Dies out constantly..

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » April 20th, 2006, 4:38 pm

Ok let me give you the scoop of what i have before i get into the problems -

cold air intake setup , msd 2 blaster coil with fully working HEI mod , mx-6 blue plug wires and quad spark plugs..

Now the issues...The main reason I did the HEI conversion was because I believed my dying out issues were related to the OEM style ignitor and all that over heating and causing internal failure..so I did the HEI mod conversiona nd it smoothed out my idle and allows for a faster burn off/pick up..the problem is its still cutting out frequently.

Heres how it goes..I can go out in the morning before leaving for work, warm my car up for 15-20 minutes, whatever time it takes..drive to work for about 10 more minutes and park, no issues on the way there or in the driveway..Now later on after about an hour or so I can go outside, start my car and when i go to pull away..it will stall..so I can crank and crank and it wont start but ! if i leave it alone for about 5 minutes and go to start it again it will start just fine however, about a minute into driving it, it will die again.

Now something else i noticed, if I drive it for more than roughly 35-40 minutes, while im cruising the RPM needle drops to 0 and it basically dies but if I pump the clutch or just floor the gas, it usually resumes the RPM and power comes back and this happens about every mile, mile and a half...very odd... Also, I can drive it for 30 minutes and park it over night and go out the next day and do it over again without issues...please help..I've taken it to the dealership twice, did the HEI conversion, use high octane gas, high output plugs, gone through two ECU's to see if that was the issue..I'd really appreciate all the help I can get guys

DavidOS · Post by **DavidOS** » April 20th, 2006, 4:40 pm

you intake tubing a crack after the vaf maybe

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » April 20th, 2006, 7:29 pm

You warm up your car 20 minutes to drive 10 minutes?

I think your car is protesting. I don't even wait 20 minutes in the dead of winter. Why are you warming your car up that long? You only need to warm it up long enough to get the oil flowing. When it's 60 degree or above, that's usually 30 seconds ..... literally.

That said, when's the last time you changed the fuel filter? Otherwise, I'm going to say it's the distributor still. Alot of people don't have success with the HEI mod over the long term. That's why I recommend the rebuilt alternator with lifetime warranty.

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » April 21st, 2006, 3:02 am

lakersfan1 wrote:You warm up your car 20 minutes to drive 10 minutes? I think your car is protesting. I don't even wait 20 minutes in the dead of winter. Why are you warming your car up that long? You only need to warm it up long enough to get the oil flowing. When it's 60 degree or above, that's usually 30 seconds ..... literally.

That said, when's the last time you changed the fuel filter? Otherwise, I'm going to say it's the distributor still. Alot of people don't have success with the HEI mod over the long term. That's why I recommend the rebuilt alternator with lifetime warranty.

Well Fuel filter is brand new, new oil change, new air filter, new radiator, new hoses, just had a coolant flush, new alternator from the dealership, new cap/rotor with the HEI mod setup...

I did notice though..oddly enough...when I twist the coil wire sometimes it will start right back up..i tested this today like 5 times and it started up every time..could I possibly have recieved a damaged coil wire from Summit ?

I let it warm up that long because i dont really care lol...i wake up, start my car, get ready for work, drive away. actual time is like 12 minutes..not 20 m y bad :-/

gsr-se · Post by **gsr-se** » April 24th, 2006, 2:17 am

could be the current issue same
as sk8rdude's.....dist. module......?

sk8erdude802 · Post by **sk8erdude802** » April 24th, 2006, 3:05 pm

Im still having the problem. I replaced spark plugs, fuel filter and PCV valve cause it felt like a vaccum leak. Nothing yet. The dits cap and plug wires are my next guess. PM me if you get anything man.

Steve-O

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » April 24th, 2006, 7:36 pm

If you can play with a wire and it will solve the problem then I'd take a very close look at the wire you are messing with.
It seems obvious that you know this and I hope you see the problem and don't have to guess too much.

However, think abou this. Ther are only 3 things the car needs to run (even if very poorly) air, fuel and spark. So look at the basics of each
1. Air- MAF, filter, vaccum leaks
2. Fuel- filter, pump, vaccum to regulator, injectors
3. Spark- disty, cap, rotor, wires, plugs

Since you have modified the stock set-up that would be the first place I'd start looking. It is the most likely to be messed up from poor installation. Not that you might be shotty, just that anything put together by someone for the first time is alot more likely to make a mistake than the OEM part builder who has made thousands.

