'89 KA24E runs fine but cuts out randomly
 

I just picked up a new 240 and I have some problems.

My engine runs very smoothly but randomly cuts out. When it does cut out, it doesn't hesitate or act any differently from how it does normally- it just dies like I turned off the car. Sometimes it can idle for a minute then die or sometimes it can last longer than 5 minutes. Whenever it stops, you have to wait ~10 minutes or so to start it again.

The previous owner said that the issue is fuel pump related but I changed that and the problem continues.

FWIW: I drove fine with no problems until there was less than half of the tank of gas.

Can anyone shed some light on the subject?

Thanks in advance!

that happened to a friends 89. turns out that his mafs needed a good cleaning. a really really good cleaning.

Check the fuel pump relay.

That's what I was thinking. Do the DE and E engines share the same part? If so I can just pop one out and check.

I'll look into the MAF thing.

Thanks to both of you!:w00t:

Thanks again for the help guys! Unfortunately, the problem still exists. The MAF is clean and the relay works.

I was reading my FSM and some of the symptoms seem to point towards a fuel pressure problem.

Any other input?

Thanks.

Hi again. I took the car to a shop and the ignition coil was replaced- which seemed to fix the problem.

Apparently, that was not exactly the case. Now the car runs for a little bit longer, then promptly dies (still the same, quick cut of the engine). I can wait ~30 minutes and then it'll die again.

Anybody have experience with this? Thanks.

man that is weird, never had that problem with any of my KAs... just wondering have you changed out the fuel filter yet? (quick and easy) or how about have you tried pulling a spark plug out after it dies? if theyre dead white or wet black, it could possibly lead you toward a certain diagnostic direction...


maybe a bad o2 sensor? my friends car was running fine until it heated up, and then acted retarded from a bad o2... see what happens if you run with it unplugged?

idk im just throwing shots in the dark here... good luck with it


also if you can find another mafs in the junkyard or something to try... just to see if it changes anything. because mafs are def suspect in these cars sometimes. but idk about making it shut off like that..

i am experiencing the same issue.. i changed the coil thinking it was the problem, the car started again and drove for about 30 minutes and died on the highway and wouldnt start until about 20 minutes after cooling off, then died again within minutes, seems it dies once the engine is heated up. my friend helped me out and threw a crank angle sensor code, which leads to the distributor. i am going to have the distributor replaced and see if that is the problem. i will try and get back to you if anything.

Thanks to both of you.

The ignition control module (aka power transistor) most likely isn't the culprit as it was just replaced with no change in symptoms. From what I can gather, the next things to test would be the ECU + wiring. Anyone else have some info?

Just FWIW, this guy had a similar problem (way back in 2003 :D)
#/f/showthread.p...&highlight=icm

well my friend helped me change out the distributor and it worked..no more stalling (for now)... try changing your distributor to see if that is your problem.

Interesting. I was just doing some more research and I was just about to try that.

I'll have to go junkyard diving.

Thanks!

So as a final update to this thread, I thought I'd post the conclusion.

The original symptom was this that the ignition was cutting out periodically while driving at predictable but random intervals.

The parts that were bad were the ignition coil and the distributor. The ignition control module was thought to be an issue but did not turn out to be a cause of the problem.

This problem was tough because the ignition coil was just part of the issue and so it was thought to be the only issue at first.

glad you found the problem.. i had the same exact problem and replacing those 2 helped..

im having a very similar problem. my car is cutting out under heavy throttle. it started just doing it while hot, now it does it any time you go over about 25% throttle. just put in a new fuel pump, its not that.

damn i hate this kind of crap.

My problem was time-related, not how much throttle was used.

You should make a new thread or search for better thread for information, as you're unlikely to find anything to help you here.