pass between the two halves.

Thanks again for all the input.

AFJuvat

It will be interesting to see how reliable the EFI systems are after they've cooked in an engine compartment for 30 years and if one can get EFI repair parts in the year 2034.;) Jim

that makes sense. CIS, as beotchy as it can get, is DIY repairable now. EFI in the future will be a black art.

Just to shed some light on some of those that may be wondering why did changing a fuse that controls the dome light fixed "DustinJ's" issue, the dome light fuse is a sign that power is getting to the oxygen sensor relay which powers the ecu (both of these under the passenger seat) in which the ecu passes its workload to the frequency valve and the frequency valve helps with the A/F ratio on the Fuel Distributor.

i had the same prob took off one of the hoses. some dumb ass put a plug inside it the plug got loose and made idle change

My $.02
Fuel injectors, bad ignition coil, and the distributor is not advancing.

Swapping the coil is an easy test. The others require some cleanup and testing.

I would also suggest using the O2 sensor and CIS brain again, it is powered by the dome light circuit. Better gas mileage and the CIS does run better when the loop is complete.

Good luck.