SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR

Go Back   Club Cobra > Club Cobra Tech Areas > Shop Talk

Welcome to Club Cobra!  The World's largest non biased Shelby Cobra related site!

  •  » Representation from nearly all Cobra/Daytona/GT40 manufacturers
  •  » Help from all over the world for your questions
  •  » Build logs for you and all members
  •  » Blogs
  •  » Image Gallery
  •  » Many thousands of members and nearly 1 million posts! 

YES! I want to register an account for free right now!  p.s.: For registered members this ad will NOT show

MMG Superformance
Nevada Classics
Keith Craft Racing
Main Menu
Nevada Classics
Nevada Classics
Keith Craft Racing
MMG Superformance
Advertise at CC
Banner Ad Rates
MMG Superformance
Keith Craft Racing
Keith Craft Racing
March 2024
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Kirkham Motorsports

Like Tree2Likes
  • 1 Post By Z-linkCobra
  • 1 Post By 750hp

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 04-01-2014, 07:10 AM
750hp's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Brisbane, Australia, Q
Cobra Make, Engine: Contemporary CCX3117 427FE
Posts: 4,381
Not Ranked     
Default Intermittent stalling - won't restart (video inside)

I've been driving the Cobra every day for the last year and it hasn't missed a beat. This past week, I didn't drive it at all. On it's first start after the little break, the battery sounded a bit weak. I got 3 starts out of it and then the battery seemed dead. I clutch started it and got it home to the battery charger and it was fine throughout the following day. Today, the car runs for anywhere from 3 seconds to a couple of minutes but then cuts out. It's not a gradual feeling as though the carb is running low on fuel before finally stopping.

This stops instantly like someone had killed the ignition.

It takes some cranking to try to get it to refire after it stalls. The difference being, if I turn off the key to stop it, it will restart instantly.

Here's a video of it starting perfectly, but then only running for a short while before being unable to restart again.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3e0aYk6Em0[/ame]

I changed the battery and that didn't fix it.
I have fuel pressure at the carb.
I have fuel in the carb. (It's an Edelbrock carb)
It's not flooding at idle.
When it's running, it's running perfectly.

I heard that ignition switches can fail. I've tried running the car today with the headlights on to see if the dash lights do anything funny when it stalls. Everything seems normal.

Engine vacuum doesn't fluctuate in the split second it takes to stall.
Voltage at the gauge is around 12V and then 14V when the alternator kicks in. It can still stall when the gauge is at 14V, though it seems to happen less when there's RPM, engine load and higher voltage. I'm not sure which of those seem to help the situation.

It's a basic old tech car with a carb and an old Accel distributor. Even if both batteries had failed, I'd have thought that the engine would still run OK at 12-14V and not stall.

I'd love to hear your ideas!
__________________
Craig
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 04-01-2014, 07:46 AM
Z-linkCobra's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Edinburg, TX
Cobra Make, Engine: Everett Morrison, All aluminum small block ford.
Posts: 436
Not Ranked     
Default

Doesn't sound fuel related to me sounds electrical. Check your grounds. Check your coil. If your coil is hotter then the center of hot pocket fresh out of the micro...could be a problem. What sort of distributor? Dual points, electronic pick up?

Cap and rotor? check and make sure the coil wire is good and not grounding out somewhere. Its just going to be a process of elimination. Electrical problems can sometimes be tricky as hell.
Wodnas likes this.
__________________
" If it wont break em loose in 3rd gear, it aint enough power "
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 04-02-2014, 04:43 AM
joyridin''s Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,689
Not Ranked     
Default

Have you tried pulling a plug wire right after it stalls and check for spark? I bought this little spark plug thing with a clip on the side. You just hook up the plug wire and you can clearly see the spark. A plug will work also. That will at least tell you if it is losing spark.
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 04-02-2014, 05:47 AM
DanEC's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Little Rock area, AR
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA Street Roadster #782 with 459 cu in FE KC engine, toploader, 3.31
Posts: 4,480
Not Ranked     
Default

What kind of Accell distributor is it - old CD unit or a points type unit? Dying right after it starts could be a bad ballast resistor (if you have points). Doesn't explain why it would not restart immediately or why it sometimes runs after the key is released for a couple minutes. If a CD unit possibly the control box is failing or has a loose terminal connection. I used to run an old Accell CD box in a Corvette and it had screw type wire terminals.

A bad coil usually cuts out after it operates a while and gets really hot. Then it cools off and will work again for a little bit. A bad condensor just plain makes the car run rough.

