doing 70mph...hit a bump...car died...now what?

smalltown718 · 06-16-2011, 11:50 AM

i was driving into work this morning doing 70mph on the highway(fdr drive in nyc) when i hit a nasty bump in the road. the car immediately died. as i was now costing in neutral, i tried to restart the car while in motion but it was only cranking but didnt want to turn over. since i was doing 70, i was able to safely coast to the next exit and pull over. i checked to make sure my battery cables didnt bump off and they were good. i called AAA and had it flat bedded to my mechanic. it was a pretty nasty bump and i hit it on the drivers side. any ideas? my mechanic wont be able to get to it for a couple of days, just wondering what i should be in store for $ wise.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

What car do you have?

It will help a lot if you mention what year and model of car you have.

Eddyvdw · Eddyvdw's Garage

What model year is the car?

If it's an early/mid year model my guess would be fuel pump.

Ed

dipso · 06-16-2011, 11:59 AM

I doubt something broke, but I would just check all the connections. Maybe a spade connector came off of the distributor or the fuel pump or something. Check them all.
Also one of the fuses may of knocked out. Those old style fuses and their holders don't look to sturdy.
Check the ones in the back too.
Check the points. Maybe the connector got knocked off that.

na2ub · 06-16-2011, 12:09 PM

I will place my bet on a fuse. I will even double down and say it is the big red circular fuel pump fuse in the front trunk. They have a tendency to wiggle out. Mine currently has a piece of tape over it. The proper fix is to pull it out and bend the prongs slightly outward so that it has a mechanical grip when reinserted. If you have a spare moment, go over to the mechanics, pop the fuse back in, and drive home.

. Just make sure to fix it or tape it, as it will happen again (ask me how I know).

dshepp806 · dshepp806's Garage

,..will be connection-related, for sure (well,...high probability!) Those fuses can do exactly as Doug mentioned.

Curious to see what this will cost?

Best!

Doyle

b rock · b rock's Garage

I agree check big red circular fuel pump relay. Same thing happened to me on BQE.

smalltown718 · 06-16-2011, 12:22 PM

its a 79sc...ill check the big red fuse asap

na2ub · 06-16-2011, 12:25 PM

Just in case that is not it (which I bet it is) check all the fuses and relays in the front trunk, and in the engine compartment (on the left side). Good luck!

210bhp · 06-16-2011, 01:14 PM

Same thing happened to me and it was the ignition switch contacts that fell apart inside the switch as I hit the bump in the road.

Regards
Mike

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Agree with checking the fuses and relays in the front trunk, for starters. I had intermittent electrical issues. Turned out the plastic 10-fuse block that held the fuses had cracked and wasn't holding reliable tension across the fuses.

(It's not supposed to be split like that.)

dshepp806 · dshepp806's Garage

WOW! MAJOR FAIL there!!!!!

Doyle

autobonrun · autobonrun's Garage

Fuel pump relay came loose is my guess. I sometimes remove mine as a security measure when parking for long periods. Cranks but no go.

dhrcr911s · dhrcr911s's Garage

Fuel pump fail - electircal or otherwise - if a fairly late model car...
If a carb car, this wouldn't stop the engine from running suddenly..

Electrical connector on the dizzy to the points - if a fairly early carb'd car.

NOLAsc · NOLAsc's Garage

I'm betting it's simply the fuel pump fuse. Check to see if the wire on the top and/or the top side of the connector is fried.

RSBob · RSBob's Garage

The same thing happened to me. Check under the dash that all your connector plugs are still plugged together. It was a 10 second fix - towing $120.

Mr9146 · 06-16-2011, 09:08 PM

Look at the CD box plug.

sc_rufctr · 06-16-2011, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by autobonrun

Fuel pump relay came loose is my guess. I sometimes remove mine as a security measure when parking for long periods. Cranks but no go.

That happened to me after I serviced my car. I removed each relay, cleaned the contacts and reinserted them.
Then on the test drive the car just stopped... I checked the relay and the fuel pump one had dropped out of its socket. Plugged back in and all was good.

When I got it home I removed the relay again and opened up the splits a little bit at the end of the prongs and reinserted.
It has never been a problem since and that was 8 years ago.

beamonk · 06-17-2011, 05:32 AM

I had that happen once< the CD plug was loose and it burned out the hall effect coil in the Dizzy. Took a bit to figure that one out. I think the relay though.

skime219 · skime219's Garage

Having similar issues. '79 911SC Targa.
Checked and replaced fuel pump fuse, unplugged and check red relay.
Still a no go. Ideas??

also have thread that has car make and back fire in subject.