My Stupid Van - Part 2 *UPDATE*

[ducatiz]

Is it possible that it's an electrical problem? If my coil was on the way out would it have these symptoms? The backfire, when it happens, is LOUD!. Makes me think plenty of fuel is getting in there. I'm beginning to think it's more related to how warm the car gets rather than how far I drive.

a coil is easy enough to replace.  hell, if you have a friendly shop they might let you borrow one (or just buy it and return it if it does the same thing).

i doubt it is the coil tho, they tend to just GO

do check the condenser and distributor tho.  sometimes crap in the distributor can prevent spark.  (rust?)

i still think it might be fuel pump related. 

then again, you should be able to test that just fine by disconnecting the fuel line and putting it in a jar and seeing if it fills it (shop manual should give rate of flow..)

[Rameses]

I've seen coils go gradually a couple of times.

But never resulting in anything like what you've described.

Once was in the first Monster I owned.  Coils were on their way out and the weak spark resulted in diminished power and fouled plugs.

The other time was in a Chevy van.  When the engine heated the coil up enough, nothing.  Engine completely died.

But that took quite a while, not just a mile or two.

I would be inclined to agree with tizzy and say that it's a fuel problem of some sort.

That whoosh sounds suspicious.

[Jobu]

I've seen coils go gradually a couple of times.

But never resulting in anything like what you've described.

Once was in the first Monster I owned.  Coils were on their way out and the weak spark resulted in diminished power and fouled plugs.

The other time was in a Chevy van.  When the engine heated the coil up enough, nothing.  Engine completely died.

But that took quite a while, not just a mile or two.

I would be inclined to agree with tizzy and say that it's a fuel problem of some sort.

That whoosh sounds suspicious.

What about the GMC Jimmy you had with the distributor, coil, ignition module, fuel, electrical, spark plug............. problem?      

[Rameses]

What about the GMC Jimmy you had with the distributor, coil, ignition module, fuel, electrical, spark plug............. problem?      

I intentionally left that one out.

That was a computer problem in a vehicle that supposedly had no computer.

[Jobu]

I intentionally left that one out.

That was a computer problem in a vehicle that supposedly had no computer.

So you're saying Howley should check for an abacus problem?

[Rameses]

So you're saying Howley should check for an abacus problem?

If his problem were as sporadic as mine was, yes.

Now stop jacking his thread.

[Jobu]

If his problem were as sporadic as mine was, yes.

Now stop jacking his thread.

I'm trying to help.  You left out some pertinent information.  Plus, he'll see all the new posting in the morning and think someone has really figured something out. 

/Threadjack ended, maybe

[A.duc.H.duc.]

I had a '93 suburban that did something similar. It had a standard distributer, but there was an electronic advance module under the distributer cap. When it got hot, it would short out, and cause the motor to die, sometimes spectacularly. I chased fueling problems around for a while, then finally took the distributer apart to replace the rotor, and noticed some of the insulation on this part was cracked.

Not going to gaurentee it, but I'd check there.

Justin

[Howie]

Coil windings can intermittently fail (open or short) at a specific temperature.  Carry an ohmmeter with you and when the vehicle stalls, key off, place the leads on + and - on the coil.  This measures primary resistance.  If you have specs to compare, fine.  If not, infinity means bad.  + to the coil tower is secondary resistance.  Infinity is bad.  If you have specs, resistance too low is a short. but this is less likely.  You need to work fast, since cooling off will temporarily "fix" it.

[Howie]

I had a '93 suburban that did something similar. It had a standard distributer, but there was an electronic advance module under the distributer cap. When it got hot, it would short out, and cause the motor to die, sometimes spectacularly. I chased fueling problems around for a while, then finally took the distributer apart to replace the rotor, and noticed some of the insulation on this part was cracked.

Not going to gaurentee it, but I'd check there.

Justin

Also a good possibility.  Unless your vehicle has ignition points you have some sort of solid state ignition amplifier, often called an ignition module or igniter.  These often cannot be diagnosed and replacement is in order.  This problem has been going on for a long time.  Perhaps bringing it to a pro is in order?

[ducpainter]

Ford has always had a rep for junk modules.

If yours mounts to the distributor, called a thin film module, that could very well be the issue.

It's difficult for us in the states to know what they used down under when your van was built.

[Howie]

Ford has always had a rep for junk modules.

If yours mounts to the distributor, called a thin film module, that could very well be the issue.

It's difficult for us in the states to know what they used down under when your van was built.

Quite true.  The earlier big aluminum modules were worse, though.  So bad Cabbies used to mount an extra in near reach of the harness.  Even though they can't be field tested, if the coil checks out and there is no spark the module is quite likely.

[Howley]

It's a distributor with points and a rotor. The problem started maybe a couple of months ago, but it went from so intermittent that I blamed it on my driving to really bad in a pretty short space of time (1 drive home).

Thanks for the ideas guys, Keep em coming.

[Howie]

How old is the van?

[ducpainter]

How old is the van?

It's a '92.

When was it tuned up last?

Points need attention at least every 6K miles...

more frequently if the cam wasn't lubed properly.