Stalls when warm. Electrical?

HappyJack

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67 Fury III, 383 2 barrel

Problem at idle: fire up and run fine. Will sit and idle. Once up to temp, it stalls. It won’t start again until cool. Or if it does start, it doesn’t stay running. Even if pumping the gas.

Problem driving: if I fire up the car and drive it I can do 2 circuits of the neighborhood and it just dies, in almost the exact spot every time. Acts like out of fuel. If I pump the gas it just coughs and sputters , but still won’t stay running. Restarting is same as above. Best to let cool, then it fine.

What I’ve done so far: (some related some not. Some helped a little. Seems to be a collection of little problems I’m eliminating as I go, but still stalls)

New timing chain and water pump

*edit* new gas tank and sending unit as well as all new lines from tank to carb.

New cap, rotor, plugs, wires, points and condenser

New ballast resistor (found 12v going to coil) now I have 10v

New coil, in case the old one was cooked

Replaced voltage regulator

New fuel pump

Remanufactured carb

Rerouted fuel line and covered it in heat shielding

Check the exhaust manifold flap to see if it was seized closed (it has been removed by previous owner)

Cleaned all contacts at firewall plugs

Found slightly melted wire that went to ballast resistor (feed wire) replaced it.

Also found melted wires from the alternator and replaced them.

The results: after fixing the melted wires the will idle but when it normally just dies quick, now the rpm’s drop to about 700 from 1000. Then jump back up to 1000 for few seconds then drop again to 700. It does this several times, going back and forth like a switch bring flicked on and off. Then die. Also noticed my amp meter was reading low, when I tried to rev it up, car died.

I then disconnected the alternator with the same results as above, but tested the alternator output while not hooked up to the car. It was all over the place bouncing around 3v to 17v and everything in between.

So I replaced the alternator.

Still the same stalling problem.

Someone suggested carb again. So I turned the idle screws out 3.5 turns each. Then slowly turned them in half turn each until the engine started to stumble, then back out a half turn.

It seemed to work. Car idles for awhile. I fixed it I thought.
Until I did my 2 laps around the neighborhood and it died in its usual spot. I backed the idle screws out another half turn. Fired up and did a half lap, died again. Both times I looked in the carb to see if I could see gas shooting in when I pumped the gas. Yes I could.

Backed out the screws again, fired up and made it back to my driveway. Then while idling in the driveway it died. Tried starting and it is turning slow. Temp is in the normal range. So I’m thinking battery. Checked it has 12.4 v

That’s where I am. Where do I go from here? I’m still thinking it’s electrical like there is a draw somewhere. Though adjusting the carb did seem to help.

I’m about to go checking wiring under the dash. I know all the power goes through the amp gauge. Could it be that? Carburetors and electrical are my 2 weakest spots in my knowledge. I’m at a loss.
Help please.
78B60570-FE0F-4A9A-B35C-41E8515A88EC2024-05-01_10-51-44_929.jpeg
 
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Have new points and a condenser? New stuff sucks. Condensers get hot and fail. Love the car!
 
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You really need to see if it has spark when it happens can be either.
 
You probably need a new fuel sending unit(filter) unit and a clean/new tank.
 
You probably need a new fuel sending unit(filter) unit and a clean/new tank.
Sorry. I forgot to add that I did put a new tank and sending unit in too. As well as all new lines from the tank all the way to the carb.
 
You really need to see if it has spark when it happens can be either.
When it dies, I did check for spark from the coil wire and from a plug wire. There is spark. Not sure if it is weak or not. Can only confirm there is spark.
 
see if the spark is the same when cold if it is then next is fuel issue maybe.
 
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Sounds like a very frustrating problem. As a test I would bypass the ignition by disconnecting the input side of the ballast and run a wire directly from the battery. Test drive and see if it fixed the problem, if so it is on the power supply side.
 
67 Fury III, 383 2 barrel

Problem at idle: fire up and run fine. Will sit and idle. Once up to temp, it stalls. It won’t start again until cool. Or if it does start, it doesn’t stay running. Even if pumping the gas.

Problem driving: if I fire up the car and drive it I can do 2 circuits of the neighborhood and it just dies, in almost the exact spot every time. Acts like out of fuel. If I pump the gas it just coughs and sputters , but still won’t stay running. Restarting is same as above. Best to let cool, then it fine.

What I’ve done so far: (some related some not. Some helped a little. Seems to be a collection of little problems I’m eliminating as I go, but still stalls)

New timing chain and water pump

*edit* new gas tank and sending unit as well as all new lines from tank to carb.

New cap, rotor, plugs, wires, points and condenser

New ballast resistor (found 12v going to coil) now I have 10v

New coil, in case the old one was cooked

Replaced voltage regulator

New fuel pump

Remanufactured carb

Rerouted fuel line and covered it in heat shielding

Check the exhaust manifold flap to see if it was seized closed (it has been removed by previous owner)

Cleaned all contacts at firewall plugs

Found slightly melted wire that went to ballast resistor (feed wire) replaced it.

Also found melted wires from the alternator and replaced them.

