Stranded on a road trip, '90 ZR-1, no crank

[phrogs]

yeah it sucks to not have tools any harbor freights near by?


what does it feel like when it dies?

does it just shut off or do you feel like your starving for fuel?

[A26B]

Originally Posted by ZBrink

I don't believe so. We got it running via push start again. It seemed as long as I kept the RPMs up, it stayed running. I drove 60 miles or to a hotel in Flagstaff. It died at about the 55 mile mark but I was at speed, shifted in a lower gear, and it fired up again. Unsure if relevant/related, the gauge cluster goes out when the car dies?

What is the rpm at which it would stay running and below which it would die?

When it stayed running, was it running smooth?

Did it run very rough right before it died?

Check your battery terminal and make sure they are tight. You may be able to tighten with out any tools if you can rotate the battery cable to the right like you are tightening a bolt.

[Mikey]

Still not much to go on but since it runs but not well, symptoms sound like low fuel pressure. Many things can cause that. An incorrect fuel pickup line in the tank could have collapsed or deteriorated. Or fuel filter could be plugged. Or injectors gummed up. Etc etc.

[Mikey]

Spoke with Zack. Multiple things going on but it?s not running rough when it?s running. He?s making progress eastbound. All issues seem electrical and the combination could all be caused by a bad ignition key cylinder I believe.

Incidentally can anyone confirm if VATS matters once the car is running?

[ZBrink]

Originally Posted by dredgeguy

Possible fuel pump clip came off hose?

I don't believe so as I would think that would cause a permanent issue vs and intermittent one. I had it running for 11 hrs straight yesterday and it only shut-off twice, both times within the first hour of operation.

[ZBrink]

Originally Posted by phrogs

yeah it sucks to not have tools any harbor freights near by?


what does it feel like when it dies?

does it just shut off or do you feel like your starving for fuel?

Great question...It just shuts off, almost like someone turned the key to the "Off" position. No starvation of fuel felt.

[GOLDCYLON]

Originally Posted by ZBrink

Also, dumb question, does the brake pedal have to be pressed as well or just the clutch to crank?

The clutch needs to be engaged only to start the car however, it's always a good idea to have a foot on the brake incase you try to start and forgot it's in gear.

[Mikey]

Zack made it home. I?m very confident his ignition power is intermittently cutting out. Given that a key cycling ?fixes? it it?s focus on the ignition key cylinder and the wiring to it.

When he said he was losing the gauge cluster but not the radio or hvac I confirmed this could be a mistaken interpretation of the situation because at night when the lights are turned on the radio and hvac buttons are illuminated regardless of key position or ignition state whereas the gauge cluster backlights only come on when ignition is on (exception for the cluster center LCD which illuminates with just headlight switch)

[dredgeguy]

Zack made contact with Wazoo and he is now in good hands!

[Raykahn]

This sounds similar to what I was just dealing with in my 90. When cold it would start with no issues. Once the engine was warm it couldn't start without a push. Replacing the starter fixed it.

Cutting out while driving is strange. I did not have that. I don't think that would relate to the starter, so you may have 2 different issues. Maybe a grounding issue? The other other WAZOO Zack (god, there's three of us now) had electrical/grounding issues with his Z. He might be able to speak to some of the symptoms he saw.