Technical CLX cutting out.

[John H]

I'm about at my wits end with this one at the moment, perhaps I'll get the better of it when I catch up on my sleep again (won't be on the bamboo spikes though )

Anyway, here are the symptoms:

Sometimes cuts out at tick-over when fully warmed up, but not hot enough for the fan to operate. (usually at a set of lights with lots of traffic behind [xx(]

Generally a third to half of the way down a tank from full. ( the filler cap isn't totally plugging the tank )

Will restart after cranking for anything between 10 and 30 seconds.

There is no spark when it won't fire up, and I've seem the spark return under cranking on the one occasion it died when I got home and had time to put a spare plug in one of the leads before it started working again.

I suppose the fuel level might be a red herring, and the coil might be getting too hot and failing.. but it's a nasty little thing with a custom molded 4 pin connector on it.

When I have the opportunity to play again, without being in the middle of three lanes of traffic into Bristol street in a thunder storm (tonight) with irate taxi driver up my exhaust pipe, I'll see if I can check the coil.

It may be the Hall effect device in the distributor.

If it would stay broken I could (probably) sort it out.

The other more worrying possibilty is the ECU shutting the show down because of a problem I'm not aware of.

Oh, for a set of points !

 

[John H]

Well, the cry of "Oh, for a set of points ! " wasn't far off the mark.

Managed to get it to misbehave at home, and got the scope on the coil primary waveform (via a thin piece of wire pushed into the socket, then remade the connector).

I'm surprised it ran at all: no regular switching.

Anyway, as it's Sunday and everywhere is shut I took the electronic distributor to bits. The module which does the business has 5 small terminals on it - 2 in one connector for the Hall-effect device, and the other 3 are power, earth, and coil in another connector.
Cleaned all the gunge out, wet and dried the pins, cleaned up the earth lead which is screwed to the distributor body (also the earth for the heatsink/case which is a separate metal strip held down by a screw and the heatsink/case).
Applied some "petroleum jelly" to the pins to keep the moisture and corrosion out, and reassembled it all.

Nice waveform on the scope now, and it's going much better too. It is so different that the tick-over was too fast - and only came good on resetting the ECU.

It remains to be seen if the cutting out has stopped.

Update 8/6/2003

The messing with the distributor didn't sort it completely.
Ended up with another distributor (from a Y10).
It's been over a week now, and not cut out. Fingers crossed.

P.S. the ignition on this version is essentially separate from the ECU - it does what it does like a set of points - the only ECU involvement is a feed to know engine speed.

 

[PandaManPaul]

<blockquote id="quote"> face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John H
the only ECU involvement is a feed to know engine speed.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
But even so, it unnecessarily complicates a basic design.

Paul

 

[John H]

Yes, but...

if your car manufacturer has gone down the Catalyser route to meet exhaust emission regs. from 1993, (which I think they all did) the ECU needs information about engine speed ( and exhaust gasses, and inlet temperature, and coolant temperature, and throttle position, and (optionally) vacuum in inlet manifold, and probably something else I've forgotten ).

However, it causes a smile to watch the throttle depress itself in readiness for a cold start and the electronic distributor is a good thing to put on an old Panda, as it stays in adjustment, and you don't need to replace the points (at huge cost), but I'm not sure if there's one which fits the 903 engine

Anyway, the choice of engine management was made by SWMBO, it's just my job to keep it going..B)

Regards


John H

 

[PandaManPaul]

I think I'd rather stick with my very basic 903 to be honest. A manual choke, set of points, no cat; nice and simple

Paul

 

[John H]

Given free choice in the matter, that's what I'd have gone for...:I

However it is giving me considerable hands on experience with early (basic) engine management, due to the legendary reliability of the electronics and connectors in these things..

So I suppose it's really a 300UKP learning kit, which also gets me to work, and back..

 

[John H]

Note for PandaMark:

this thread is the history of the electronic distributor in your van full of a parts - you would need to change the electronic "module" for reliable operation.

I understand it can/could be got as a separate item.