Engine cuts out intermittently

[MoeJr]

I am having an issue with my 84. Driving down the road all of a sudden my dash will flip out and look like it does when you first turn the key on. At the same time I can feel the engine cut out then come back on. This just started about a month ago. Car is bone stock and I just put in a fresh battery and the alternator is putting out juice. Not sure where to look as I am not too good with electrical. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Moe

 

[hotshotzny]

y bone stock do ypi mean fuel pump and all, if so take out the old one and put in an 85 fuel pump... probably doesnt have a thing to do with your current issue but you will see an immediate increase in power from your car.

electrical wise i cant help you, may as well be written in greek!

 

[82ColEd]

Firstly, i would check out the ground connections. Maybe they're a bit corroded as it sounds like you have a power cut then come back up. I dont know the locations of them, obviously, i dont have a 84, but maybe someone can chime in with those?

Good luck with hunting it down !


-Stefan

 

[geekinavette]

I would check out all battery connections real good. Battery to starter cables, and the main chassis ground from the battery to the engine block. Other ground points are on the rear of the driver's side cylinder head, and driver's side of the transmission bell housing (though those shouldn't make the engine cut out).

Also make sure the power feed to the distributor isn't rubbing and shorting out (thick pink wire). The only protection this circuit has is one of the main fusible links near the starter...if that sucker shorts it'll blow the fusible link and kill most (if not all) of the entire electrical system.

 

[Racer86y]

Crossfire

I had a 84 Camaro that kept doing same thing more or less.Turned out i was replacing fuel pumps when i should have replaced the whole thing.Purred and ran great after that

 

[MoeJr]

Believe it or not it ended up being the that one of the screws on the dist. rotor was completely loose and one of the clamps on the cap wasn't down so it would bounce and momentarily loose connection. Took care of that and it was back to running great. Unfortunately my wife totalled her van in October and lost her job so I had to sell it for next to nothing to pay bills.

I will get another someday.

 

[shark454]

I am having an issue with my 84. Driving down the road all of a sudden my dash will flip out and look like it does when you first turn the key on. At the same time I can feel the engine cut out then come back on. This just started about a month ago. Car is bone stock and I just put in a fresh battery and the alternator is putting out juice. Not sure where to look as I am not too good with electrical. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Moe

Don't overlook an ECM/connection problem. My 82 CE had the same symptoms when I first got it. I cleaned and retinned all the connector-to-ECM pins and the ECM connections. Car ran great for many years.

 

[tim414]

I am having an issue with my 84. Driving down the road all of a sudden my dash will flip out and look like it does when you first turn the key on. At the same time I can feel the engine cut out then come back on. This just started about a month ago. Car is bone stock and I just put in a fresh battery and the alternator is putting out juice. Not sure where to look as I am not too good with electrical. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Moe

This may not be your problem but I remember back to '84, I was in service and bought a new Camaro that year. It was less than a month old and it started doing that....cut-off or sputter, dash idiot lights would come on then completely normal. Or it would die going down road. Would start back again. I took it back to Chevy dealer where I bought it sooo many times....even started trying to get chevy to say it was a lemon. I had a buddy in Navy (I was in Army) who was in Newport News, Va (where I was stationed) cause his sub in dry dock. They were moved back to their permanent base in Goose Bay/Charleston and I had decided to go and hang out with him during a long weekend. While cruising down I-95 my 'new' Camaro started doing that again, I pulled off freeway in a bigger town to get the local Chevy dealer to check it, still no luck fixing....got back on the road. I had just crossed the state line into South Carolina and it stopped again but this time it was dead. I was furious. Sitting on side of I-95 in a "NEW" Camaro that left me walking. Saw a gas station and went there to use phone. The guy helped me get local Chevy dealership on phone who then came right out and towed my "new" Camaro into their shop. (When tow truck pulled up my "new" Camaro started right up) Well, after sitting there (dealer) about and hour they came to me to give me some good news and some bad news. First, the good news. They found the problem.....FINALLY after all the service visits and aggravation....the bad news....They had my Camaro on lift with it running and locked the keys in the ignition....'running'....I did'nt even care, as I was soooo happy the problem was found and repaired just by turning a open-end wrench a couple times.....the problem....***the battery cable was loose where it connected onto the starter.....fixed the problem***...AMAZING that all those mechanics (now their techs as not to offend anyone) who had looked at my "NEW" Camaro and did'nt figure it out and then, I get to a little rinky-dinky town with SMALL dealership that had only two techs....fixed my problem....I was only 22 at the time and I learned a important lesson that day......

***(The battery Cable Loose Where It Connects To Starter)***

Anyway.....reading your thread reminded me of that.....hope it helps.... tim