Thread: wont stay started

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I had it running ,then it started cutting out. Its a stock 350,edlbrock carb "& manifold,hei ,hooker headers,heres what happened,i wired the car, it was running ,needed carb adjusted slightly but was running,then i wired the alt & voltage reg,still running,hooked up lights & guages,stillrunning,starter died, got it rebuilt at a local gen/starter ive used for years,put it in car starts/runs for about 30/40 seconds then just quites, like its loosing power, you can have it at idle or full throttle then it just dies,thought it might be the carb ,changed it, same thing ,was told to jump the starter to the battery ,did not work ,disconected vac adv no change ,disconected alt and amp meter,no change,fuel filter shows full gas in line (clear glass type,2 of them) im now perplexed as to the problem ,any thoughts? thanks guys

Also before this i set timeing to 8 degrees btdc with vac avd disconected,but that was way back,before this started

Need more info. When it dies, does it sputter and rough up, or just quit instantly? Any popping or other noises?

just quites, no other noise ,it acts like someone yanked the ower to the dist

Is it an HEI distributor??? If so, maybe the module is bad???? I'm no chebbie guru at all, but I've heard guys describing that same problem on their chebbies, and the module was the cure.......

If it's an old ponts type ignition, maybe the coil has a heat problem... Had that issue with the old systems a few times, too.

Sounds like you have dirt in the fuel line, or a pin hole in the fuel pump diaphram.
Try pouring a little fuel in the carb when it quits & see if it burns it.
Also- have you re-set your valves yet since the first start-up? If they pumped up & got tight it will do that....

The engine is an older engine ,so no i did not mess with the valves

well thats what i thought was wierd ,cause it was running fine, then it just started messing up ,im not shure if the alt works ,it was not hooked up when i got the car,i put in a ezwire harness ,hooked up the starter switch,starter distibuter& bat the car ran fine, then i hooked up the light switch ,lights some guages ,amp,volt ,temp,oil, new volt reg &alt then the starter went bad trying to start it so i could see if it was charging,thats when i got the rebuild on the starter and everything went bad

my question is when it die's will it try to start back up, or do you have to charge or jump the car off to start it?

if you have a test light , you can start the engine while its running and before it dies again, prob the battery terminal wire to the distributor . if the engine dies and the light stays light then it maynot be the dist at fault.

also you may have a break in a wire that could be the problem, while the engine is running shake any wires to see what happens.

it starts right up every time ,the battery is charged,since i changed carbs its starting harder now so im thinking its fuel

when cranking the engine does it spin fast or slow, or does it act as if the battery is a little low, even though the battery is fully charged?

there are a few possible reasons the engine is shutting down on you, first you need to verify correct voltage to the ignition, no short or loose connections, next is to make sure you are getting correct fuel, and if you are getting both and you still have the problem, then you may need to check the timing chain and gears. I have seen a worn set cause simtoms like this also.

and anouther thing to look at is the choke. it maybe closing and killing the engine.

Thanks for the help guys , i think i narrowed it down to the fuel pump,after i tried a 3rd carb ,i pulled the line and spun it over ,no fuel pumped out ,but the clear filtetrs were full so i assumed it was pumping ,ill get a new one tomorrow and see thanks again

Be sure to post what happened with the new pump on. I don't see how it would run out of gas and start right back. How did the gas get there so quick but it couldn't get there to stay running? Don't add up. I agree with Dave, Denny, and others that blame the electrical. Let us know what you find.


I forgot to mention, I once had a problem that everytime I hit a bump, my whole truck shut off like someone turned the key off and right back on. Turned out the starter was bad. That is where you get your power from for everything

i bet vit is the module, i recently had the same prob. you be driving, and it just quits. i did a tune up , changed spark plugs, new cap and rotor in the ditributor. ran good, then it would bog out. it turned out to be the module, what happend was the wire in the pick up got eating up, like the rubber on the wire was gone and it was old, it wasnt getting to the pick up, and it wasnt , getting the power to the spark plugs, and thats why it wouldnt start. it would bog out, and sometimes it would start right back up, until one day, it wouldnt start at all, i had the wire changed out, and it start right everytime. if its not the module, you might wanna check your ignition, ut im pretty sure it will be the module.

Sorry i never posted the outcome , it turned out to be a fuel problem,the tank was full of rust, and the fuel line was rusty,it was getting blocked in the line somewhere so when it was trying to pull fuel it would clog up but then it would free up just enough to start up again,i replaced the tank, line and pump, now it works great