wrkey

Update - RESOLVED! At least for now! Okay, so it took a while to get back over to work on her but. First let me say I appreciate all the advice and suggestions! This is a great forum and the folks here have a genuine interest in helping. Well, as suggested (several times... I am a bit thick at times), I bought a set of high quality silicone plug wires and new platinum spark plugs. In the process of installing them at least half of the plug wires came off by leaving the 'plug clip' on the end of the spark plug itself. Obviously the wires were in worse shape than they appeared to be. But, as I was told, they may look good but they are still 20 plus years old! With the new wires she seems to run better even under load. I haven't had the time to go long distance but I've been up on the freeway and she got there as quick as can be expected. The real test will be next weekend when I take her to Bastrop State Park for the weekend as my daughter graduates from UT with a BS in Public Health. The run there in and back should shake out any issues that remain. (Ya'll like the 'backdoor brag' I threw in there!) So what did I do to resolve my initial problem? Well, everything I did fixed it a little, but the wires and plugs did the most. So, if you are reading this have the same kind of issue... get a good clean ignition foundation with 1)New plugs, 2)New wires, 3)New Rotor, 4)New Distributor Cap and 5)New coil.... in that order. Do this before looking to the ignition modules and save yourself a lot of time. Thanks again to all that provided assistance! See ya'll on the road! Rusty

Since I was getting spark at the coil wire, I grabbed my spark plug socket and few other tools and when back to the storage unit to see if I got spark at the plugs. Before I pulled plug, I put my screw driver in one of the plug wires at the distributor and gave her spin. No spark. Wow... okay... so a quick trip to Autozone and got a new rotor and put it in. Cranked up. Hmm... road test.... ran lots better but still mis-fires under load... just not a bad. I'm thinking I need to get the timing set. Need to find a local mechanic that is familiar with these big blocks here in the Spring/Houston area. Getting closer. Thanks to everyone for their help thus far. Haven't resolved the original issue but at least she is running now.

I replaced the cap and rotor when I first starting having the misfire issue and it helped for a while. I didn't check through to the plugs as I didn't have a spark plug wrench with me at the time. I am going to try that today.

Update but still not resolved. Removed the ignition module from the distributor and had it tested at local auto parts store. Tested good. Purchased a new coil and installed. Used phillips screwdriver in coil wire atop of distributor and cranked engine... nice strong spark. Tried to start but no go. Sprayed some starter fluid into the carb and attempted to restart. Did not start nor even fire a single time. So, it's got fuel, got spark and then just spins with no firing. To me is sound like when a smaller car's timing belt breaks and it just spins and refuses to fire. I didn't have time this afternoon to pull the oil filler tube to see if the valves were moving in case the timing chain is an issue. Any suggestions?

To answer some of the questions. The space needed to open the doors on a DeLorean are less than that needed for a regular car. Instead of opening away from the car as 'normal doors' do, they open upward and above the car thus requiring only about 9". The UHaul auto transport trailers have hinged finders on the driver side so you can lower fender if needed to open the door of the car on the trailer. Yes that was the parking lot you think it is, it is also where the Arcade I co-own is located (The Game Preserve). The kit cars are really cool. My son and I put one together during his senior year and the photo of that car is attached. It is a replica of a 1937 SS-100 Jaguar and sits on a custom chassis with a Mustang II suspension, V6 and 4 speed. The other photo is of Li'l Red in front of Eileen. Li'l Red is a 1967 Austin Healey Sprite with a 'few' modifications. Under the hood is a small block Chevy 350 from a '69 Camaro, Turbo-350 auto, a ford 9" rear end and custom speed hut gauges. The photo was taken after my trip to San Francisco and back and I was desperately wanting to drive something smaller and a bit quicker than Eileen!

Spring/The Woodlands area. I am co-owner/COO of The Game Preserve - a family oriented classic arcade located in The Woodlands. And yes, Ian, I tend to be a bit retro! LOL

Bought this about a year and half ago and this shot was taken last year as I headed for Dallas and the Texas Pinball Festival. This coach was well taken care of and had 45k miles on her when I bought her. She has a 454 and automatic trans. Fully self contained and everything worked (after I replaced the hot water heater and fixed a few minor issues) until about a month ago and I started having Miss-Fire problems (thread in Engines forum). Queen bed in back, shower on right, toilet and sink on right. Stove, oven and microwave and a surprisingly large fridge. Fold out couch plus dining table forward. Above drivers area is a drop down bed. Pull out gas grill which I didn't know it had until I started opening the outside compartments to see what was in there! I named her Eileen because she has functional leveling jacks but they tend to 'sag' after a while so she leans a little from time to time. Love having the RV and she has been to 5 pinball festivals, 2 pinball tournaments, 4 camp outs, 3 2-week stays at the antique market in Round Top Texas and most recently a round trip from Houston to San Francisco (4,200 miles) in 10 days to help my Daughter and my son-in-law move as he is not stationed there with the US Coast Guard. Once I get the timing problem resolved we will be out running again.. gotta get her fixed before May 20th with my middle daughter graduations from UT! Rusty

Great suggestions all. About a month ago I took her from Spring Tx (just North of Houston) to San Francisco and back and pulled a Nissan Sentra on the way there. She had some issues with the miss-fire on the way there but they became more frequent about half way back. So, I am pretty sure it's not bad/stagnant/water in fuel problem. When I know she is going to sit for a while I always put Sea Foam in her tank. As for the rotor and cap, well, I bought those new just before I made the 4,200 mile trip to California and back. I didn't replace the plug wires at the time and they look fine, are not stiff and show no signs of cracking. This is a miss-fire because it is happening in the exhaust and not back though the carb. Since it has now decided not to run entirely and I get see / smell fuel in the TBI then I think this pretty much points to an ignition problem... at least to get it running again. Herman may be on it with the ignition module in the distributor. Is the 'brain' of the ignition system on this model or is there another ECM somewhere? If the in distributor module was on it's way out then I suspect that would could have been giving me the miss-fire as timing advance under load portion of it wasn't working. However, if I understand the purpose of this module correctly, it is only for fuel control and crank shaft position sensor. (I may be completely wrong in this assumption.) I read somewhere that this module can be removed and tested at a parts store (Autozone was mentioned), is this correct? I see they sell at AZ for about $55 and that's not a big number but generally they won't let you return electronic components so if I buy and still no start then I guess I have an extra one. Thanks for all the advice! Keep it coming as I will continue to update as I go along and when resolved post here so the thread will be complete, at least for my problem.

Well whatever it is, it decided to get worse. Thankfully I was in the storage lot where I keep her when she died and now won't start. A quick look re sales she is getting fuel so it is an ignition problem. I don't have the tools with me to dig farther right now. But here are the photos of what she has. First photo is the distributor with out the. So in place e, the second is a shot across the top of the motor and the third is under the distributor where a vacuum advance normally is.

Resurrecting an old thread here. I have a '93 Allegro Bay with a 7.4l (454ci) motor and having the exact same problem the gentleman that started this thread did. Under load she misfires but runs great otherwise. I tried to find the vacuum advance components but am at a loss. There is no vacuum advance on the distributor itself. So it must be advanced in the ECM through some vacuum sensor that is located elsewhere. I am stuck on where to look for it. I don't hear any hissing so I don't think a hose is off or busted. But then again that motor ain't really all that quiet. Any help here would be appreciated!