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[Yzzerdd]

Hi all,

I'll give a small intro. My name is Ryan and I just bought my Capri yesterday. White with black top. Pics later. I spent all afternoon yesterday trying out fuel pumps from the guy I was buying the car off of(had a few parts cars) and broke down and got a brand new one. Installed, it ran perfect. So I bought it after getting her to run. Drove 80MPH home, 15 miles. Ran great today, too. Then at autozone, it died. Spent hours on the fuel system, even got another brand new pump(exchange) to no avail. Anyhow, it sat outside for a little bit, and I was given hope when I tried to start it. I could hear the pump working! Yay! I could'nt hear at Autozone(noisy).

Well, then I let it sit for a minute, tried to start again, and she fired up. Drove around the neighborhood fine. I did nothing. I know the cutoff is working dandy, and the only other thing I could think of was the relay under the console. I can see the wires, where is the relay? Anyone have any ideas what the problem might be? I'm not tempted to drive it out of the neighborhood until I can find SOMETHING to replace or fix.

Thanks,

--Ryan
PS I got the car for a cool $900.

[Yzzerdd]

Well I went to start up the car after maybe 30 minutes of it sitting, and she fired right up. Ran great, nice and smooth, then died after 20 seconds of running. No spits, sputters, etc. Just stops like I turned it off. Any ideas? Do these have automatic circuit breakers that turn themselves back on after awhile?

The pump DOES work. While cranking I hear the pump, and after I let off the pump stays on for a moment to keep pressure up. I think its got to do with a relay, breaker, or something else electrical. What do ya'll think? Where should I start?

--Ryan

[Gostlrs]

bad gas?

put some b-12 chemtool in it...give that a try

[icurunnin]

verify that you are getting spark when it does act up and dies. Pull one of the wires and stick a small screwdriver in it and place it some where close to metal for it to arc on.

if your not getting spark it could be a coil going bad (they act up when hot), or the distributor.

[Yzzerdd]

Well I've been looking at it today, and I notice all the plugs and wires look great. Except one. There is a plug where right on the distributer cap, not only is the plug corroded(I cleaned it up some), but the hole in the cap is as well(cleaned as well).

This morning it wouldn't start. It seemed like it was starting great cold, but after a hot restart, it would die. That has been disproven, seems this morning, it would not start. I shot some starting fluid into the intake and she fired up. I'm begining to wonder if this is just a pressure problem. Maybe the fuel pressure isn't what it ought to be. After I started messing with the wires some more, it runs real rough when idling, but in the 1500-3000 range it's perfect. Think new wires will fix that? I did run some seafoam through the oil and gas.

Still, I'm stumped as to what would cause all this. Pressure makes sense, but yesterday I didn't get it to start on starting fluid. No check engine light while running. Just the airbag light, but thats how its been. I'll check for spark next time it dies. Would bad corrosion on just one plug wire indicate a failing distributor?

--Ryan

[Shagdasty]

Hi Ryan.. you may want to pull the back seat there is a plug to the pump that you can check the voltage at or use a test light, be sure to use the ground provided for the pump cause some safety's shut down the ground, if there isn't any power there is a pump bypass plug at the left side on the firewall you put a jumper in it and the pump should come on. If it has sat for a long time check the filter. Here is a couple PDF's that will help... Scott    

http://www.techcapri.com/PDF/Repair/Capri_PCM_Fuel_Delivery_Turbocharger_S09B.pdf

http://www.techcapri.com/PDF/Repair/Capri_SM_Fuel_Tank_Filter_Pump_S10-01.pdf

[Rocketman]

This is sounding like the classic distributor ignitor problem, sporadic spark once warmed up with no rhyme or reason. When the car is not starting, is your tach still jumping?

Try replacing this part, its inside the distributor. Its what picks up the engine engine speed and gives the coil spark signal.

Ebay auction #'s:
130210548442
130311113103
(mitsubishi part, ignitor, #J208)

Other than that it could be corroded plug wires grounding out, especially if its the one from the coil. It'd be a good idea to try replacing them first and getting some new plugs to see how she runs after that.

-Rocketman

[Yzzerdd]

I thought I had the problem fixed. When I bought it, like I think I mentioned, I worked on it first to get it running before I would buy it. Part of that was undoing the air intake to spray in starter fluid. I never clamped it on right, I had it just sitting in there. It was pretty loose, so I thought maybe as I was idling, it was vibrating loose and stalling the car. So I put it back together correctly, and thought I had her going. I drove a few miles and at a light in a parking lot, it stalled. I sprayed some starting fluid in, hooked it up, nothing. I sat for 10 minutes, deciding to try again. Roared to life after a heavy dosing of fluid.

What do ya'll think? Drove home with lights on great. At idle, sometimes I have to apply some gas to get it to 1K RPM(it'll dip down to 600 here and there).

I like the idea about the ignitor, something I've been suspecting. As well as the plug wires. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks,

--Ryan

[Rocketman]

Thats one thing to note about the fuel system on these cars - the intake piping HAS to be connected in order for the fuel pump to run. The pump switch is in the VAF(airflow meter), and will only run the pump when the engine is cranking or running and pulling air through the VAF.

[Yzzerdd]

Yes, well I did reconnect everything. As I was idling at home, I got the check engine light. 1 short blink, 2 long, 5 short. Anyone know code definitions for the car? It may have been 1L 2L 5s. Not 100% sure.

--Ryan

[Yzzerdd]

Just changed the fuel filter. Was doing some reading, and thought I would try that next. The car idles much better now and runs overall better. I haven't taken it for a drive yet, but will tomorrow. I was thinking maybe the filter is clogged, and when I'm driving there is enough pressure to keep the car going, but when idling(thats when it stalls) the filter plugs up. It always stalls when the car is idling on it's own. When I kept my foot on the gas to keep it around 1K-1.5K, it never stalled. Then the reason it will start up after sitting for awhile is because the gunk in the filter settles, and is picked up later after running for awhile.

It's a theory anyhow. And without any real test equiptment, thats all I've got. Next, I will change the plug wires. And if funds allow, I will change the cap and/or ignitor coil.

--Ryan
EDIT:  Also, no check engine light anymore. The temperature guage is not quite to normal operating temperature, but still on the warm side. Hey, where does ya'll temperature guages sit at normal temperature?

[icurunnin]

I need to change my fuel filter as well. lol

Hey I just realized you are a local. We need to try and meet up so I can see your capri.

[Gostlrs]

B12 chem tool i'm telling u..LOL

[Yzzerdd]

I thought I got it fixed, but it aint. I drove it all around the neighborhood several times at different speeds, stopping at stop signs for extended periods to see if it'd die, and it didn't. Drove home and shut her off. My dad wanted to drive the car, so we got in, and went about an 1/8th of a mile (other end of the neighborhood), and as we pulled from a stop sign, it stalled.

We did the standard spark-check, and nothing showed up. But it dieseled a bit on starter fluid. I'm stumped. What next? Distributor cap? Ignition coil?

--Ryan

[Yzzerdd]

Interesting new fact that leads me to believe its that part inside the distributor. OK, first off, even when it DOES start, the RPM guage does not jump or move until the car is fully started.

BUT I just went out and the car started. The temperature guage was about halfway from operating temperature. I gave it a quick rev up to 4000, and the needle dropped like a rock. But what was weird, when it dropped, the engine sounded like it was still running until it came down totally from the rev. That is, if you keep a car at high rev and shut it off, its just about instant, but here, it sounded like it wound down. The only two things I can think of is distributor cap and ignition coil. Ideas with this new info?

Sorry for all the posts, but I feel like every bit of information helps.

--Ryan