Re: Strange engine shut-off

[Don Hoefer <hoefer@cary.eng.pko.dec.com>]

Lora,

There have been some good answers so far to your problem.  Another
thing that can be responsible for this behavior is the ignition
system.  The ignition control unit may fail intermittently.  This may
be mounted in the top of the glove compartment.  If it is oozzing
anything then replace it.  The hall sensor in the distributor can go
bad intermittently also.  Replace these items together if one or both
are bad.  I replaced them one at a time and they failed within months
of each other.  I could not tell if the hall sensor was bad until the
car died completely.  You should be able to just replace the hall
sensor without having to replace the distributor.  If the ignition
goes out then your fuel pump will also shut off, making the diagnosis
difficult.  Listen for the fuel pump next time this happens.  If you
cannot hear it then that (or the relay, connections etc.) is the
problem.  If the pump runs on for a second or so then it is the
ignition.

Don Hoefer
'82 Coupe