Chevrolet :: 1982 Chevette Dies Intermittently / Gas Is Not Getting Into Carburetor
Mar 28, 2012
I've recently acquired a 1982 Chevette. 4-door manual transmission, gas (not diesel). It's being used for a film, and it's perfect except for one little issue.
The car starts fine (sometimes needs a little starter fluid), and generally drives fine around town. But if you sit and idle for a couple minutes after driving (usually longer than a normal red light), once you start going (usually in 2nd gear), the engine sputters and the car dies. When this happens, the car won't start for 10-15 minutes. The engine turns over but doesn't fire. Starter fluid will get it going, but as soon as it burns that, it dies.
The problem appears to be that gas is not getting into the carburetor. It has a new fuel pump, and we've replace the fuel line and cleaned out the fuel filter. The carb is not stock. It's a Holley that it had when we purchased it. There are a lot of outlets capped off, and I don't know enough to know what might not be hooked up properly.
After the car dies, the fuel pump buzzes as if it's trying to pump fuel, but it doesn't appear to actually be pumping. Normally we just wait it out, but sometimes we kill the battery trying to restart it. We've successfully push-started it a couple of times, but that only works after enough time has passed that it would have probably started up fine anyway (if we hadn't killed the battery trying).
To sum up, if we follow this sequence of events, the problem will always present itself: start up normally (after not having driven for a couple hours), drive a few miles, idle for 2 or more minutes and then continue driving. Once we continue driving, it dies before we get up to speed.
What to do? I only know enough about this to barely describe the problem, but I am not a car guy. I've been learning little by little with this one. We have recently replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, ignition control module, ignition coil, thermostat, o2 sensor and alternator belt. None of this has had a noticeable affect on the problem.
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94 Chevy W-4 wheel-lift wrecker 5.7L TBI4l80e trans
Had a run of about 100 miles round trip on Wednesday. On the way back running at 65 mph on the interstate, got a couple of quick muffler-end back fires and engine died. Coasted to shoulder. Had memory of almost exact same incident last year and it was dead ignition module. Fortunately had a spare (used) module in glovebox. Swapped it out and engine started right up. Remainder of trip didn't quit, but ran very rough, lots of stumbling and getting it up to 60 mph was a struggle. Also when I got on surface roads it died twice when I was sitting stationary. It would restart, BUT only after cycling key; if I just turned to the key to "start" from "on" it would crank but not fire.
Limped it to my tow buddy's shop where I freeload and told him the tale. He said, "throw those old spare modules away and get a new one". Called the local parts house and had them send two, one for installation and one for glovebox. Took for test drive and appeared to be running okay except idle was a bit low. Couple of hours later went on a call and first stop sign I came to, went "blip" and I'm dead in the water again. Same story as earlier, must turn key off and back on to get it to fire. Drove rest of day without incident. Yesterday, no issues all day, drove total of about 120 miles both highway speed and surface. Gassed up this morning and mpg was above average (yay!), actually about .5 above average which is significant improvement (about 6%). Success?
Today died four times while sitting still. Same having to cycle key for it to fire. Did some quicky t/s to satisfy my curiosity about the key cycle thing. With truck running, pulled fuel pump fuse to kill truck. Then reinserted and it started up without having to turn key to off. Tried same thing by pulling one of the module plugs to simulate loss of signal to ignition. Reconnected and again fired up without key cycling.
No codes at any time since this came up.
Swapped out the module since I had bought a spare, no change.
Ohmd the ignition coil and no problems noted. So far, only dies sitting still at idle.
Additional info:
Plug wires, cap, and rotor <1000 miles. Distributor low miles and negligible play in shaft. Pickup coil checks right in middle of ohm range. None of these, of course, should need to have the ignition key cycled to restart if they caused a stall.
Next up will be replacing ignition relay (had to order), but I'm not very optimistic.
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i have a 1982 chevy 1500 4x4 with a 700R4 and it has never give me any problems at all has always shifted firm and smooth goes instantly in to drive and reverse. One day last week i got in and the truck will not shift in to second actually wont come out of first the reverse still works fine and the first is still fine it does not slip or hesitate at all. I pulled the gear cover off and can spin it!
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I have a 1982 Chevy C30 pickup with an ignition problem. When it's really cold out, 15 degrees or colder, it won't start. When I turn the key, it feels like I'm turning a piece of clay. There is NO cranking, clicking or any sound made. The accessories won't work either. The last time this happened, I heated the ignition tumbler with a heat gun and the truck started. It started one time after that. Then on a warm day it started once; then wouldn't restart. I turn the key and nothing. It had to be towed. I wondering if the problem is the ignition tumbler, where I put the key, or the ignition switch, which is located near the bottom of the steering column.
