intermitant engin fail

[Spin]

Hello ppl. I have a very nice VL commodore , manual. 3.0l ( May, 88 )

Just recently it has begun to play up like a second hand lawn mower.

History. ( in sequence )
1) full tank Optimax
2) 1 bottle Spitfire Injector cleaner
3) tune up by maechanic. ( plugs, fuel filter, timing )
4) 110km on freeway and engin jerks/cuts out for a second or two,...runs OK, does the same, then runs ok again.
5) next day, travel 6KM and same engin cut out this time completely dead. Engin turns over but wont start.
6) leave it for 15mins, try again and of she goes smooth as silk.....1km down the road and same thing..engin dies and wont start till let to sit for awhile.
7) It has been suggested it could be either the coil or the Crank Angle Sensor.

any thoughts from other VL owners as this is my first VL and i know shit about cars.


thanks fror your advice

be good stay safe
Spin

[prettyboringbloke]

Crank Angle Sensor... Definately

[jetspin_vn]

More than likley CAS just by the sounds of things. Check the ECU for fault codes.

Extraction details and codes can be found here

If it is the CAS, then your up for a new one. Be sure to replace the distributor bearing also.

Mike.

[Spin]

Thanks for the help guys. Yes , it was the CAS. I put a new one in last night ( in the dark ) and now she runs like a dream, ......a wet dream. lol.

VL's are so much different to the HT i was used to. I loved that car. Leaked like a sieve, over heated if u went any faster than 55 MILES per hour but made it to Sydney and back many times and never broke down.


thanks guys.

[Spin]

It seams i spoke too soon. It broke down again yesterday. same problem but this time it will not start again no matter how long i leave it. i have no idea what could be wrong with it if not the CAS. ????????????


Can Holden run a diagnostic on the computer to find the problem or will they be in the same boat as me and not be able to identify the exact problem even with their flash machinery?

[Jim_Waddle]

ive got the exact same problerm wth my car it always stalls/cuts out on me in slow traffic and its real embarrassing havin to get out and tell ppl to go around me. especially the way i talk up my car!
wat can i do to stop this annoying problem???

[davohanz]

Hey All!
I'am after the same answer as you all, up untill 2 weeks ago, vl cranking away not missing a beat, Starting the rascal and went to take off and it just stoped, awesome not! unlike your little scenrio mine didn't start again untill 3 days later when i tried and it started first pop running like dream, 3 days later went to start it up in the morning not even a squill of excitement from the old girl, left it another 2 days and started fine for about a week, now its sitting doin not much, does this also sound like the above problem or could there be something else i'am missing!!
HELP ME!!!!

[Spin]

Well guys, two days at the mechanics and he has tested heaps of things that all work perfectly in isolation but........

the latest idea thrown into the mix is that, after three Crank Angle Sensors, three complete distributors ( the who box and dice ) two new coils, fuel flow tested and is pumping like an race horse....all now points to the little power sensor thingi that hangs off the side/near of the dizy. it appears that when this little sensor gets hot it fails and stops power to amongst other things, the CAS. a stream of cold water on this sensor and she will fire up and run smooth as..

It will have all its electricals tested next to see if the sensor is drawing too much power or what ever to make it get hot.

Ill let ya all know how it goes.

i want my car back!....if God had meant for me to walk everywhere he would have given me better looking legs.

be good stay safe

Spin

[Spin]

Success at last. After many days of testing and retesting and trying new and used parts we have found the problem and it has been corrected.

After $450.00 parts and labour the problem was the Power Transistor Moduel. A tiny little part that lives near but not on the dizzy. Now she purrs like a kitten and does not stop untill i tell it to.

[FastEHHolden]

Just coz ole mate can't diagnose the problem does that mean you should pay for all the parts he swapped? Hope you kept all the old parts.

What if he wanted to swap the engine to cure it?

[jetspin_vn]

Success at last. After many days of testing and retesting and trying new and used parts we have found the problem and it has been corrected.

After $450.00 parts and labour the problem was the Power Transistor Moduel. A tiny little part that lives near but not on the dizzy. Now she purrs like a kitten and does not stop untill i tell it to.

Awesome dude. As soon as I read that post I rememebered that an old mate of mine had the exact same problem on his VL, sorry I had completly forgotten about it!!

Hey All!
I'am after the same answer as you all, up untill 2 weeks ago, vl cranking away not missing a beat, Starting the rascal and went to take off and it just stoped, awesome not!

Your problem is almost certainly the CAS. First things first as per always, check the ECU for fault codes. Then if you can, try and explain what happens when the car dies.

Mike