Fuel?

[jppatin]

WOW! I am so glad I found this site. I have a '79 Fiat Spider that I saved from waht was soon to be the junk yard.
I'm not sure what's going on with my car,but I had it running great when I developed what I thought was an bad ignition coil problem to what I think is surely a fuel problem.

The car starts and idles no problem, but I can drive 10 miles and then it acts like it's out of gas, looses power, spits, sputters then dies. I can let it sit for 5 minunts start it up and runs great like there's no problem at all, drive another 10 miles then dies again. It has a fairly new mechanical fuel pump. I read a posting about boiling fuel and a fuel valve, could this be my problem if so how can I fix it?

Thank you for your help.
JP in Texas

[TulsaSpider]

Welcome to the forum! I am sure we can figure it out!
What I would do is drive it around a wee bit and re-create the problem. Then check to see if it's squirting fuel and go from there.
I also read on here that there can be excessive vacuum created in the system that may cause this. Leave your gas cap loose so air can get in and see if the problem goes away. If it does then they have vented gas caps, or you could just drill a tiny hole in it I suppose.
Where in Texas are you?
Good luck!
Clark

[racydave]

If the fuel tank does not vent, this can happen. Try it with the cap loose.

[jppatin]

Thanks to you both for the info. I will try your suggestions and get back to you. I am in dallas, and very lucky because Vicks auto sports is close by for all my Fiat needs.

Thanks Again.
JP

[So Cal Mark]

it will be helpful in the future if you reference the year of your car and any mods made to it. So, what is your car? Does it have electronic ignition?

[jppatin]

Sorry, I thought I did.I have a '79 Fiat spider 2000, carberated with electronic ignition. As far as mods go I have put an exhaust header on and removed the catalytic converter. When my pinion gear decided to break apart into three pieces I rebuilt the whole suspension front and back.

Thanks again.
Pictures are coming.

[So Cal Mark]

you'll need to determine if you're losing spark or fuel. Heat related ignition failures occur with both the pickup and module. Fuel starvation can be caused by lack of tank vent or leaks on the intake side of the fuel pump.

[jppatin]

Ok, Thank you I have replaced the pickup, Coil, and module. I'll start looking for fuel leaks.

Thank you again.
JP

[jppatin]

Howdy everyone,

I spent $200 on a $4 fix. What I thought for sure was a coil problem was just a leaky fuel filter, go figure. Thanks to all who helped.

However I am still having a problem. The car runs, and idels great but it still acts like it's starving for fuel. I can be running at hwy speeds then will lose power like I'm running out of gas, I can let off the throttle for a few seconds then back on like theres no problem, then sputters again, let off, then on. Before I would have to pull over for a few min then I could restart and go down the road.

Not sure where to look next, loosening the filler cap did not help.

JP

[mdrburchette]

The fuel pickup may be pulling debris from the tank and clogging it up again.

[rlux4]

To check for flaky crap in your fuel tank, you can take the plate for the float and sender off the top and have a look into the tank. Just don't use matches for a light source!
Ron

[4babycar]

I have, as Ron put it - Flaky Crap, in my gas tank, not much but some. The PO had thought to put in one of the clear window style fuel filters which makes it nice to see when things aren't right as opposed to guessing. You can pick them up at most auto parts stores.

[So Cal Mark]

there is a small screen in the carb inlet. If its' plugged up the effect is the same as running out of fuel