[V8] 1990 v8 intermittant running

[Dave Saad]

First rule of troubleshooting is to start at the beginning and move  
methodically to the end. Assume nothing. Prove to yourself that you  
have fuel flow and pressure, and spark. (check both coils, and check  
at the end of the spark plug wires.)
I had a similar symptom years ago which I think was mostly a bad fuel  
pump relay, but I also had those Bosch +4 plugs in there and they  
don't seem to like this V8 at all.
In my case, I noticed that the engine would often "catch" after lots  
of cranking just as I released the key from start position.  That is  
what led me to the relay, and all I had to do was gently scrape the  
contacts a little. The same relay is still in there.

The headlight thing you describe would have me looking at the fuse/ 
relay panel.  Any water in there?

Dave

On Jul 3, 2010, at 11:47 AM, ian blondeau wrote:

> I have a 90 v8 quattro with 276k on the clock. Runs like a top. It  
> had the failing crank sensor when I got it and wouldn't start hot so  
> I replaced it. Put probably 3k miles of perfect running driving into  
> it after that. I'm very in tune with my machines and noticed it  
> cranking a little longer before it would fire. This might be  
> unrelated but there have been several times where the engine has  
> skipped a beat when I flip the headlights on. Odd. Last week I went  
> to start it (warm) and it would not fire. No sputtering just an even  
> crank. This lasted for 5-10 minutes and slapping the gas pedal  
> seemed to have some sort of positive effect. When I initially notice  
> the longer cranking, hitting the gas pedal usually fired it up. Odd.  
> Now, a couple days ago while driving, I lost engine power. It stayed  
> running down the highway if I feathered the throttle but if I gave  
> it too much it would bog. Now it doesn't really want to start and  
> run reliably at all. The CEL
> never came on. Last time I treid to start it I had to keep it  
> running with the pedal and can't trust it to go anywhere. Anyone  
> have ideas?
>
>
>
>
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