302 Suddenly Dies!

[OUFan22]

OK. I just bought a 1969 Fastback with a stock 302 and a 2 barrel carburetor. I tuned it up with new plugs, wires, cap/rotor, points/condenser, hoses, belts, and changed the oil. It ran fairly well prior to the tune-up.

It will idle real well for a minute or two and then suddenly die as if I turned the key off. I have adjusted the points to .019" gap. It runs very smooth until it dies. Could it be a carburetor problem, the voltage regulator, vacuum, etc...?

It will also do this as I asm driving. I was puttering around the neighborhood at a steady speed of 25 mph and it suddenly died a couple of times. What could it be? Thanks.

 

[66ford289]

In my opinion sounds like it's something with the carb. Because if you have good spark and air I really don't know what else would be wrong besides the third element. If your starting the engine cold and then it dies you might want to check the choke to see if its working.

 

[Max Power]

Does it start right back up when it dies? Do you have spark right after it dies?

 

[OUFan22]

Yes, it always starts up immediately after it dies. I do think the choke settings need adjusted.

 

[Max Power]

Choke won't cause sudden stalling like that. Fuel probably isn't getting cut off either, as restart would be difficult. I am guessing electrical, maybe coil, maybe connections....

 

[C.Harris]

I would take a look at electrical as well. Wouldn't hurt to doublecheck settings on the carb but check all wires for a good connection. Check the coil- as soon as the car dies, turn key off and feel the coil case (with caution)....in most cases a bad coil will be too hot to hold.

It could also be a bad ignition switch. I have had a bad switch on 2 of my Mustangs. The switch I speak of is the electrical one under the dash. They are a pain in the butt to swap out but are usually inexpensive and may be the culprit. And while your at it, check the key ignition switch out. An old key switch will sometimes have worn internals and can vibrate or loosen up and cut off the igniiton to the engine.

 

[lookout4me]

this happend to me once i was driveing one day after i thought i fixed a problem like that and all of a sudden the car stoped i did not know why i thought it got to hot but it would not start after messing around with it a little bit i found out i was out of gas. that was the stupedest thing i ever did.(ps. I took alot of parts off to find the problem then had to put them back.)

 

[Pakrat]

With all the things you did for the tune up I am surprised that you did not change out the fuel filter as well. You could have enough of a blockage that temporarily cuts out the fuel just long enough to stall it. Once dead there could be just enough back pressure to unblock it for a short time until the cycle repeats. At least that is one possibilty that should be looked at considering how cheap a fuel filter is.

 

[lookout4me]

and allso some carbs have a filter in them too so check the carb.

 

[OUFan22]

The problem is fixed. It was a bad connection on one of the coil wires. Actually both connections were loose. The old push on connections were about worn out.

By the way, the fuel filter is in good condition.

Thanks for all of the input. It is much appreciated.

Derek