Hi, doing 70mph in the outside lane earlier when vehicle just died, I mean died like I just turned the ignition off, no misfire or rough running beforehand - nothing! Motor cranks over normally but will not start, plenty of gas in tank - smells of gas when cranking & can hear pump running. Plugged in code reader & no codes present. Thinking probably ignition related but want to know if there's anything obvious I should check 1st? Rev counter dropped to zero the instant the engine died - before I could even coast to a stop. Any ideas would be welcome before I go in blind.

 

You could check if there is a spark when you start the engine...that easy to check...........

Greets from holland

 

There is no spark, gonna take distributor cap off & check inside. Wondering if coil has packed up? Will let you know what I find.

 

also, check the rotor under the cap. make sure there isn't to much play-or that it isn't even attached anymore (ie: broken distributor shaft).

 

Your seloniod(sp) (on starter) might be fried Dave.

 

Had a good look around today & checked for anything obvious, upon closer examination I found there were only 6 HT wires on the distributor cap instead of 7- the one from the coil was hanging down the back of the engine!
Replaced it & she fired up straight away! Wish all fixes were as easy as that, couldn't have pushed that one wire in far enough when I replaced them all a while back.
Still doesn't explain why rev counter dropped to zero the moment it all died though, would have expected that to still register if the LT circuit was OK?

 

"Motor cranks over normally but will not start"

oops, missed that right there, man what a blessed issue this one was!

 

That's good news it was so simple!!

 

don't feel bad though, i had the same thing happen to me, while in my Dart years ago.

problem was, i was down in Lexington KY for a show, and doyou think anyone would stop to give me a boost after i got the wire back on? guess they saw the foreign plates, and said forget about it.

as for needing a boost............the car had an under hood temp of 170*F, and really needed a second battery if it hadn't cooled down enough. (2 1/4" primary fender well headers create alot of heat-even when wrapped!)

 

If I hadn't been on a 4 lane freeway with traffic shooting past the truck at 70+mph a foot away I might have been able to look around & find the problem rather than waiting the hour it took for the tow truck to turn up. Just after the engine died a police patrol car stopped & told me to get out of the vehicle & sit on the grass while I waited for the tow truck so never got a chance to look around at the side of the road.
Thank god i've got national take-you-anywhere breakdown cover or would've cost me £100+ (about $160) to get towed the 10 miles home.
Have been wondering how we used to manage in the days before cellphones?