82 Zagato hot start problem

[Todd D.]

I've just rebuilt and installed the motor in an 82 Zagato. It starts every time when its cold
and runs very nice.
However, it does not want to start after a long drive. Initially I thought it was the cold start
injector not working because there was an issue with the wiring. I now have the cold start inj. working but it failed to start again once hot.
I was chasing fuel as a possible problem but I can smell gas when its cranking so now I'm
thinking its ignition. Is there any part of the ignition that is heat sensitive?
Any suggestions on how to proceed?
My next step is to swap out the dual relay then the airflow meter just to see what happens,

Todd

[Jim Keller]

The ignition module for one, that's why it's mounted on a heat sink, <grin>, but they normally just pop when overheated and never work again. But just in case, go over it and make sure it's got good contact with proper electrical grease to the heat sink, make sure all grounds and supply electrical connections are clean and tight, it has a bunch of connections thru out the ignition system from the coil to the distributor and even a ground over to the brake fluid reservoir, also part of the fluid level switch operation.

If that all looks good, inspect the inside of the distributor for cracked or bare wires going to the pickup coil. Even if it was new when you rebuilt, I have had bad new ones, ones I screwed up installing and didnt' notice etc......

Check the throttle position switch on the throttle body for proper alignment, it is basically a micro switch that runs the FI one way when at idle then switches to another way when it goes off idle and into the AFM's signals, that could be the cause?????

How are the connections on your ECU?, if corroded, that could over heat the ECU. I have had a couple Betas that got water in the ECU wiring sheath and it runs down to the plug on the ECU corroding them and making things act funky or not at all

AFM or connections for same?

Fuel pump over heating and freezing up till it cools down? I have had that with an 87 Ford Escort GT and Mustangs I've had but never a Beta. Drive to the market for a gallon of milk and they don't start for several minutes to an hour plus, then it suddenly is fine, they don't sputter or stop while they are running, just after you shut them off they are very hot and freeze up till they cool down

[Todd D.]

Thanks Jim,
The next things I check will be the ignition module and the distributor pick up.
I've seen 2 of them that had bare wires inside. This one was supposed to be fairly new.
The ignition module has a bit of a loose plug so that could be it too.
I'll let you know what I find.

[PAV]

Could it be a leaky injector/ s?

YOu have to mash your foot down to the floor and crank it till it un floods.

pv2

[Todd D.]

For now the problem is fixed. In the end it appears that the ignition coil was wired up
wrong and had a few "modifications"
Once the wires were fixed and spark was re-established it still would not start. By swapping
known good parts from my car the problem turned out to be a bad condenser that
sits below the ignition module.
The problem now is where to find a replacement condenser. The condenser is wired
directly into the plug that goes to the ignition coil. I suppose I could just splice in a
condenser but I would prefer one that comes with the plug end. Does anyone know of a source?
Can anyone confirm the how the coil wires should be. The 3 wiring diagrams I have are not
very helpful.
As you look down at the coil from the left fender there are 4 spade terminals. 2 above and 2 below.
On the top I have the shielded yellow tach signal wire to the ECU on the spade closest to the engine and on the spade closest to the fender I have a double blue/white . One of these goes into the harness and (i think) to the tachometer guage the other goes to the plug for the ignition module.
On the bottom I have a grey wire from the fuse box on the engine side and a red wire
feeding the ignition module plug on the fender side. Does that sound about right?

[SubGothius]

Condenser? Like a points-style condenser? I don't know the FI cars that well and can't say if that sounds stock or not, but I once read about a trick involving wiring a condenser into the ignition somehow to reduce radio interference coming through the stereo from the ignition system, so maybe someone tried rigging that up on your car?

Speaking of radio interference, I had a problem with that on my own car and found it went away when I inadvertently shoved the stereo head unit further back into the dash (it wasn't bolted up very solidly). I think this indicates the radio chassis wasn't properly grounded, so pushing it deeper made contact with a ground point inside the dash somewhere, and that eliminated the noise.

[len_newstrum]

The problem now is where to find a replacement condenser. The condenser is wired
directly into the plug that goes to the ignition coil. I suppose I could just splice in a
condenser but I would prefer one that comes with the plug end. Does anyone know of a source?"condenser"? You must be as old as I am. LOL. That is a 1.0 mfd capacitor that has been added to suppress interference with your radio/stereo system. Take it off and listen to your radio. Scan the dial and listen for "ticking" sounds with the engine running. If you do have a problem that you cannot live with, you can get a capacitor at any electronic parts house. Aftermarket sound system installers often just throw capacitors on everything that might create interference (alternators, etc), but they are often just overkill.