Got car back together after throwout fix, ran for a bit, then died - no start, cranks
06-05-2009, 01:18 PM
#1
Got car back together after throwout fix, ran for a bit, then died - no start, cranks I can't believe this!!! Every time I think I have my car fixed, something else happens. So far this year I have not had it running for more then 2 days straight! 
Anyway, I just got done last night replacing the throwout bearing (had to remove/reinstall the trans to do that). After it was all done I took it for a drive and it ran great. This morning I finished everything up (just had to put the center console/shift boots back in) then went to go for a drive. It started fine and was idling for a bit, then right as I was about to put it in gear and drive away it just died - no drama, no sputtering, just as if I turned the key off.
Any ideas where to look? The car cranks fine, and I can smell fuel, so I'd say it's definitely a spark/ignition problem but I have checked the most obvious things (connectors to the ICM, coil, etc) and I don't see anything wrong. It doesn't sputter or anything, acts like it is getting zero ignition whatsoever. Security light is not on.
Any ideas?
Anyway, I just got done last night replacing the throwout bearing (had to remove/reinstall the trans to do that). After it was all done I took it for a drive and it ran great. This morning I finished everything up (just had to put the center console/shift boots back in) then went to go for a drive. It started fine and was idling for a bit, then right as I was about to put it in gear and drive away it just died - no drama, no sputtering, just as if I turned the key off.
Any ideas where to look? The car cranks fine, and I can smell fuel, so I'd say it's definitely a spark/ignition problem but I have checked the most obvious things (connectors to the ICM, coil, etc) and I don't see anything wrong. It doesn't sputter or anything, acts like it is getting zero ignition whatsoever. Security light is not on.
Any ideas?
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06-12-2009, 08:57 PM
#10
Well it reared its ugly head again tonight, lol. I noticed last weekend while I was doing the cruise from Madison to Racine on the Power Tour that the car would buck for a split second like the ignition was turned off and then came right back on, and it did that only two times the whole ~150 miles of driving I did.
Tonight I was going to take my car to the local cruise night and about a mile from my house the car shut off while I was doing about 40mph... then fired up on its own (since I was still rolling in gear), then turned off, then fired up... it did that a couple of times. Then it died and wouldn't fire up again so I pushed the clutch in and used the starter and it fired again. It ran completely 100% normal, it's just like the ignition is clicking like an on/off switch randomly.
Obviously this is some type of part failure that's about to go all the way OR a loose connection somewhere that is being jostled around just enough to do this.
Has anyone had a faulty ICM or coil behave like this? I have a spare coil/ICM unit I can throw in tomorrow and see what happens. I hate problems like this though, I could replace it and drive for 200 miles and not see a single problem and think I fixed it, and then it could rear its ugly head again. And I hope to hell it's not the opti
Tonight I was going to take my car to the local cruise night and about a mile from my house the car shut off while I was doing about 40mph... then fired up on its own (since I was still rolling in gear), then turned off, then fired up... it did that a couple of times. Then it died and wouldn't fire up again so I pushed the clutch in and used the starter and it fired again. It ran completely 100% normal, it's just like the ignition is clicking like an on/off switch randomly.
Obviously this is some type of part failure that's about to go all the way OR a loose connection somewhere that is being jostled around just enough to do this.
Has anyone had a faulty ICM or coil behave like this? I have a spare coil/ICM unit I can throw in tomorrow and see what happens. I hate problems like this though, I could replace it and drive for 200 miles and not see a single problem and think I fixed it, and then it could rear its ugly head again. And I hope to hell it's not the opti
06-12-2009, 09:40 PM
#11
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My ICM went on me two times, each time the car just cut off dead and wouldn't start, but if left to cool long enough would kick over as if nothing was wrong. Even though your symptoms are a little different, the ICM is so simple to change I would just swap it out and keep your fingers crossed?
06-13-2009, 04:50 PM
#13
Possibly, but the security light has never come on.
Update:
Hooked up a laptop to the car with Datamaster and checked for DTC codes with key on, engine off - none have been set. Then started the car and started recording to see if I could see anything strange. The car died out while I was watching the laptop - no codes or anything else I could see - it just said "PCM sync lost" or words to that effect in the recording window.
Any other ideas? Kind of stumped now. If the car stops running while recording using Datamaster (let's say hypothetically speaking you forced it off via letting out the clutch in gear and killing it), would it still say it lost sync with the PCM? Maybe I have some kind of issue with the PCM?
Update:
Hooked up a laptop to the car with Datamaster and checked for DTC codes with key on, engine off - none have been set. Then started the car and started recording to see if I could see anything strange. The car died out while I was watching the laptop - no codes or anything else I could see - it just said "PCM sync lost" or words to that effect in the recording window.
Any other ideas? Kind of stumped now. If the car stops running while recording using Datamaster (let's say hypothetically speaking you forced it off via letting out the clutch in gear and killing it), would it still say it lost sync with the PCM? Maybe I have some kind of issue with the PCM?
06-13-2009, 05:31 PM
#14
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Although it sounds like a long shot, your ignition switch might be bad. Mine went bad once and it would jerk and buck while I was driving as it wasn't getting good contact. It's a long shot, but I'd check it.
06-13-2009, 06:21 PM
#15
Another mini-update... Replaced ICM and coil with a known working pair (actually the OEM ~95k mile stuff from another 95 LT1). So far car is idling good, but Datamaster is acting weird. It's constantly pinging the "Data OK" box to a red "Data Err" box, and sometimes the DTC Codes box to the left of that flashes red too. No codes are being set though. Every 30 seconds or so Datamaster says it lost comms with the PCM and retries and this process continues. I don't know if this is related to my problem because so far the car is idling fine. It could be something with the ALDL cable I have (very cheaply constructed) or the crappy laptop that is running Vista 32.
Will update after a few more minutes and a quick test drive...
Will update after a few more minutes and a quick test drive...
