Ignition / ESC Failure?

[BEATAV8]

She quit on me today at WOT. I had to shut it off while coasting and restart.

It's been acting up a bit recently and seems to be getting progressively worse.
Weird symptoms leading up to today:
-small WOT KR that will not clean up with tune
-ocassional spark advance "dip" during normal driving, very brief spike from 40deg (normal) down to 30deg.
-lost RPM signal at WOT last week. Replaced crank trigger due to that incident.

Stock original ignition, Magnecor wires, NGK plugs, stock ECM with low Z drivers, TTSD computer chip. As mentioned above, brand new crank sensor.

Today it never lost the RPM signal, and datafile shows timing commands and injector pulsewidth commands, but never the less she quit running and I had to shut off and restart.

Data files shows a brief WOT, then the cut-out and me letting off, then tapping the pedal a few time to see if it was still running (it wasn't). After key-off, she started right back up and ran fine all the way home.

I think the 25 yr old stock ignition is giving up the ghost. What do you guys think?
Might be time for a Bailey TR6?

 

[BEATAV8]

You can see where I keyed off and back on around 41 seconds mark.

 

[TurboBob]

there is nothing I see in the data to explain why you lost combustion. The injector pulsewidth did not drop out, presumably you were still delivering fuel. Did you smell any raw fuel? Fuel pressure still happy?

No trouble codes.

No pop/bang/sneeze/backfire?

The fact that it refired right away is odd, whatever gave up required the keycycle to reset. I'm not aware of anything in the stock ignition module that acts that way. But it does have some wierd failure modes.

What is on channel 4 of the PL?


Of course it needs a TR6....

Bob

 

[TurboBuRick]

I think that's a good place to start. That original ignition is a fossil.

RL

 

[BEATAV8]

Channel 4 is fuel pressure. Registering 70psi when the engine shut down. Ha... fuel pressure was even responding when the engine was motoring and I was tapping the pedal (vacuum up and down).
I didn't smell any raw fuel or anything but I was moving along at a good clip, maybe it just dribbled out the tailpipe. No pop / bang / sneeze. Just "dead" no drama. Weird....
Wife will take the coil and module over to Casper's this week for a test just to make sure, but I do foresee a TR6 in my near future ;-)

 

[TurboBob]

check the plug for loose/corroded terminals, and the fuses for loose terminals as well.

Bob

 

[BEATAV8]

My TR6 order is in daddio. Can has actually been running pretty decent though.... but I'm not taking it to the track until it's 100%.