Engine dies after 2 or three minutes

29restorod

29restorod

Senior Member
I have been chasing this problem for several days with no luck. I started with a good running touring engine. The first Mod I made was the Stromberg 97 on an Ansen Manifold. It ran very well,except uphill on half a tank. Next I installed a 6Volt electric pump and pressure regulator. While I was wiring the pump,I installed a "on-off" type ignition switch,and my Mallory dual point distributor. The car fires right up and runs fine,will sit and idle as long as you want. Revs up nicely,and pulls strong,for about 2 minutes,then suddenly dies. After you come to a stop,it will restart and run good for the same amount of time. I checked fuel flow from the pump, and took off the carb top,float chamber is still full. Dwell is 41 degrees total,right where it should be for a dual point system. Coil is a stock Ford script unit,and it does not get hot. I started with a fresh mallory condenser. I ran a stock coil back in the 60's,with a Mallory,that may have been a single point unit. Any thoughts where I should look next? I have an old Mallory 6 volt coil that I plan to install next.
 
The fuel pump is wired directly to the starter,with a manual toggle switch,and an inline fuse. The tank was cleaned and sealed,and the glass fuel bowl is clean. I have tested the pump,and checked the fuel level in the carb when it dies. I think my next move is to go back to gravity feed,and see what happens.
 
You didn't mix the radiator cap and the gas cap up? If you put the radiator cap on the gas tank it will only for a short while and quit running.
 
Like I said, I started with a good running car. I am trying to duplicate the car I had when I was 16,going by dads rules,"don't drill any holes" "no V8's",and "leave the fenders on". I need to check out the grounding for the fuel pump,it is bolted to the toe board,on passenger side. There was a note about grounding the pump on a 6 Volt neg ground car,in an E-bay listing. No such mention was in the instructions for my pump,which I bought from Summit(same brand,made for antique cars).
 
You said it ran well before the 6V pump & regulator, except 1/2 tank uphill. Use that info to separate ignition from fuel delivery problems. Disconnect & jump the pump space with a gas hose. Fill 'er up and see what happens. That should narrow it down.
 
Problem w/fuel regulator?? Take the pump and regualtor out of the equation and see what happens. If same problem, then it's ignition.
Paul in CT
 
Make sure the line coming out of the tank is clear. I had some rust at the tank and it did the same as yours. Blow back from the gas line into the tank.
Jack
 
OK It runs fine without the pump,just got back from the gas station,eight miles. Did another flow test on the pump,seems to put out much more gas now than it did on the first test a few days ago. I also noticed,that fuel will gravity feed through the pump,although not a lot. I am done playing with it today. Time to go cruising with one of my other cars.
 
Check the wiring to the fuel pump, Pos (+) would be ground, and Neg (-) would be to the Switch. Just wanted to make sure.
Bob
 
The pump only runs wired one way. I had no time to play with it today. Friday I will get back to work on it. I will also be installing a new reproduction exhaust manifold. The exhaust leak was driving crazy. I want to get in a few hundred miles of driving it,before heading back to Florida.
 
I played with this problem again yesterday. This time when the engine died,I shut off the pump instantly,got out and and took off the carb top. The float bowl was full,so no problem with the pump,or fuel system. I then tried a road test again,it died while still pulling in third gear. The engine restarted after setting for a few minutes. I drove back to the garage,again the engine stopped. This time I noticed the coil was very hot,also the amp gauge showed full discharge while cranking(not fluctuating like normal). A few minutes later the amp gauge showed normal and the engine started. Next I installed my antique Mallory coil,(the tall one with the pointed end pointing down),the engine fired right up and sounded good. At this point my wife insisted I quit for the day. Sunday I may be able to test it again. If the coil does not fix the problem,it must be the distributor.
 
The Mallory coil fixed the problem. I can not explain why it only quit when the pump was on. Now I can fine tune the ignition,and carb.
 
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