HELP - Stalls as if someone turned the key off...
 

ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM? Symptom - When I start the car it kicks in as I rev it then cuts out as if the key was turned off or the gas just stops flowing. This has gotten progressivly worse. It started happening over the weekend and by the end of the weekend the thing was cutting out while driving. The tach drops to zero, the radio cuts out but does not reset presets, and the lights stay on. When I try to restart the car it cranks up but cuts out if I stop cranking (IE, ease up on the key). Eventually it will keep running but I've gotten very close to killing the battery from cranking it, not to mention the new starter won't last long cranking for 20 seconds at a time. The car has a fresh 2056 with original 1.7L FI, new plugs, new distributor cap/wires, new points & condensor. I'm planning on taking the car into a shop this weekend but would like to know a little something about the diagnosis beforehand.

check the ignition key it might be worn out

check the relays under the dash and the relay borad

sense the radio goes out i would check the key and under dash relays first

Check the head temperature sensor, it may have a loose connection. Check ALL your grounds as well.

Ignition switch, or part of the circuitry that "feeds" power to it.

--DD

Dave will correct me if I am off base, but I think the 1.7s have D-Jet? If so and if you mean "as I rev it" that you are pressing the throttle or pumping the throttle to get it to start and stay running, then the trigger points are bad and you are firing the injectors with the throttle switch? Also sounds like a 1.7 FI system might just be too small for a 2056 sized engine and it is going crazy from running way to lean?

Check the positive battery terminal, the connection where the smaller guage wires attach to the cable/terminal. I have had some very mysterious experiences when that connection looked solid but was not. Take it apart, clean, reattach.

My vote is for the ig switch. I bet its breaking contact some how.

Thanks for the help so far. Would a good test be to run a wire directly from battery pos to the coil pos?

Pete-
"Hot wiring" is a good way to isolate problems.
Also, take all the other keys off your key chain, leave only the car key in the ignition.
(I've taken to leaving the key in all the time, who would steal this thing anyway, nobody around here even knows what it is)

Karl P.

Does the '76 have a seat belt relay? I know this can stop all electrical activity to the engine?

I removed the relay and connected the two fat yellow wire.

Just a thought.:D

I say check the ignition switch. If you haven't messed with it before this is the white nylon plastic portion of the switch assembly in the steering column behind the metal key cylinder. I've had them fail twice in the life of my car. The first time it went to total failure and took me forever to diagnose (on my own in the pre-internet days!). The second time I recognized the reason after the initial failure signals started. This is actually a VW family part and is not too expensive. I now keep a spare in my parts box.

The symptoms I experienced were that the engine would crank and start with the turn of the key, but occassionally stop after the key was released. This would get worse until the engine would always stop after key release and eventually not crank at all.

Mike

The seatbelt interlock relay only affected the yellow wire to the starter. Once the car was running, it didn't have any real effect.

--DD

Thx for the help, closing this one out - I ran a wire directly from the battery pos to the coil pos as to override the ignition and things were fine. This leads me to believe the ignition is poopie (technical term). So, now I replace the ignition... pt

Before you replace ignition, be sure to check the connections of the smaller gauge wires as I suggested earlier. The ignition gets its juice from there. Your "hot wire" may have made a good connection while the regular wires are not. If you have disconnected and cleaned the connection, then go to the ignition. As I said before, mine looked and felt fine. I took it apart anyway, cleaned, replaced a terminal and solved my problem.

CURED! Ignition switch. A measly $16 part was causing all that trouble... Followed the tech article and voila! Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions.