owners of 88 and 89 carbed festivas help

[heavypork]

Ok, my festiva is an 88, and its got a b3 carbed motor. Since i got it ive had a few problems... but ive noticed its doing som buckking if im at mid throttle, and i noticed theres a red wire that comes out of something that looks like a throttle position sensor... and the red wire goes to the passneger side of the engine bay but doesnt go to anything. I think thats my problem, but i dont know where it hooks to. Can anyone with a b3 carbed festiva take a look at that red wire and see where it goes to. Thanks

[Tim]

Re: owners of 88 and 89 carbed festivas help

Ok, my festiva is an 88, and its got a b3 carbed motor. Since i got it ive had a few problems... but ive noticed its doing som buckking if im at mid throttle, and i noticed theres a red wire that comes out of something that looks like a throttle position sensor... and the red wire goes to the passneger side of the engine bay but doesnt go to anything. I think thats my problem, but i dont know where it hooks to. Can anyone with a b3 carbed festiva take a look at that red wire and see where it goes to. Thanks

When does the bucking occur? When the car's cold, warm, after driving for a while, etc....?


Regards,

Tim

[FB71]

the only red wire I remember seeing goes to either the EFE heater (heated baseplate under the carb) or Choke heater (can't remember which) from the alternator. I think its the choke. It runs off of a stator tap in the alt at about 7 volts. Your choke may not be pulling off fully, causing you to run rich, which can foul the plugs and cause a random misfire, often described as a buck, jerk, or 'trailer-hitching' sensation

[heavypork]

the wire was heading toward the altenator, but i didnt see a spot for it on the altenator. but it looks like a choke of some sort... the car drives like its been choked. I think thats only half my problem... im pretty sure the head has a crack in it as well.

[FB71]

the connection for it is camoflauged on the alternator. Its a small port in the back of the alt, doesn't look like an electrical connection. pull the alt out to get a good look at it.

[David88]

I experienced the bucking condition you mentioned. I had the base timing set on the engine. That helped. I had changed the distributor and tried to mark where it should go, but it was off a bit. it still does it some , but not as bad. I sure the rest is due to the motor mounts being worn out after 200 k miles. Worn mounts allow excess motor movement during acceleration.
David