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » April 25th, 2006, 6:11 pm

OK..so heres the update with bleeding thumb..heh.

I purchased 2 coil wires, tested both - 100%

Ok so heres the next thing..as it seems the coil wire thing was just me convincing myself it would start after wiggling it XD

I noticed over the last few times of it dying out and will not restart, there seems to be counter parts playing along - Today It died out 4 times on me and I noticed that while I was cranking trying to restart it, it would not restart however, as soon as I heard the system prime, it would fire right up. I waited for it to die again so I could test that out..about 2 1/2 miles later, dies out and I coast to the shoulder, turn my key off, remove, insert and attempt to restart, no go..wait a few minutes - Hear the system prime and try to fire, boom..starts right up.

Is there a fuel pump relay that may have a bad ground or something or what do you guys think on this ? and if it is the fuel pump relay, where the hell do I get one and how much is it ?

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » April 28th, 2006, 12:14 am

Ok another update lol..

I had the HEI module ballast or whatever its called sitting on the unibody frame or whatever inside the engine bay and grounded on a 1/2 strap metal piece about 5" long..anywho, went for a drive - felt the module, it as rather hot so I went into a large project and spent like an hour trying to find the perfect, cool, flat surface to mount it to well, that took me into the driveside of the car and I removed the bumper, found a nice perfectly flat surface just on the outside of the wheel well or whatever, just inside of the bumper cover ( the area most people cut the hole for the filter to ger cold air ) right in there and fastened it down tight as I could after scraping the paint to expose bare metal for better grounding.

I figured putting it here will keep it away from like 100% of the engine bay heat as well as let air flow over it to cool it even further. Anywho, I also grounded it in 4 different ways to make absolutely sure it had sufficent grounding...now tomorrow tells all. Hopefully it will stay running this time lol..man the bumper cover is a pain in the a--...lolol

anywho, wish me luck

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » May 3rd, 2006, 2:37 am

I went ahead and replaced another ignition module for the HEI external coil set up and my car ran great all day long and didn't die out. As soon as I went to work ( 4 hours ) and went back out to start it up...hesitated for almost 30 seconds to start then died out about 5 minutes later while going down the road..same issues/symptoms as above.

I was reading some other threads and posts and I think I gathered that if you have low coolant this can happen ? Or if your ( green ? ) thermo sensor is gone this can happen as well ?

Let me know guys..this is killing me !

jpwmx3 · Post by **jpwmx3** » May 3rd, 2006, 11:26 am

This same thing happened to me what you described. I had Mazda replace the whole distributor and it never happened again.

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » May 4th, 2006, 5:22 am

I have the external coil/hei mod setup. still happening.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » May 4th, 2006, 9:06 am

Your system is priming/pressurizing the fuel system.....normal ops. Then dying sometime after and will not restart until you've let it re-prime itself???? How about a new fuel filter? It may be starving itself. How often has the car been driven to an empty or near empty condition? If more than once and you've never replaced the fuel filter since then........ well........... that's what I'd look at at.

RacerX · Post by **RacerX** » May 4th, 2006, 9:48 am

I put a new fuel filter in about 200 miles ago. I got the $8.99 one from Pep Boys. I have never ran the car out of gas and fill it back up to top once I hit abot 1/4 a tank.

Could I possibly have gotten a bunk fuel filter ?

blueskyguy007 · Post by **blueskyguy007** » May 4th, 2006, 10:12 am

I had the same thing happen to me..one thing I want to point out is that your rpm gauge is activated by how many times your disty is outputing per min..if your rpms are dropping to 0 and you're still moving then your engine is not getting spark.
I shelled out 350 I think to Mazda to have a brand new disty installed..to bad my car is crap now only 5,000 miles later. Oh another thing they replaced was the crankshaft position sensor ($250)
When you take the disty cap off do you notice any oil on the inside. You also may just have a bad seal. But yeah if you need a new disty check out the buying forum as I will probably be putting it out there soon...as with the rest of my car lol...poor mx-3s.

~peace