I hate it when bad things happen. I took the Electra for a cruise yesterday evening. First time doing so in a while. I cruised for an hour or so...absolutely trouble-free on a beautiful evening, cigar in hand. Got home, and my wife's friend from Cleveland wanted to go for a ride. Left back out to do some more cruising, and that's when trouble began. I went to accelerate from a stop light and felt a noticeable stumble. After that momentary stumble, the car accelerated as normal, and cruised as normal until I reached the next stop light. It did it again. I apply pressure to the gas pedal and it began stumbling even worse. Thankfully I made it back to my neighborhood (I said a prayer on the way back home), and as soon as I pulled up to park in front of my house, the car died. It would not restart. The car ran completely normal until I took this second drive...and the symptoms only began to reveal themselves when I accelerated. Hesitation & stuttering as if it was about to die from fuel starvation. I have 1/4 tank of fuel. It seems fuel related...unless my mallory ignition components suddenly died (which I doubt). The plan is to have it towed to the shop whenever I get around to fixing it. I always have too many irons in the fire. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks, Langston
I really need to get some gauges installed...would really paint a clearer picture for situations like this.
Check for fuel in the carburetor. Take the air cleaner off. If necessary, move the choke flap wide open, and quickly open the throttle all the way. You should see two streams of fuel come out of the accelerator pumps.
Thanks Larry. I'll see if I can check that out later today...might have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, I just ordered a fuel pressure tester & and inline spark tester from Amazon.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it has something to do with actually diagnosing the problem rather than throwing a bunch of new parts at the car lol
HEI ignition? Check the pickup coil wires. See if it still does it with the vacuum advance disconnected.
And the obligatory pic of me with hood open, as if I would be able to figure it out last night. At least the car looked good lol
If it won't start, pop off the cap and pull on the two wires at the pickup coil. If they are broken or if they break, it's a problem. Maybe not the only problem, but a problem.
I have had that problem with HEI distributors in the past. Intermittent no spark. Those pick up wires flex with the vacuum advance. They develop an intermittent open condition. I have had success taking the cap off, moving those wires around, and getting it going, until the next time. I have never had them make the engine stall, but it is certainly possible. Check for spark when it won't start.
Check and see if there is any gas left in the tank. My car lost power and wouldn't restart. I was sure it was a bad fuel pump, but the gas gauge had quit working and even though it said I had fuel left, I had just run out of gas! Ended up replacing the gas tank sending unit and that was the problem.
Thanks for the discussion. I feel much smarter reading these suggestions. David, I had this happen in my old '76 Limited. (I had to keep track based off the odometer). I have a new gas tank & sending unit sitting at home. I will fill up some cans and pour some fuel in just for a simple check.
I’ll vote for the simple cause - low fuel, old car, old gauge/sender. More importantly - what was the cigar?
I just talked to a friend of mine and before I could finish the story he said "oh...you ran outta gas!" I hope that's the case. The cigar was a La Aroma de Cuba - El Jefe. Was a good smoke!
The easiest and simplest thing to do is spray a little starter fluid in the carb. If it lights off, you have a fuel problem.
Nice smoke, I hear; Never had one. My favorites are Fuente Don Carlos & Short Stories, Padron 2000s, and Te Amo Meditations. Here’s hoping you’re low on gas!!
Back in the old days, the fuel filters would often clog and cause that issue. Left on the side of the road more than once from that.
