Sarthax

Hi guys, lurker and new poster and I need expertise. I know there's tons of stalling threads and questions around but I've never found one that actually solved my problem.

It started when one morning I had a no start condition. I tried that night and it started.

I had no issues for a few weeks after that and assumed the problem was solved. Driving to work one morning about 2 miles down the road I start getting hesitation and a stall. I had 1/4 tank and it started to hesitate so I pulled it over. I was thinking it might be cap and rotor or coil. So I went out and got a new rotor/cap/plugs and pulled a used ignition coil from pick and pull. They were overdue and needed to be replaced anyways and the coil was cheap if it was that. I never went through with diagnostics and just shotgunned it. I was on side of road and put them in and it started right up.

I got 1 mile down the road and bam another stall. Tried again after 1 hour and half mile down road and another stall.

ALWAYS stalls after a few minutes, won't start until waiting at least 1 hour or more then runs again for a few minutes rinse and repeat.

I had it towed home and was now assuming fuel delivery problems and started diagnostics on that. I checked for voltage and continuity on wires and everything checked out. Got new front and rear filters. Replaced fuel pump with airtex aftermarket and new sock and after all this same problem. It starts and dies after running for a few minutes. I then went looking at the Fuel Pump Relay and grabbed a used one from pick and pull. Same problem. I put in a few gallons of new gas but have not drained the tank. I saw no signs of rust or contamination while looking inside the tank after pulling the pump.

It runs perfectly smooth and starts instantly but just keeps dying out. If I rev it up to 4K it drops every now and again but keeps chugging for an additional 30 seconds before dying out whereas if it let idle it just stalls dead.

So here I am having basically replaced everything fuel and electrical related and can't get the car to run. All I can assume now is some faulty ignition stopping the fuel pump? Can the pump prime and build pressure but doesn't run continuously? I can jump wire 1 and 2 on the relay harness and it pumps but I don't have a fuel pressure tester to keep an eye on it while it runs. I tried releasing the fuel cap for possible vacuum or vapor lock problems and that didn't help.

What else can this possibly be? Vac advance? EGR? Timing? Carbs flooded or clogged? Bad gas?

I'm at my wits end here and wife is pressuring me to get rid of the prelude and get a new car. Help me save my baby!

TLDR:
Start, 2-3 minutes to stall, wait 1 hour or more. Replaced Ignition Coil, Rotor, Cap, Plugs, Fuel Pump, Fuel Filters, Fuel Pump Relay, Fuses.

holmesnmanny

If it does it after its been warmed up it could be a bad oxygen sensor. I would check for an exhaust leak in the exhaust manifold while seafoaming first before replacing.

Sarthax

Ok the verdict is in. Igniter! Popped the new one in and it runs like a champ. Such a simple thing that turned into a 2 week ordeal because I didn't diagnose properly. It really acted like a fuel delivery problem but was an intermittent igniter that was shutting down when getting hot. At least I have a spare coil and fuel pump relay to keep in the trunk :D Hell part of me wants to just get a spare igniter and keep it in the glove box considering how small they are. Easy to replace if you have a screwdriver and hammer.

Time for an oil change and onward to replace those leaky seals in the distributor. Brake pad replacements next since I'll be jacking it up.