running problem

[zrice88]

1990 L with a 5 speed

lopes while idling from 500 to 1200

while driving engine loses all power but does not die. it stays running but stepping on the gas does nothing.

seemed to develop over night

problem is intermittent. turning off the car and restarting does nothing. its like sometimes it hits a dead spot between 2000 and 3000 rpms

any input would be great

[jglutz]

Overnight....could be a bunch of things....I would start with removing the distributor cap and checking for moisture or crud on the post and rotor.
Also check that all of the ignition wires are secure and that the mounting contacts are not corroded.
This is only a start....I'm going off the 'overnight' clue...something is wet, corroded or lose.

[zrice88]

when it acts up there is no check engine lite and seems to get worse after it warms up. it lopes at idle between 500 and 1000 rpms but when i push in the clutch and the car is in nuetral it drops and stays at 500 rpms

[batstiva]

Welcome to my world. Hopefully your problem is not the same as mine, but that is why mine is in the FS section as a parts car.

Tho, mine was more of an erratic idle than what you are talking about.

Start with what he said, check for moisture in the disty cap, also check and make sure none of your spark plug wires are faulted open. Also check the MAF, I've never had an efi festiva, but apparently they are very touchy if that thing gets loose/messed with. Others, with fi festivas, can probably help you more than I can. Good Luck.

[zrice88]

I put a thermostat in it right before it started acting up and i cracked the coolant temp sensor but the gauge still works and i've never seen a temp sensor cause a running problem. I checked the cap, rotor, plugs and wires and nothing is wrong with them, which is good because i just replaced them 5000 miles ago. I even took the distributor apart because i know kzbill had problems with oil getting on the optical sensor. But everything looked fine. Replaced the fuel filter last night because it was time for a new one anyway. No change after that was done.
I had it running outside with the hood open and it was idling good. I closed the hood to take it for a spin and it died as soon as i closed the hood. I tried starting it with the hood closed and it misfires so bad it wouldn't even start. So i pulled the hood release cable and tried starting it and see started right up. So there must be something shorting out on the hood, but what? There is nothing even close to the hood except for the coil but if it was the coil shorting i would have heard the snapping sound but i didn't. it just kind of dies.
Do u guys have any idea what could be causing this? I am clean out of ideas.

[kzbill]

check the wires on the VAF make sure the contacts are clean. swap the vaf if needed too.

[batstiva]

No chance you loosened a wire, either at the thermostat, or around there, possibly the coil, that's causing intermittent problem?

It seems there have been guys on here who found the coolant temp sensor was a large part of the running problems they were having. Just a thought. Anyone else???

[jglutz]

^^The two temp devices located near the T'Stat housing are for the instrument dispaly and the cooiling fan. The ECA/ECU temp sensore (the one used to control fuel mixture) is located in the intake manifold diagonal/on the other side of the engine. There is a sesnor ground on the bracket between the temp sitch and the t'stat housing that is critical.

The problem description change a little bit from erratci to cutting out.....or maybe my perception did....anyway....Jump the fuel pump (force on) at the test connector. This would eliminate the fuel pump relay and VAF latch.

[batstiva]

The hood being up or down making such a difference makes me think loose or pinched wire. But I defer to larger brains on this one.

[zrice88]

i swapped the VAF for a known good unit last night. also checked the wiring harness that runs under the core support for opens. and i checked for battery voltage, reference voltage, and ground at the VAF and everything checked out. It now runs with the hood closed and it seems to run a tiny bit smoother. took it for a spin last night and it still loses all engine power momentarily but than it catchs itself and springs back to life.
tonite i am going to swap the ignition coil and all that other stuff on the left front strut tower and see if that makes a big difference.

[zrice88]

swapped VAF and checked for power and ground at the VAF and all looked good. still hesitates but it runs now with the hood closed

[kzbill]

ZZZ did you check the distributor for oil inside?
or replace it?

[scitzz]

Just an odd idea. Pull the hood off, and drive it down the road, if it runs fine, the hood is pinching something.....

If not, it sounds scary close to how mine behaved when I spun a bearing.....

[88festiva1.3l]

check vacumm leaks

[zrice88]

a crank sensor code came up so i got a distributor from a fellow festiva junky and it runs good but it still cuts out momentarily and when i sit at a stop light with my foot on the clutch the rpms drop to 400-500 rpms and when my foot is on the clutch and i step on the gas it wants to die unless i pump the gas a little bit to keep the rpms up.