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I just bought a 1982 Chevy c10 305 small block.It had an oil leak so i began putting new valve cover gaskets, and then New Valve Covers(Edelbrock). Because the covers were taller, I had to remove the EGR valve and bend a new fuel line.There was a plate i installed inside the valve cover where the PVC goes into? is this a problem?I noticed the hose from the distributor rotor button(vacuum?) was not connected to anything.I plan on putting a EGR blocker plate, but was told it wasn't needed to run.
So now it starts up but will not stay running idle. Do i need an EGR blocker to run?IS that plate needed inside the Valve Cover?Does the hose from the Distributor rotor need to be connected?
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I've got a 1982 automatic chevy 454 engine with only 46,000 miles on it (in my Winnebago RV). It runs just fine except each time I step on the gas pedal from a stopped position for an instant it sounds like the engine is about to die and then it starts going. Is this a major engine problem or something that requires minor adjustments? I want to sell the RV. If it's going to cost a lot to fix, I'd rather lower the price of the rig.
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I checked the fuel pressure it was good. Replaced the crank sensor behind the starter but that did not solve the problem. Replaced the Ignition control module (its located under the coil packs) and all is well now. The car never threw a code.
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Over the past few months, my 1999 Dodge Durango with 64,000 miles on it and the 5.9 liter engine inexplainably dies when driving. It has happened about 4 times over the past 6 months. I will be driving along and all of the sudden, the car turns off while moving. I have to pull off the road and sit for a few minutes. After a bit, I start the car back up and it runs fine. This has occured when decelerating exiting the freeway, on a residential street while costing along and while accelerating on the freeway.
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I have driven small Toyota 4X4 pickups since 1980 including an '89 for the past 25 years and > 200,000 miles. One day a couple of months ago it would crank but would not start although battery and starter seem fine. I did some basic testing eventually measuring the ignition coil resistance (within published range) and inspecting the distributor cap (looked fine). Upon reassembly, it started right up and ran fine for a few weeks. I hadn't really done anything beside cleaning the rotor and cap contacts, moving around the wiring while in the process.
A few weeks ago I was driving in traffic just a few miles from home and it momentarily lost power twice within a mile. Check engine light was noted the second time. I was busy watching the cars ahead of me the first time. Both times it resumed running on it's own and I continued on. A couple of weeks later it died three times within a few miles from home.
The first two times I was able to pull off out of traffic. Several minutes later, I was able to restart the engine. The third time I was stuck in a turn lane at an intersection, police arrived right away and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where I had purchased it only two miles away. They have been unable to reproduce the problem but believe they have eliminated the fuel filter and fuel pump as the cause. They have driven the vehicle several miles and left it running for an hour and a half with no problems noted. No diagnostic codes were recovered.
They now want me to retrieve the undiagnosed, unrepaired vehicle. We know it will fail again, probably under the worst possible circumstances. In heavy traffic, a multi-vehicle crash with associated injuries or deaths could result. It's like if the vehicle itself doesn't tell them what to do, they don't know how to approach such a problem on their own any more. I'm not in a position to pour unlimited funds into a vehicle I have recently replaced (with a 2014 Tacoma). There must be a logical approach beyond checking the fuel filter and pump but they seem clueless. I can't safely drive the vehicle and won't offer it for sale until the problem is identified and corrected.
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Over the past few months, my 1999 Dodge Durango with 64,000 miles on it and the 5.9 liter engine inexplainably dies when driving. It has happened about 4 times over the past 6 months. I will be driving along and all of the sudden, the car turns off while moving. I have to pull off the road and sit for a few minutes. After a bit, I start the car back up and it runs fine. This has occurred when decelerating exiting the freeway, on a residential street while costing along and while accelerating on the freeway.
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So my jetta is 2001 i believe and idleing like its got major breathing problems, it goes from 700rpms to 1500 in cycles and sometimes dies out all together. I thought it was some kind of vaccum leak and had a few pipes in the engine bay replaced but it didnt fix it. Its also missing a muffler so its really load and annoying, especially when im at inn n out in the drive through lol. Other than that, the car doesn't seem to be running that bad but the check engine light is on as well as the traction light comes on sometimes for no reason.
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My Highlander with only 72K miles has an intermittent problem. I start it and it immediately dies. To get it going, as soon as engines starts I push and hold accelerator at about 1500 rpm for about 3 minutes, then ease off accelerator and generally no problem for the rest of the day. Been to regular mechanic with it twice, but car doesn't do it then. May go several weeks without this happening, then will have a series of these episodes. Not battery. Not throttle body. Mechanic doesn't think it's the type of gas being used.
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Dies while driving down the road and usually will restart with no problems.Seems to happen more often when it gets hot out. IPR/ICP are good.It took a long time to start once also. I'm leaning toward fuel pump but ?