If it's a points distributor - it's kind of rare, but in distributors with a lot of use, occassionally the points wire gets yanked around and flexed a lot during maintenance and will break near the points but still make intermittent contact.

The fact that your battery went down is also sort of puzzling on top of the engine dying. Possibly you do have a bad ground or connection somewhere.
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 04-02-2014, 01:25 PM
ffr 1137's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Peoria, AZ
Cobra Make, Engine: FFR, 347, Massflow inj, 65 GT350 tribute
Posts: 80
Not Ranked     
Default

Sorry matey...can't help you. Motors turn otherway around down under, don't they?
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 04-02-2014, 01:38 PM
ffr 1137's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Peoria, AZ
Cobra Make, Engine: FFR, 347, Massflow inj, 65 GT350 tribute
Posts: 80
Not Ranked     
Default

Seriously though...IF you have an ECM of some kind, most need approx
13.5v or will shut down. Had that happen on an 86 IROC. Chased my tail
quite awhile on that one, as I had checked the batt first thing and it read 12v. Batt had a bad cell and wouldn't accept charge.
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 04-03-2014, 06:59 AM
750hp's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Brisbane, Australia, Q
Cobra Make, Engine: Contemporary CCX3117 427FE
Posts: 4,381
Not Ranked     
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Z-linkCobra View Post
Doesn't sound fuel related to me sounds electrical. Check your grounds. Check your coil.

Cap and rotor? check and make sure the coil wire is good and not grounding out somewhere. Its just going to be a process of elimination. Electrical problems can sometimes be tricky as hell.
Looks like Z was on the right track. Seems certain now that either the dist cap, coil wire or coil is the part we need to replace.

Cheers

Craig
__________________
Craig
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 04-03-2014, 07:30 AM
damage's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: redcliffe, qld
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham 427SC 482 Cammer
Posts: 700
Not Ranked     
Default

Craig, have you tried taking your battery switch out of circuit. Mine did this and had me stumped for weeks, would stop and then crank it and it wouldn't start ended up being a dud battery switch.
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 04-03-2014, 07:46 AM
750hp's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Brisbane, Australia, Q
Cobra Make, Engine: Contemporary CCX3117 427FE
Posts: 4,381
Not Ranked     
Default

I didn't bypass the kill switch when I threw in a battery from another car in the garage. I'll give that a try tomorrow thanks.

See this is why I hate wiring/electrics. Nothing is straight forward. At least with the last big mechanical issue I had, it was easy to diagnose.

(The fact that it was seeing half a piston and a pin bouncing down the road, a smashed rod hanging out of the oil pan which had been split in half by the carnage and destruction made it particularly easy to diagnose why it stopped running )
__________________
Craig
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old 04-03-2014, 10:52 AM
Z-linkCobra's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Edinburg, TX
Cobra Make, Engine: Everett Morrison, All aluminum small block ford.
Posts: 436
Not Ranked     
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 750hp View Post
I didn't bypass the kill switch when I threw in a battery from another car in the garage. I'll give that a try tomorrow thanks.

See this is why I hate wiring/electrics. Nothing is straight forward. At least with the last big mechanical issue I had, it was easy to diagnose.

(The fact that it was seeing half a piston and a pin bouncing down the road, a smashed rod hanging out of the oil pan which had been split in half by the carnage and destruction made it particularly easy to diagnose why it stopped running )

That does tend to make diagnoses a little easier yeah....lol.
__________________
" If it wont break em loose in 3rd gear, it aint enough power "
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old 08-03-2014, 01:42 AM
750hp's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Brisbane, Australia, Q
Cobra Make, Engine: Contemporary CCX3117 427FE
Posts: 4,381
Not Ranked     
Default

I just stumbled across this thread. To close it off in case anyone reads this in the future from a search, it was the ignition module inside the distributor. With that replaced (and fitting an inline power spike filter for good measure), it's as good as new.
Dominik likes this.
__________________
Craig
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:05 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
The representations expressed are the representations and opinions of the clubcobra.com forum members and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the site owners, moderators, Shelby American, any other replica manufacturer, Ford Motor Company. This website has been planned and developed by clubcobra.com and its forum members and should not be construed as being endorsed by Ford Motor Company, or Shelby American or any other manufacturer unless expressly noted by that entity. "Cobra" and the Cobra logo are registered trademarks for Ford Motor Co., Inc. clubcobra.com forum members agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyrighted material is owned by you. Although we do not and cannot review the messages posted and are not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we reserve the right to delete any message for any reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). Thank you for visiting clubcobra.com. For full policy documentation refer to the following link: CC Policy