Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

General Fiero Maintenance including oil changes, air filters, suspension refreshes, restorations, painting, etc.

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tshirttony
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Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by tshirttony »

I have a 1986 V6 SE. Knowing these cars are notorious for over heating problems, I have always tried to correct any problem that comes up right away.
First off, when I received the car the Temp Gauge DID NOT work. So I purchased a new Temp Sensor ( one that turns the fan on at lower temperature ) I also bought new Pig Tail connector. I purchased some new after market gauges, just because I liked the look. That seemed to fix the problem. It was a good feeling watching the temperature rise and hear the fan kick on. I'm not a mechanic so I was impressed with myself, lol.
Then the next time I took it for a drive and the engine was running well into normal working temperature, it would begin to stall as I came to a stop.
Once this starts happening it gets bad, losing my patience as I am stalled out in the middle of a intersection.
It takes many tries cranking the engine, it starts and evens gives off the sound of a back fire, I'll make it another couples blocks and it happens again. This only happens when the engine is good and warmed up, it doesn't over heat or anything.
I'm totally screwed I have no idea what to do.
Here is a list of some after market upgrades I have made, but this problem was happening before I did these upgrades.
1. MSD 6AL Ignition Control Unit MSD6425
2. MSD Ignition Blaster Coil
3. MSD V6 Distributor Cap / Rotor
4. Taylor Cable 8.2mm V6 Spark Plug Wire Set
5. Fiero Flush Projector HID Headlights
All from this web site.... http://www.tlg-auto.com/fiero/
Can anyone help with some suggestions please?????
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Shaun41178(2)
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by Shaun41178(2) »

Automatic or manual trans? Can we assume no check engine light when running bad? Backfiring I have found is bad map sensor or tps. If an automatic, your tcc solenoid could be getting stuck which is a known problem when coming to a stop.
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tshirttony
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by tshirttony »

No, "Check Engine" light comes on,,,,4 speed manual tranny. Check Engine light comes on once it has stalled out and dies.......
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Emc209i
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by Emc209i »

Buy a fuel pressure gauge, one with a hose connector, and attach it to the fuel rail. Then snake the gauge up where you can see it while in the driver seat or remove the deck lid. Come to a stop in a parking lot or somewhere safe and check to see if fuel pressure falls off. Once that's ruled out, I would consider an intake leak or spark control. The control module that's in the distributor and pickup coil are notorious for causing stalls with no starts and back firing, but you're using the MSD box in the trunk, so I don't know how much of the original spark control system is used. If it uses the module in dizzy I'd bet a lot of money a distributor rebuild will fix the problem.

The trick to working on cars is understands systems and how they mesh with each other. Just like being able to see your temperature rise, you need to be able to see what's going on with the other systems and rule each one out until you find the problem. When I first started with my first Fiero I blew a shit ton of money replacing anything and everything that could fail, which bought me a good amount of time before I needed to buy a ton of tools to diagnose problems. Either way, expect to spend a good bit of money, or take it to a shop and spend it there.

Post after you've checked the fuel pressure, otherwise its just a guessing game and we won't really be able to help you.

Here's an excellent video recorded and posted by a member of this forum. It will give you an idea of how you should check the pressure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRfiEvcg2ng

Don't rev your engine unless its at operating temperature.
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Aaron
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by Aaron »

To easily check and for the most part rule out any engine sensors, including MAP and TPS, try unplugging them one at a time and seeing if unplugging them makes a difference. If not, that's likely your problem.
The Dark Side of Will
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

Could also be a rich misfire due to bad O2 sensor.

Ditto on what was mentioned above. Learn about diagnosing OBDI systems before you throw a lot of money at the car.

WinALDL can read the datastream from the stock computer and log the engine's operating parameters so that you have good information to use for troubleshooting.

EDIT: Moved to maintenance
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tshirttony
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by tshirttony »

Thank you very much for the suggestions, I'll follow up on everything mentioned. I like this forum, this is the first forum where I actually received any help at. I like the idea of a new gauge. When installing the new temperature gauge I bought a stainless steel 3 gauge cluster and have a empty hole ( lol ), so now I can fill it. So is this fuel gauge gonna require removal of half the engine to reach? At one point I was going to do my oil pressure gauge, after looking into it I didnt think my hands would fit down in thier.
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Emc209i
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by Emc209i »

It's easy to get to. It's under the plenum on the right side. There's a port coming off the top of the fuel rail where you screw either a hose onto or a connector for a gauge inside the engine bay.

Here's a picture of a gauge in the engine bay. The blue connector that you see has a 90* bend on it, so where you see it go under the plenum it turns straight down and is screwed onto the port.
Image

Here's a picture of the fuel rail with the plenum removed. The port you need is at the far right. It almost looks like a nipple.
Image

It might have a black plastic or silver cap covering the port on your car. You should be able to get to it without removing anything. Unless you've got aftermarket vacuum hoses and wiring strung all over the place.
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tshirttony
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by tshirttony »

Thanks a lot for the pictures, thats a big help. The progress on working on my Fiero has slowed down, since my wifes Cherokee broke down and is in the shop wanting $1000 to fix.
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tshirttony
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by tshirttony »

Now would something like this work for installing a fuel pressure gauge inside the car, found on Amazon:
=====================================================
Image

Mr. Gasket 1561 Fuel Pressure Gauge
by Mr. Gasket
20 customer reviews | 3 answered questions
List Price: $24.27
Price: $14.38 Free Shipping for Prime Members
You Save: $9.89 (41%)
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Want it Tuesday, Aug. 5? Order within 42 hrs 53 mins and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Small 1/2" gauge that will fit anywhere
1/2 pound increments with range of 0-15 pound
1/8 NPT male fitting
A must when pressure adjustments are necessary
The Dark Side of Will
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Re: Engine stalls and dies once warmed up.

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

No.

EFI runs 43 psi of static fuel pressure. That unit is designed for a carb and only reads to 15.
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