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2000 Dakota, 4.7 V8 ... The 'CHECK GAUGES' light comes on intermittently. As soon as it comes on, the voltmeter gauge drops to zero (it is a brand new battery); the temperature gauge does flip flops; the truck dies right now. Walk home and come back later, and it starts up again. When you get home, you sure don't feel secure in taking it on the road again. The shop checked it and of course there was nothing wrong when they had it Where do I start the troubleshoot? Is it computer or?
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We have a 2003 Grand Prix. For the last few years it has this intermittent problem. Sometimes it just won't start and occasionally it will die while stopped at an intersection. I did some digging online and found out what the likely culprit is, but do not know how to fix it. I already spent a lot of money for a mechanic to claim he fixed it, but didn't.
According to online sources [URL] .... the security system TDM is at fault. It stops recognizing the VATS transponder in the key and thinks the car is being stolen. So, it cuts the connection to the engine. Clearly a dangerous situation if you are driving. My 17 yo daughter recently got stuck in a very busy intersection.
The temporary fix is to turn the key to the on position without turning the engine, wait 10 minutes then try starting the car. This is supposed to reset the security system. Now this is starting to not work. Someone suggested bypassing or modulating the TDM signal by adding in a resistor. I really don't feel equipped to do this though. Another solution is to buy a bypass module.
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About 15x now over the last year, I get in the car, press the brake, the green light comes on and half way through the start-up, the car locks up. Dead, nothing. The brake feels stiff, the key fob will not open the trunk, nor will it lock or unlock the doors, no more green or orange light on the start button. Completely dead.
The last time I opened the door, closed it again and everything reset. It came back "alive", the navigation system rebooted, the air was off and my clock had been reset.
Some days this happens in a matter of a minute or two and other days it takes ten min. Why? Is it a faulty ground? Not sure why it would automatically reset on its own.
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In the Car Talk column on 1/3/2016, it sounds like Lynnette's 1991 Honda Civic wagon was experiencing very similar symptoms to my wife's 2001 Honda Odyssey (189,000 mi) a few months ago. Rough idle, engine almost dies sometimes at stops, groans during acceleration. Additionally, accelerating between 40-60 mph our Honda would feel like it was "loading up," running rich or in the wrong gear climbing hills. I replaced the idle air control valve, which fixed the rough idle but not the other symptoms. Turned out I needed to reset (power cycle) the ECM and go through a curb idle/rev warm-up procedure so it would relearn the throttle position sensor's operating range after replacing the IAC valve. I disconnected the battery, removed and reinserted the hazard fuse, then reconnected the battery. Then from a cold start held the throttle at 3000 rpm until the engine warmed up to normal or the electric fans kicked on. Since then it's back to smooth, strong acceleration we expect from the Honda we love.
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My car (Nissan 1998) runs normally for miles. Then sometimes it just starts lurching while in motion when the gas is depressed and looses speed, as if not getting fuel. Previous times it dies after this. The last time I was on the highway going 70 and I pulled over before it lost power and died completely. Just had new brakes installed, new distributor, all new belts, and an oil leak fixed by a mechanic.
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My car dies when I come to a stop unless I gently press on the gas pedal while holding done the brake. What can cause this?
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I have 2010 F150 King Ranch 5.4L. This truck has been giving us problems by just dying. We have haf it towed twice in two days. It does it more often when hooked up to our travel trailer. The day before yesterday we drove it 250 miles w/o the camper with no problems. Once it dies it can take an hoir or so before it starts. I just did a test and had the truck.running for a bit and then plugged the trailer wiring harness (7 pin with brake control) and truck died within a minute. A couple of times it showed that there codes. The codes were P0201 thri P208. Which is open circuit to that specific injector. When the key is turned off the codes go away.
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Car basics: 1992 Chevrolet S104 cylinder2.5 L
Have in the last 4 months replaced :
(1)fuel filter
(2)fuel pump and spark plugs
(3)EGR Valve
(4) Vacuum lines (possible vacuum leak)
Problem: Car will turn off while driving, sometimes after a service engine light comes on. Usually at 40-65 mph, car will shut off with electricity still working. When I attempt to start the car afterward it will turn over, but will not catch. Have had to be towed twice, other times, we waiting we it out, came back later and it started up just fine.
Attempts to solve: Various points I've brought it into a AAA shop, and they were unable to figure it out without the check engine light on (pre-1996). I finally did get the codes read, and they were for the EGR Valve, and the MAP sensor. EGR replaced, test on MAP sensor showed no problems afterwards. codes were cleared.
Yesterday: Last night the car turned off randomly on me again, and had to get towed home, today it took a few tries, but then the car started up just fine. Took it to the shop, they reattached a loose wire from the spark plugs, and are asking me to replace the (1)wiring, (2) coils, and (3) rotor head but without the check engine light on this morning, they are not 100% sure where the problem exists. The car sometimes runs fine, but since I am going to be working pretty far from home, I need reliable transportation. Everything else is in great shape on my little pickup, but this has been racking my head for a bit.
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