Pulling my hair out

[kboomisme]

PLEASE help. I have a 92 Festiva. To start with, it has always been a great car and has never left me stranded........until recently. The car will just shut off driving down the road. At times it will start right back up. Other times it wont. When it wont, I checked and there is no fire to the plugs. Eventually its starts again and rune like a champ....until it dies again. I have changed the ignition coil and the ignition control module (the thing mounted up be the firewall on the drivers side by the coil). So where do I go from here. Could it be a bad switch? Relay somewhere? Please help.....Thanks in advance.

[bolokid]

I had the identical issue and it was the module in the distributor. I replaced the entire distributor and have never been plagued with that problem since.

What's your location?

[kboomisme]

Wow. Awesome. I am in Maine

[1990new]

Be sure to check the simple stuff first. Have you cleaned the fusible link contacts recently?
I had a similar experience in one of my Festivas and cleaning the fusible link contacts solved the problem.

[kboomisme]

I pulled them and they looked clean but I will clean them. Thanks for the tip.

[lessersivad]

I had the identical issue and it was the module in the distributor. I replaced the entire distributor and have never been plagued with that problem since.

What's your location?

Yup, did the same thing a couple of weeks ago after a 'no start'. The day before as I was leaving work it died, but started back up.

The following morning the engine started, I came into the house for a few minutes and when I went out, the car had quit. Cranked it a few times and decided NOT to kill the battery with continual cranking.

Checked the fusible links, fuses inside, all were good. Checked voltage at coil. Checked for 'tach signal'...nothing.

Swapped distributor and it fired right up.

[FestYboy]

Oil in the dizzy... Hose it out with non-chlorinated brake clean.

[TominMO]

Oil in the dizzy... Hose it out with non-chlorinated brake clean.

Minor hijack: what is the advantage of non-chlorinated vs chlorinated? Is the non always better for every use?

[fezzy]

My 95 Festiva used to do it, just cut out at the lights while idling then start straight away.
Checked where the under-the-hood fuse/relay box is located near battery, not sure if yours has it, but found loose terminals and some corrosion in that black fuse box holder.
Cleaned it out and had to re-crimp some wires. Kept doing it but not as much so I replaced the holder, got one from a yard wreck. Cross fingers but has not happened again since.