Car died on FWY

edgemar · 12-29-2005, 10:24 AM

I was driving back from San Diego last night to LA when my car basically turned off while I was driving about 60 miles of brisk open driving on the freeway at 10:30pm. It was like someone turned the key off it just died...it didn't sputter or anything. I got to the side of the fwy and tried to start the car it kicked to life for a second or two and then died.

This has never happened to me but this is the first time I've driven this long a distance since owning the car. There were no problems going to SD a few days earlier in traffic. I called a tow truck and the CHP showed up. They said to give the car another try and they would follow me off the fwy. I got back in after it had been sitting there for 10-15 minutes and it started. I got it off the fwy and was driving around Irvine and it died...i waited another 5-10 minutes and it fired up again. I decided to take PCH back up to LA and it died once again in Hermosa Beach and started five minutes later.

My thought is that my CDI box overheated b/c I was driving over 3k rpm for 50 minutes of sustained driving. Here is a pic of the box:

On short fwy trips and around town the car has been great. Once or twice it did not start easily after sitting a short while after driving it. The only electrical work I have done was to wire the fan for a carrera cooler install per waynes instructions in his book and it seems to work fine.

Please give me your opinions I want to be able to trust my Porsche on Trips.

Thx!

dan79brooklyn · 12-29-2005, 10:47 AM

My '79 used to die (happened 3-4 times) on me when I hit large bumps. I cleaned and reinstalled the fuel pump relay and gently pried open the pins to give it a more snug fit. Hasn't happened again since I did this in the last six months of driving.
This was the first thing I learned to check on my car (Thanks Pelicans) and was the culprit in my situation. Your problem seems a little different from mine as my car would usually start back up after cranking a few times...
Good luck.
Dan

bigrubberjeep · 12-29-2005, 11:02 AM

edjemar - It's interesting to hear 2 very similar incidents (yours and mine), unfortunetly we have two different systems in our cars so the reason is probably different. Because of this I cant really help you.

Most Pleicans have suggested for me to replace my DME relay, I will be doing that as soon as my wrench sells me one when he gets back from vacation (Jan3rd).

(if any locals want to sell me one, that would be apreciated)

Anyhow, sorry for abusing your thread, either way good luck on figureing out what it might be.

ael911 · 12-29-2005, 11:12 AM

The same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago when I was going to San Diego. She died on the freeway while I was cruising at 70. Just like someone turned the key off. No spark could be found and I later found out the bosch coil died.

I also have had water in the fuel tank after washing her in my driveway. She would run normal and cut off suddenly. If I waited for a while she would start and run for a minute then cut off. A few bottles of ISO Heet took care of that problem.

My advice is to check all the ignition parts first (CD box, cap, rotor, wires, coil).

Good luck

edgemar · 12-29-2005, 11:44 AM

ael-

I'll check all connections today.

Craig 930 RS · 12-29-2005, 11:45 AM

Possibly a Perma-Tune died? Now is that a surprise...
Perform a Search, read 'em and weep.

edgemar · 12-29-2005, 01:02 PM

I called them and they of course said that is was most likely something else...."there is probably something wrong with something feeding the box."

I can't think of anything else that would instantly kill the engine while driving for over an hour on the freeway and then start right back up like nothing has ever happened after a few minutes.

I did a search on the Permatune and there seems to be people that are OK with them such as John Walker while others think they aren't all that great.

Craig 930 RS · 12-29-2005, 01:12 PM

There have been quite a number of PermaTune issues posted on this board - both with the actual product and with the customer service. That said, I can't remotely diagnose your car.

I would suspect the ignition circuit, and I'd think the box would be suspect number 1. But maybe I don't have a clue.

Good luck, these intermittent problems can be a PITA to figure out -

Graham Archer · 12-29-2005, 01:37 PM

When was the last time you replaced your fuel filter? A clogged filter can give the same symptoms.

steviee7 · steviee7's Garage

THE same exact thing happened to me 2 weeks ago. It turned out to be my alternator. 2oo bucks later and all is fine.
My car died and I as I waited for the tow truck I decided to try again and sure enough it started and ran for about 3 minutes then slowly died,

If you can start your car again take a volt measurment at your battery. It should be at least 14v.

Early_S_Man · 12-29-2005, 02:33 PM

That is a pic of an older, '80s vintage blue Permatune ... which do not have the 'issues' of the current production clear anodized [silver] Permatune units!

I do not believe it overheated ... but I would suggest cleaning and checking the electrical connections at the 6-pin connector very, very thoroughly!!!

bkreigsr · 12-29-2005, 02:40 PM

one of our members '84 died on the Tappan Zee bridge on the way to lime rock. our local tuner was following & replaced one of the fuses on the front fuse panel, and he was on his way. fuel problems would show themselves gradually.
good luck
Bill K

FrayAdjacent911 · 12-29-2005, 02:53 PM

Well, there's definitely a list of things to start checking! This will probably be an adventure in troubleshooting for you.

I'd start by checking the fuel filter, and replacing it if it's old. Check the fuses... make sure there is no corrosion on them, and make sure none show any signs of stress... if they do, replace them. Check the voltage at the battery with the car at idle.

Just some steps to start out...

youngkang · youngkang's Garage

Exact same thing happened to me couple of years ago while driving up from SF to Seattle, driving for awhile and dang thing just dies and have to wait awhile for it to starts again and to die again after few miles. BTW, it didn't die slowly, engine cuts off like someone turned ignition off.
Don't go around chasing this and that. It's your Perma-tune (CD). I since than replaced it with MSD and never have that problem again.

vash · vash's Garage

never say never. i am currently waiting for my MSD to come back from repairs.

good luck edge. if i can test my MSD, you have to be able to test that permatune. cant you fake it out, and make it spark? is it getting power? is it turning on?

edgemar · 12-29-2005, 03:22 PM

I'll take a look at the connector to the box. It seems if there iscorrosion in there it would happen more often. I've been driving the car to work for the past few weeks 15-20 miles without one problem. It just seemed to pop up on this 125 mile trip...it seems to me it would be the consistent high rpms/heat.

Is the consensus to go with a MSD vs. a Used Bosch unit?

youngkang · youngkang's Garage

At least it's cheaper than Perma-tune, which I was quoted more than $1k.

DavidI · 03:51 PM

Edge, I will throw my .02$ in....It would seem to be an electical problem if it died suddenly. Had it sputtered first, then died, I would suspect a fuel problem. Check and clean all related areas such as the fuse block, red relay, and connections on the fuel pump itself. It is free and I bet it solves your problem, unless of course it is the Permatune.

You may want to research some of the threads put out by SammyG, Grady Clay, JW, or Loren. They are outstanding resources for problems such as yours.

Good luck, David

cab83_750 · 12-29-2005, 10:34 PM

2 months ago, I was in a hurry to pickup my daughter and while accelerating, the car just died.....exactly similar to yours.

It was my fuel pump! It was a 30-minute job.

Hope yours is simpler. Good luck!

edgemar · 12-29-2005, 10:43 PM

cab-

Did your car die and then start up after a few minutes? was there any sputtering or was it like you just turned off the ignition key.

Also, Does anyone know a good way to check spark on the engine?

BTW I took a look at the engine and everything seem to be clean no corrosion on any connectors...with the engine running i took a long screwdriver and moved the wires around a bit without a problem. There was a little muck on the coil but it seemed to be from the engine and not the coil. I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

Thx All!