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(Very Long Rant)Worst Day Ever - Help me identify what happenedto my car



Justin,

Could be a number of things.. most likely it is either an air or fuel
problem. Look at your engine and see if any vacuum hoses are obviously
disconnected. If not, then check all your vacuum hoses especially the big
rubber intake boot (remove the clamps, take the boot off and carefully
inspect it out of the car) which is prone to cracking.

It is more difficult to check your fuel pump.. but if it has gone bad it
frequently makes grinding or howling noises when running. Take out the
seat cushion for your rear seat and put your ear to the round cover there
where the fuel pump is.. listen for any bad noises (car must be running).

Your fuel filter or catalytic converter could also be plugged, although
this is less likely.

The place I would probably start with fuel is the fuel pump relay. These
pretty commonly die, and when the do you don't get fuel any more.. that
will definately keep your engine from running.

It could also be a bad battery ground. This made my car die while I was
driving (in gear, so it had the same symptoms you describe.. couldn't
accelerate, but engine was still spinning). Run a new ground cable from
the battery negative to a clean, unpainted bolt on the engine block or
transmission (I used a starter bolt), and a second one from the battery
to a clean, unpainted bolt on the chassis of the car. This will vastly
improve all things electrical (bright lights, louder horn, faster starter
turn-over, better spark, etc)

Is the starter making any noises (whirring very quickly, or freezing up
intermittantly while cranking?) or does the engine spin and just not
catch?

Sorry to hear about your car problems! We've all been there, I can tell
you that..

HTH

-Toby

On Thu, 30 Jan 2003, Justin Tomlinson wrote:

> Today has to be one of the worst days I've ever experienced. I was
> driving from Clearwater, Fl to Orlando, a drive I'm used to making
> (1-2 times roundtrip a week). When I got to my exit on I-4, my car
> started bucking and kicking, and I couldn't accelerate (this in
> stop-and-go traffic, of course), and then stalled. I manouevred it
> as far out of the right lane as I could (there was no emergency
> lane), and put my blinkers on. I don't have a cell phone, so I
> just sat there trying to start the car, it would start, but
> despite my efforts to rev it, it'd die almost immediately. So I
> waited... nobody would stop and help, everyone would rush around
> me almost hitting my poor car. Finally, after 10-15 minutes, it
> started back up, and I managed to get it off the highway, but as I
> was getting it down the road (Colonial in Orlando, very busy
> road), it decided to start doing the same thing from a traffic
> light, so I pulled into the middle turn lane (I was stupidly in
> the left lane), and put the flashers on again.  People once again
> just queued up behind me instead of trying to help, honking their
> horns and speeding around me when they could. Finally I managed to
> wave down a cop who pushed me into a parking lot (I couldn't push
> myself as I was alone and with two cats, so I couldn't manage it
> across a busy intersection alone). It refused to start, so I
> called AAA and had it towed. Here I am now. Sorry for it being so
> long and stuff.
> This is my 82 by the way.
>
> Justin Tomlinson
> Orlando, FL
> 88 16v Scirocco
> 82 8v Scirocco
>