Advice needed

[john3313]

I just bought a 1980 Fuel Injected 2000 Spyder this week. The drive home was about 60 miles. After about twenty miles, I noticed the car sputtering as I took off from red lights. I got worse. It started losing power and bucking in 1st gear to the point that I had to pull over. I let it sit for about 15 minutes. When I resumed driving, it ran perfectly for another 20 miles or so when the exact same thing happened. I let it cool again, and did this one more time until I made it home. Now it is worse, 15 minutes of driving and it is happening. The temp guage stays around 190 dgrees, well below the red area. The exhaust gas light has come on periodically, but in the manual, it says that is a reminder to change the exhaust gas sensor every 30000 miles. Has anyone else encountered this problem? I appreciate any help. Thanks.

[mbouse]

not being a F.I. expert, i'd first ask how long the car had been sitting before you drove those 60 miles; suspecting a clogged fuel filter.

my first suggestion is try the easy (low tech) answers first. change the fuel filter and get a tankful of fresh gas in the car.

get out on the highway and burn all that carbon buildup thru to the muffler (drive like heck).

knowingthat the '80 F.I. system is fairly bullet proof, that just might do the trick.

now, i will let the fuelie boyz take over

[So Cal Mark]

replace the ignition module

[Danno]

replace the ignition module

I have a 1980 that is NOT FI and does NOT have the electronic ignition (it has be retro-verted to points). Sitting behind my coil is the "module" of which Mark speaks. I do not know if it is in good working order. I will ship it to you for the cost of the envelope if you are interested. They aren't pricey, so it might be worth it to just get a new one, but you're welcome to mine if you want it. email me at danielreinhardt (at) msn (dot) com if you are interested.

[rlux4]

I'm in shock. I just knew the answer would be "check the AFM flap". Ignition module makes sense though, doing fine till it warms up? I'd pay for training like this.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

that's what I've been waiting to hear
Danno-if you're not using the coil heat sink anymore, send it my way

[Danno]

that's what I've been waiting to hear
Danno-if you're not using the coil heat sink anymore, send it my way

let me see how I can zip tie the coil in and it's yours. currently the coil is mounted in the heat sink, doesn't the coil have a heat sink on the older cars? email me.

[So Cal Mark]

no heat sink on the older cars; it's only needed for the module

[john3313]

Thanks for all of the advice. Where would be the best place to get an ignition module? Does it come with the heat sinc?

[So Cal Mark]

you don't need a new heat sink, just the module. It's the same 4 pin module used on GM cars in the 80s. Any parts store will have them in stock with a price range of $15-30 dollars. The module is behind the ign coil.

[john3313]

Thanks! I found one on Ebay for $16.95. I'll give that a try and let you know how it goes. The site is great!

[john3313]

Update! I put in the ignition module this morning. I noticed that a 2 conductor / with ground wire from the ignition module to the distributor was looking rough. It had previously been spliced. I separated the conductors and retaped them and installed the new ignition module. The car runs great. It had a slight hesitation once, but it may need some injector cleaner. The module seems to have done the trick. Thanks so much for the help and advice!

[john3313]

The car ran great on short trips over the weekend. Last night, my wife decided to drive it to her parents about 20 minutes away. She went over a speed bump and it sputtered and died. I drove over and checked what I could. I got it started but it ran rough and smelled like it was running rich. We managed to get it home, but now I'm thinking that it might be the ECM?

[So Cal Mark]

those ecm's are pretty rugged and don't often fail. Did you check for a disconnected hose or split intake hose?

[john3313]

No I didn't. I'm assuming around the fuel injection / breather area. I'll do that!