[urq] Running problems

[Ingo Rautenberg]

OK, with the V8 being temporarily sidelined (at least for long trips) by one of our infamous Detroit Potholes, I visited Chicago over the weekend to wish a certain someone a Happy 45th -- It's always nice when someone is OLDER than you are ;-).  Well, an few hours or so into the 5 hour trip, I get what feels like an ignition or fuel cutout (nowhere near 4k rpm, btw).  So I just kept plugging along at ~3k, but if I lifted the throttle and pushed down again she would feel like she was dying and then suddenly grab. Almost like the intake plate (under the igloo) was sticking. Hmmm.  I made it the ~300 miles with a few more stalling incidents where the car would just die and I'd pull over on the freeway, let it sit for a few minutes and she'd start up again like nothing was wrong. Would idle OK as well.  Anyhow, it got worse as I almost reached by destination to where I had to jump the fuel pump directly off the battery instead of the additional relayed connection at the battery.  Tried new ignition switch and checked engine grounds, but the symptoms persisted.  A preliminary check of hoses found nothing obvious. Later found ground signal was not making it to the underhood fuel pump relay, so I bypassed that for the trip home last night, but the symptoms persisted, except she wouldn't idle anymore either then or this  am.  So she's parked in the garage right now with the front wheels on ramps.  Spark when cranking is strong.  So either intermittent spark, fuel and /or possible vacuum leak (always that possibility).  So do these symptoms sound familiar?  I was thinking of doing cursory fuel pressure checks, recheck all the hoses and then removing the ECU and checking for cracked/broken solder joints.

Your help is much appreciated.

-Ingo
'91 200q20v...Slightly modified
'84 Tornado Red Urquattro Euro spec
'91 v8 pearl quattro 5-Speed (not exactly stock) :-)
http://hometown.aol.com/quattringo/index.html


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