Car starts then dies

[jbthompson]

Hey everyone. I have an 88 LX that I am having trouble with. It's been really heard to start and I basically have to floor it to get it going and it occasionally will die when I come to a stop. Once it's warmed up it's great no problems. But I can watch the RPMs slowly drop out right when it's about to die. I have adjusted the carb screws and it's been running fine up to this point now its doing what i described above. Thoughts?

[Inferno]

I kinda have the same problem. I think it's fuel pump. It needs to create a pressure in line. But I'm not sure.

[A20A1]

If you think it's your fuel pump keep and eye on the float level

If you suspect it's a vacuum leak get a vacuum gauge and document your vacuum signal strength when the engine is fully warm.

If you think it's a choke problem which would explain the hard starting and poor idle when the engine is cold then inspect the choke while someone starts the car.


I would advise against adjusting the idle screws casually as that will in most cases, mask the real problem with a higher idle.

[Inferno]

I readjusted the float level and car starts fine. When you look at float level meter you see it from a angle. It creates an optical illusion that your float level is correct but really it is not.

[jbthompson]

Hey guys. Ok so I finally replaced the fuel pump and the car starts better than it did. However when I was out driving it the engine stalled. Before I did this the car stalled probably a dozen times on my way to work. now it's intermittent but not as bad. What else could this be?

[phrenology]

Hey guys. Ok so I finally replaced the fuel pump and the car starts better than it did. However when I was out driving it the engine stalled. Before I did this the car stalled probably a dozen times on my way to work. now it's intermittent but not as bad. What else could this be?

It maybe time to rebuild the carb. How many miles on it? There could be a lot of reasons. Electrical, mechanical, fuel delivery, carb, vacuum leak is also a distinct possibility. Look through the carb tech pages, stickies, and run some basic tests. Let it run at idle and see if it stalls on its own. Rev it and listen for knocks. Does it struggle under load? Have you pulled the plugs to see if they're fowled? Run a compression test on the cylinders to see if you have a more serious issue. You need to read up on some diagnostic tests. If its running and then stalling you're either losing spark or the carb is fowling up? Its been too long since I've dealt with these carbs, but they can be very tricky at high mileage. I wish I could be of more help. My only advice is don't start replacing everything until you've narrowed it down. It could be something as simple as a $1 vacuum hose.

[jbthompson]

Thanks. The car has 221k on it. After I replaced the pump it would idle in my driveway on it's own a first but this morning it died while just idling.

[youceffhasacar]

yeah make sure the cables that connect the spark plugs to the distributor are in good shape. you could be running on 3 cylinders. look for swollen hoses that could be clogging air flow. the idle screw is always an option. so is seafoam treatment. spraying brake cleaner on the vacuum hoses will show leaks. good luck.

[InAccordance]

I'm putting my money on the choke being fuxxed

[jbthompson]

The choke is working as it should. I check the boost venturis, float bowl, vacuum leaks, seafoamed the thing and its still stalling intermittently. Gonna check PCV next.

Could I be running on 3 cylinders? What would the fix for that be?

[Dr_Snooz]

PCV wouldn't make your car act like that. Usually, when you have fuel supply issues on a carbed car with a lot of miles, it's the carb. My feeling is that carb rebuilds are a maintenance item every 100k miles or so. The Keihins can be daunting to rebuild, but well worth it when you get them running right again.

I'm assuming, of course, that your car is getting proper maintenance generally (regular tune-ups, good gas, etc). If not, then get the maintenance up to par first.

[Demon1024]

check out your dizzy. if you have a replacement try it. i had a pickup coil go out on mine and it acted very similar. totally random just dieing.

[phrenology]

check out your dizzy. if you have a replacement try it. i had a pickup coil go out on mine and it acted very similar. totally random just dieing.

I have an extra Accel coil if you need it, make me an offer?