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Thread: Engine stall. Random shutdown

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Posts: 1-10 of 20
2011-10-15 17:53:32
#1
Engine stall. Random shutdown
I can't figure this out. Its blowing code 21 ignition circuit and that's it.

I have done fuel pump and filter. Plugs wires rotor cap coil igniter all oem.

The car will stall randomly once its warm. Does it in gear while cruising and at idle intermittently. Sometimes it will restart right away sometimes a few minutes later it will restart.

It will sometimes make a moaning sound from the engine bay after the stall that I can't pinpoint since I'm sitting in the car. Alternator? The voltage tests out fine but that could be intermittent as the problem is on and off.

Help I'm stumped.
2011-10-15 23:50:58
#2
yea this has me stumped also.. when i was drivin it and it happend it seemed like a 2 step sort of thing.. pressed on the gas pedal but it just wouldn't rev past like what? 1.5-2k?
2011-10-15 23:59:35
#3
I've seen this sort of thing on two situations, perhaps this helps.

Check maf connection, and make sure the connector is on tight. The Z32 has a metal clip that holds it in place, and many people lose it and don't use it. It can cause intermittent connection problems.

Or the distributor may be taking a crap on you.
2011-10-16 00:14:52
#4
Originally Posted by lynchfourtwenty
yea this has me stumped also.. when i was drivin it and it happend it seemed like a 2 step sort of thing.. pressed on the gas pedal but it just wouldn't rev past like what? 1.5-2k?


No that's not it. You get nothing from the pedal when it happens.

Today I replaced the distributor itself and it still did the same thing. So I went and let it idle and jiggled the wiring harness in a few places and when I touched the alternator harness it stalled.

So I noticed the grounds looked bad and rigged up a ghetto ground wire from the frame rail to the alty bracket. Seemed to work.... I went for a 20 minute drive around my neighborhood and it worked. I decided to hit a major road and crack vvl for the first time in a month and that was great. Then I turned around to go home and same thing.

It restarted in about a minute and took throttle until the next time a few minutes later. The thing I noticed today is the harness is missing all the anchor points so my latest theory is that the harness swings too much and the pins are loose as a result. ugh.

Originally Posted by Coheed
I've seen this sort of thing on two situations, perhaps this helps.

Check maf connection, and make sure the connector is on tight. The Z32 has a metal clip that holds it in place, and many people lose it and don't use it. It can cause intermittent connection problems.

Or the distributor may be taking a crap on you.


I have the clip on the maf but you think it would stall and not start from the maf connection? I thought it would still run in limp mode if you lost the maf signal. will secure the maf w zip tie or something to see if it works. I can also swap the maf to be safe I have like 4 or 5 spares.

swapped distro igniter and coil today but there are some butt connectors on harness for the coil and the distro from the prev owners vvl and msd. They seem solid but I was going to start re-doing these connections as a next step.

After that I'm going to pull the entire harness and install the spare I have. really not looking forward to that.
Last edited by Benito Malito on 2011-10-16 at 00-22-00.
2011-10-16 00:45:02
#5
Please read this thread.
It sounds exactly like the same symptoms I had.
I was banging my head against the wall.
http://www.sr20-forum.com/general-sr20/8413-code-21-stumped-help-please.html#post111803
Last edited by eggman on 2011-10-16 at 00-58-13.
2011-10-16 00:53:34
#6
link dont work
fixed
http://www.sr20-forum.com/general-sr20/8413-code-21-stumped-help-please.html

pretty sure he changed his ignitor already, but your guys problems are / were very similar..
2011-10-16 00:57:23
#7
fixed the link,I think.
yeah,I tested it and just swapped it out of pure frustration...being the ONLY thing that was not actually replaced with a known good part.
Last edited by eggman on 2011-10-16 at 01-00-25.
2011-10-16 01:03:28
#8
we can try mine out on your car ben an see if that helps.
2011-10-16 01:31:03
#9
Originally Posted by eggman
fixed the link,I think.
yeah,I tested it and just swapped it out of pure frustration...being the ONLY thing that was not actually replaced with a known good part.


See this is the thing I do just swap stuff till its good again.

That was a good link and the igniter I swapped was from the bone yard. The plastic housing was smashed but it worked fine. I figured how can you get 2 that perform badly in exactly the same way? I swapped my original one back in.

We can try yours Josh but I'm really thinking its the wiring harness at this point. It can only be a few things the motor runs great when it runs.

Could the throttle position sensor do this? TPS?
2011-10-16 01:32:53
#10
i highly doubt it but idk,,

as for the maf we both know it will start without it hehe
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