Sterling

Went to do a show in the city. 90 mile drive. Knew my belt (I only have one) was on the fritz, and brought another used one I had for insurance.
Sure as ****, it went. Only ten miles from home, 80 more to go (this was in the AM)...Bad Omen?

So everythings great thereafter, and I'm having a blast driving.
Finish the day (show sucked) and I'm headed back home. Get two blocks, and notice the tach has stopped working.
Engine's still purring like a kitten.
I pull into an empty parking lot to check it out, and she dies.
No fuel to carb.
Several tries prove the pump is'nt getting juice. (Carter & I know it's good, good wiring, ect)
The fuse labled "Meter Back" has blown.
Insert new fuse.
No change.
Check fuel pump relay- It's clicking and warm.
Sun is sinking, my buddy and I are broke, and New Rochelle is not the best place to be stranded.

I can't figure it out. In a furious rage, while cursing my car, I rip two speaker box wires out of the box and the amp, and hardwire the fuel pump direct to the battery.
Priding my MacGuyverism, I confidently try to start it.
The pump is whirring like crazy, and I recall thinking about how I really should wire it with better gauge, cause it sounds GREAT!

No start. Pump still going, bowls not filling.
WTF? Try again.
What could cause this? I troubleshoot, and conclude that the tank is'nt breathing.
Undo the cap, and a ridiculous poof of fume comes blasting out.
Like a retard, I put it back on, and continue trying to start it.

It takes me ten minutes and five tries to realize that I've wired the pump backwards!

Ok...Now that I've got you laughing, laugh more, because we get going and all is well except the tach still isn't working and the belt I replaced with a crappy old one is starting to squeal!

We had left New Rochell (or tried to) at 6:30, and got 80 miles by 11:30 because of this fuel pump thing.
Ten miles from home, the belt blows. The temp spikes, and now we're on borrowed juice (uncharging battery) having to stop and shut down frequently to avoid overheating.
We did make it home, but it took 6 hours to go 90 miles.

...Did I mention that during my swearing at the car in the parkinglot, I saw that the distributer was a bit loose?...I could hardly believe it.
I tightened it. Still loose. I swore at it some more, and tightened it again.
I think you know what happened next.
-snap-
I had to use wire to keep it in place and the timing set.

BTW, we were taking my car on the second day of the 3 day show because on the first day, my buddy blew a gasket on his Volvo while we were trying to pass a truck.

It rained during the whole show.
All this frustration yielded us $150 in sales.
Un-friggin-believable.

So help a starving artist out, and tell me what's wrong with my baby! Please?!

1. Belt blew. No wire damage from the flung belt, btw.

2. Replaced belt and all was fine. Drove 80 miles.

3. Tach stopped abruptly, and I suspect the fuel pump at the same time. I probably made it to the parking lot on what was in the bowls.

4. Saw that I blew the "Meter Back" fuse, and replaced it. No change, and it's not continueing to blow.

5. Fuel cut relay was operating, though I guess not putting out juice?

6. Pump worked great when I hardwired it.

7. Engine had power and purred like a kitten. I check at home, and the trailing is working.

8. All other gauges work.
Have been having ignition switch starting problems, but wiggled every contact to no avail while car was running. Nothing made the tach move.

Any ideas on what's going on?

13B4port

check your trailing ignition. IE coil, ignitor rotor, cap, and make sure your geting spark. next thinkto check is the main relay. seems how you blew a fuse it leads me to think that you've iccidently grouned out something. i did the same thing. the trailing side wouldn't work at all on my car, no injectors either, and no tach. i soon found that the power sorce for all these things is teh same wire and it was bruned threw and grouned out. i still couldn't get it to run so i looked into the fuses and relays. one of my main relays was bad so i jumped that. now the fuel pump relay is gone too. i replaced those to relays and fixed the ground. solved all my problems. i also blew a fuse. so check the relays. also is you arn't geting spark whip out the omh meter and unplug the power to the trailing coil and unplug the plugs to the distributor and touch the power wire with one lead and a good ground with the other and see if it's grounded out.

good luck

jerad

Sterling

Thanks, Jerad.

Anyone about the meter board circuitry? Does it fry easily?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the fuel pump realy is triggered by the ecu which is supposed to run the pump. the ecu turns the relay on when it sees the rpm signal from the trailing ignition.
this is 84-85 only. so

step 1. make sure you have trailing ignition * hint the tach works off of the trailing ignition too

step 2. make sure the ecu is energising the relay when the engine is running/cranking (i had one, the reason i know this, is because it would only run the pump when the engine was stopped, so it would fill the bowls and then run for 20 seconds, die fill the bowls again etc)

step 3. see if the wires between the relay and the pump are good, particularly under the bins

thats not the whole list but i think its in the most likely order

mike

FB II

this is kinda whats happening to me! i wired my pump directly to the battery, the car will turn on, then shut off immediately. i've checked my ignition setup and every plugs is getting great spark.

FB II

sterling, did you figure it out?

Sterling

I think so. Is'nt good.

Ignition is fine. (I guess I have to tell people that a few times before they get it? Idunno.)

T H E I G N I T I O N I S F I N E.

I'm sorry guys, -I know you're trying to be helpful.

The alternator is fine.
The ECU is fine.
The ignitors are fine.
The fuses are fine.
The fusable links are fine.
And the fuel pump is now pumping via the stock relay hook-up. (I must've prematurely freaked in the parking lot? Perhaps when I swapped out the ECU to check that off the list, I reset something?- But I've had the power on and off...I dunfuggino.

So I think because the meter-back fuse blew, and did'nt blow again, but did'nt fix the problem...and since I've checked everyfuckinthingelse, it MUST be that I fried the tach circuitboard.

I've been looking at another cluster board, and I see that the oil pressure gauge terminals go to the tach IC board terminals.

...Still does'nt tell me why it happened in the first place. I can't afford to keep frying circuit boards.

-I'm off to search for other threads about blown tach boards.

FB II

so what exactly fixed the fuel problem? the ecu swap?

Sterling

Don't know. I reinstalled the original ECU.

Maybe I somehow reset something?

FB II

LOL well shiat.