1979 winnebago chieftain dies after running for a bit

Started by scubieman, November 22, 2014, 05:57 PM

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scubieman

My motorhome runs for a few minutes then dies, then I can get it to run and it dies again.


Things changed, spark plugs, carb rebuilt, fresh gas.

LJ-TJ


cosmic

did you look down the carb and make sure its getting fuel?

scubieman

Yes there is fuel in the bowl, If I disconnect the fuel line before carb and turn it over fuel does spit out, So I know not a fuel issue.


Also when running I can see fuel go down the carb into the engine. It just doesnt stay running.

cosmic

ok so spark it is. and if it has spark to start, but looses it after how long? (how long is the engine running for before it dies?)

Rickf1985

Bad ballast resistor if you have one or ignition module. Ignition modules going bad will usually also give a hard start symptom. A ballast resistor that has gone out completely will start and shut off as soon as you stop cranking. The other thing to look at would be a bad coil, as it warms up the windings go open circuit in the coil. As soon as that happens it starts to cool off and they will reconnect and it will run again. Eventually it will just quit altogether if that is the problem.

scubieman

It could run for a few minutes or only run for 10 seconds. It's never really the same.

brians1969

QuoteAlso when running I can see fuel go down the carb into the engine. It just doesnt stay running.

As far as I can recall, you should only be really "seeing" fuel going down the carb is when you press the gas pedal down.  The accelerator pump will then shoot a fine stream of gas down the throat.  The rest of the time it is atomized. Is this what you meant?

scubieman

Right now the accelator pump is giving me issues, but idling is the issue, I took the the ballast resistor out. I plan to ohm it out in the morning to see if it's bad. Right now it's 34 F out and both sides are reading 0 ohm.

scubieman

I tested the ballast resistor which sat in the house all night, I have readings of 6.1 and .7




Do you guys think change it?

scubieman

I changed it and no changed. I seen distributor cap loose and tighten and no change, I looked under the cap and looks like its rubbing into the plastic of the cap

DaveVA78Chieftain

Would need to see a pic of the cap to say anything about that though that would be a bad distributor shaft bearing.  Could also be the coil heating up and opening.

Dave
[move][/move]


scubieman

well it appears the cap was loose. The next thing I am thinking of getting is a inline spark light that shows when the engine is sparking. I have no idea why it keeps dieing. The bowl is full fuel and i can see it going down into the intake.


LJ-TJ

Well I've had a similar situation in the past my self and it was the coil....... problem I didn't find it sooner is it was a brand new coil. You can always give it a try. I'm with Dave. :)ThmbUp

scubieman

How do you troubleshoot a coil? I see ohm it out but not sure.


And if feeling nice could I get the part number?

DaveVA78Chieftain

You can check ohms however that would not show an open if it is a heat related issue.

Dodge 2495531
NAPA IC676

At Autozone, Advance Auto, or any regular car parts house just ask for a ignition coil to fit a 77 D300 pickup with a 440.

Dave
[move][/move]


scubieman


DaveVA78Chieftain

The Masterpro, Delco, and BWD brands are basic stock coils which will work fine for you stock application.  the others are more high voltage racing coils.

Dave
[move][/move]


scubieman

I bought new distributor rotor and cap. Also bought a new coil. All bwd brand. I'll post back results.

LJ-TJ

Well what's taking you so long. You got us all sitting on the edge of our seats. D:oH!

scubieman

Sorry, motorhome outside. Currently -13 and -20 wind chill.  maybe in few hours :)

Rickf1985

That's no excuse, you are working from the inside. :D

LJ-TJ

Hey a couple of good shots of Jack Danial's and you'll never feel a thing.

pvoth1111

Quote from: scubieman on November 27, 2014, 09:27 AM
Sorry, motorhome outside. Currently -13 and -20 wind chill.  maybe in few hours :)


we just got back from a nice walk to the beach...... :-[
We call our coach "Charlie Brown"

scubieman

So I replaced the cap the rotor the coil. It's very cold here. It appears no spark at all. I have about 4-5 volts going to the coil. The positive small wire. I see 10 volts going into the ballast resistor. The engine will barely turn with battery charger connected. I am thinking I have something somewhere else causing bigger issues. Any ideas?