The results: after fixing the melted wires the will idle but when it normally just dies quick, now the rpm’s drop to about 700 from 1000. Then jump back up to 1000 for few seconds then drop again to 700. It does this several times, going back and forth like a switch bring flicked on and off. Then die. Also noticed my amp meter was reading low, when I tried to rev it up, car died.

I then disconnected the alternator with the same results as above, but tested the alternator output while not hooked up to the car. It was all over the place bouncing around 3v to 17v and everything in between.

So I replaced the alternator.

Still the same stalling problem.

Someone suggested carb again. So I turned the idle screws out 3.5 turns each. Then slowly turned them in half turn each until the engine started to stumble, then back out a half turn.

It seemed to work. Car idles for awhile. I fixed it I thought.
Until I did my 2 laps around the neighborhood and it died in its usual spot. I backed the idle screws out another half turn. Fired up and did a half lap, died again. Both times I looked in the carb to see if I could see gas shooting in when I pumped the gas. Yes I could.

Backed out the screws again, fired up and made it back to my driveway. Then while idling in the driveway it died. Tried starting and it is turning slow. Temp is in the normal range. So I’m thinking battery. Checked it has 12.4 v

That’s where I am. Where do I go from here? I’m still thinking it’s electrical like there is a draw somewhere. Though adjusting the carb did seem to help.

I’m about to go checking wiring under the dash. I know all the power goes through the amp gauge. Could it be that? Carburetors and electrical are my 2 weakest spots in my knowledge. I’m at a loss.
Help please.
View attachment 676225
Hey I have and had a a similar problem. what ignition are you running? I believe the HEI distributor only requires 7 V at run and 12 for start. I also had a bad volt meter in dash that was giving me all kinds of problems
 
Sounds like a very frustrating problem. As a test I would bypass the ignition by disconnecting the input side of the ballast and run a wire directly from the battery. Test drive and see if it fixed the problem, if so it is on the power supply side.
Tried that last night. Made no difference. But I think I figured it out. I’ll post below.
 
Hey I have and had a a similar problem. what ignition are you running? I believe the HEI distributor only requires 7 V at run and 12 for start. I also had a bad volt meter in dash that was giving me all kinds of problems
Running completely stock 67 Fury , 383 distributor with points and condenser. But I think I figured out the problem, I’ll post below.
 
IMG_0304.jpeg


Thank you to everyone who gave their thoughts and opinions. You all were a great help, even if it was just to confirm I wasn’t going crazy.
As you can guess by the picture, my problem was fuel related.
I figured I replaced everything in the fuel system. So it couldn’t be that. I went through all the electrical, did find some problems that needed to addressed, but still had the problem of stalling out.
Then one of you,… sorry off the top of my head I can’t think of who,… suggested the fuel pump pushrod.

Pulled it out today, measured it, not that.
It was 3.21 inches instead of 3.22. Worn, but barely.
But maybe the cam lobe?
Put it all together again, but this time with a cheap clear fuel filter just in front of the carb.
The top line in the picture on the filter it what the fuel level was at. Then at idle it dropped to the lower line and stayed there. Reving it up did bring the level up, but only slightly. Then it dropped again. I quickly took it for a drive.
I tromped the throttle it died. I filled the bowl of the carb with gas I brought, fired up again. I babied it around the block it was ok, just before home I gave it some throttle,.. it died. More gas in the carb, fired up drove it into my garage. So after all that, it was a fuel issue. Sounds like I need a cam. But for now, I think I’m gonna put an electric pump on and just drive it the rest of the summer. The cam will be a winter project.
Thanks again for all the help and input. This site rocks .
 
Good Job. Our old engines are so simple fuel, spark or compression but sometimes a little gremlin gets in there and makes diagnosis a PITA.

Make sure you install a low pressure pump 6 to 8 PSI or you will blow past the needle and seat.
 
Sounds like a very frustrating problem. As a test I would bypass the ignition by disconnecting the input side of the ballast and run a wire directly from the battery. Test drive and see if it fixed the problem, if so it is on the power supply side.
I had similar issues in the past. It sounds to me like a float bowl sticking or possibly a bowl vent or as stated earlier a weak fuel pump. I think your issue is fuel related. Good luck, I struggled with my 383 Chrysler for months before I finally straightened it out. Frustrating but worth it when you finally get it fixed!
 
? For happyjack did the electric fuel pump solve your problem?
I am new to this forum ( it’s awesome)
You’re stalling when hot problem reads as if I was writing it. The only difference is the car 66-300.
 
? For happyjack did the electric fuel pump solve your problem?
In a word, no.
After replacing everything in the fuel system ( so I thought) and checked all the electrical, it turned out to be something stupid.

I had a new carb, new pump, all new lines and a new tank, what could it be?
Turns out my new tank I got, new, never installed I was told. And it wasn’t installed, and it was new. But the previous owner didn’t tell me was he installed a used fuel pickup. It was plugged. Replaced it with a new one, solved the problem.
I felt so dumb.
 
I wouldn’t have thought to check the pick up in the tank . I will check that I’m in the process of replacing the HEI distributor control module. Glad yours is fixed . Thanks for the reply
 
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