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  #1  
Old 02-04-2013, 09:41 PM
shiner shiner is offline
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Unhappy Chevelle lost all power while driving, later regained power after sitting.

Background:

1970 Chevelle
383 SBC w/ longtube headers
200-4R Tranny
Electric Fans connected to a 170* Thermostatic Relay sensor
Stereo Amplifer in the trunk
Retrosound Radio
AAW Classic Update Wiring Harness


I rarely drive the car and it has left me stranded probably 7-8 times out of the possible 20 times I have driven it.

RECENT:

I recently took it to a stereo shop to have my Retrosound replaced and some amp wiring re done. On my way home I noticed that at a stoplight with my left blinker switched ON that my tach was at 1200 RPM and then dropping to ZERO(back and forth) with no audible fluctuation of the engine (false indication). I turned the blinker off and it didn't do it again.

Right after that the light turned green and I proceeded. About 30 seconds later my dash lights shut off and I notice that I'm just "gliding", the car shut off on me. I quickly put it in Neutral while rolling to attempt to restart it with no luck, the car had lost all power. When stopped all lights came back on but when I turned the key there was absolutely nothing, no sounds, etc.

My wife came and got in the car while I pushed her for about 200 feet.

Once she put it in Park, I attempted to start it, it then started cranking, and gave it gas and it finally started.

Why ALL THE SUDDEN did it start cranking once the car rolled for a little while??

I have sense checked, and cleaned up all interior wiring, engine bay wiring, rebuilt the distributor with a new coil and module from Accel...Also re set the timing.

Test drove it and acted great for 20 mins and then when I got home it died on me in the driver like it did originally. The ignition switch is original to the steering column which is from 1970.

What do you think about the starter solenoid? If it overheats can you lose all power like that?


I cant drive this thing cause Im afraid I will be stranded.

PLEASE HELP!
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  #2  
Old 02-04-2013, 10:53 PM
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65MalibuSS 65MalibuSS is offline
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Something similar happened to me. It was the ground strap on the firewall. It was not fastened properly and it arched against the engine block at high speeds causing the engine to stall. It was a 69 Malibu. Hope this helps.
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  #3  
Old 02-05-2013, 11:16 AM
flash flash is offline
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I dont know the answer but welcome .
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Old 02-05-2013, 12:58 PM
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hkalin hkalin is offline
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A friend of mine had a Camaro that used to do this. He took it to many different garages with no avail. I read up on it and told him it might be his coil. When it heats up the coil screws up inside. We were out together and it happened. We got a cup of cold water and poured it on the coil and the car started right up. He replaced the coil and never had any more problems.
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Old 02-05-2013, 04:13 PM
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Ms Grumpy Ms Grumpy is offline
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Welcome Shiner. I hope you figure out your problem soon.
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  #6  
Old 02-06-2013, 07:28 AM
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Hank70SS Hank70SS is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 65MalibuSS View Post
Something similar happened to me. It was the ground strap on the firewall. It was not fastened properly and it arched against the engine block at high speeds causing the engine to stall. It was a 69 Malibu. Hope this helps.
The engine itself is grounded through the battery negative cable. The rest of the car is grounded through the pigtail off the negative cable attached to the passenger side fender. The ground straps from engine to firewall were added to suppress electrical noise in the radio. If the car was ordered with no radio these straps were not even installed. If the pigtail to the fender has a bad connection then current will flow from chassis through the ground strap, through the engine then through the negative cable. That's not how it's supposed to work though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hkalin View Post
A friend of mine had a Camaro that used to do this. He took it to many different garages with no avail. I read up on it and told him it might be his coil. When it heats up the coil screws up inside. We were out together and it happened. We got a cup of cold water and poured it on the coil and the car started right up. He replaced the coil and never had any more problems.
I had a coil fail like that but it shouldn't kill power to the whole car.

Because the engine stalls and all power is lost I would suspect a problem with the positive power side of the wiring not the negative or grounds. Not sure how different the AAW wiring is from original. Original +12 comes from pigtail off positive battery cable, through a fusible link to a junction block mounted on the rad core support behind the battery. From there to the driver's side to the main splice. From there to the horn relay, through another fusible link then to the bulkhead connector to the fuse block. You need a meter or test light to determine where you have power and where you don't when you lose all power. Below is diagram of the original wiring, you can check all connection points to make sure they're clean and secure.
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  #7  
Old 02-06-2013, 06:46 PM
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Hank, wow. I am glad that there are members like you who have an answer, and explain it so even someone like me can understand it.
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  #8  
Old 02-06-2013, 08:01 PM
grandsport grandsport is offline
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Seems like someone got jerked around on another Chevelle site.
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  #9  
Old 02-07-2013, 07:34 AM
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Hank70SS Hank70SS is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grandsport View Post
Seems like someone got jerked around on another Chevelle site.
Not the first time, sure it won't be the last either.
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70 Chevelle SS396(454), M20, 3.73
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  #10  
Old 02-07-2013, 10:34 PM
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A little song popped into my head after reading the past few posts...

Don't worry...be Happy...
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