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76 K jet 240 died @ red light + now wont start..

TIPSP said:
Did you change the oring in the distributor that controls your system pressure/ return? Those can also create starting issues as fuel is just returning to your tank. Check that kjet.biz site. The dude in Australia has a ton of those oring kits for the 3 different control plunger styles.
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I had hard hot start problems that ended up being those little orings.

overall sounds like vapor lock type issue, exacerbated now that you have a hotter engine bay. I think using non ethanol gas will help a little, but you need to check kjet pressures.

If you haven't replaced those orings on that needle assembly, its a cheap place to start, and should be done anyway.
 
TIPSP said:
Did you change the oring in the distributor that controls your system pressure/ return? Those can also create starting issues as fuel is just returning to your tank. Check that kjet.biz site. The dude in Australia has a ton of those oring kits for the 3 different control plunger styles.
Click to expand...
This is the first I'm hearing about it. Thank you, I'll check it out.
 
One of the things that made our early 240 hard to start especially when hot was a missing 12v boost signal to the coil from the starter when cranking. There is an extra terminal on the starter that connects to the ballast resistor. It bypasses the ballast for starting only when cranking. Provides 12v to the coil for the cranking. Especially needed during hot starting. The 12v will only be there for cranking. Once the engine starts the ballast is no longer bypassed.
 
OK I have discovered something... I went for a drive this morning, and the car started fine. Voltage guage read 14 volts. I shut it off and when I went to drive it again almost 6 hours later the car wouldn't start. I noticed the gauge was reading 12.1 with the key on. I turned the key, still no start. I then turned the key to the on position again and waited, and watched the voltage creep up to 12.2 - no start. Again turn on and this time waited untill it reached 12.4 - Boom starts right up.
 
That's a weird one. But it makes sense. If the voltage is too low it's not gonna start. Maybe there is a voltage drop across a connection? I would start with the usual suspects like the battery cable connections. Both ground and hot side.
 
dl242gt said:
That's a weird one. But it makes sense. If the voltage is too low it's not gonna start. Maybe there is a voltage drop across a connection? I would start with the usual suspects like the battery cable connections. Both ground and hot side.
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I'm thinking a drop in voltage to the fuel pump, or a bad ground maybe. Everytime I make a post thinking ive figured it out I end up being wrong so I'm not holding my breath. I'm going to inspect the fuel pump wires going through the trunk tomorrow.
I also did grab another ballast resistor to try out and I want to look at that wire to the starter also.
 
Well I figured I would just use the thread I made the last time my car wouldn't start.... I updated the title slightly. This time I had been driving for about 5-6 minutes and when I slowed down to stop at a red light the car died. Lights on the dash came on but the car would not restart. It would crank. I ended up getting the car towed home. Both fuel relays were clicking when trying to start. All fuses are good. The fuel pump is new as of last year + has well under 1,000 miles of use. I did just change a fuel hose going to the pump that was cracked and leaking and put maybe 30 miles on it with no issues after replacement. I have also recently installed a different radio and cleaned up some wiring + grounds behind the dash. For a a while now when I start the car i will have to give it a little blip on the throttle to get the voltage to kick up to 13.9 -14 volts from 12. Like the alternator is sticking. I did this before my last drive and I dont remember seeing the voltage drop from normal running volts after.
I went to take a look at it 2 days after getting it towed home, and the car wouldn't crank at all. No click, no lights nothing. My one year old Optima red top battery is reading under 6 volts. So now its on the charger taking its sweet time getting back up to 12 volts. So while I wait for that, what the heck should I be looking at? I was thinking based on how it died it was going to be a fuel issue, but now I dont know. I unfortunately dont have a bunch of extra spare parts to try out. Ignition switch? Igntion coil? Distributor? Alternator? After it died and I pushed it off of the road I was able to start it once. I immediately hit the gas and just tried to gun it back home and it died again when I started to go over a speed hump. Not sure if I let my foot off the gas and it died or the hump etc did it. I coasted it into the back of a sonics parking lot where it was towed from. I will say when the sun was setting the car looked better than it ever has there in that Sonics lot... what should I do? What should i look at? I dont have $ for parts cannon ammo...
 
rearwheelpeel said:
For a a while now when I start the car i will have to give it a little blip on the throttle to get the voltage to kick up to 13.9 -14 volts from 12. Like the alternator is sticking. I did this before my last drive and I dont remember seeing the voltage drop from normal running volts after.
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Bosch or Denso alternator? Does the battery light in your cluster turn on with the key in run position with the engine off? How's the ground cable from the alternator to the block?

Put a spark tester on it and confirm it has spark while cranking. Put a test light on the fuel pump leads and have a friend crank to check if they're receiving 12v, then plug them in and listen to see if they're working.
 
Are you using the correct battery charger for your optima ? The agm batteries don’t respond to regular battery chargers when they go dead. I forget the details since I got a proper agm charger

Check kjet temp sensor resistance
Adjust your fuel base line and air meter ?
When the car is cold are you getting fuel out of the cold start injector? (This is very brief)

copper plugs ? Gap is good ?
Bosch cap and rotor ?
 
I like to start with a test light on the coil. That is after checking for spark with one wire on a sparkplug grounded to the engine. If there's not spark at the plug. Then move to the coil. Check for power at 15 and when cranking you should see fast switching on terminal 1. No switching? Check the impulse sender in the distributor. There is an inline connector coming from the distributor under the crank to the ignition box. You can ohm out the impulse sender from that connector. The connector can corrode and open the circuit.
If you have switching but no spark your coil might be bad or something else in the secondary high voltage part of the circuit is bad. Like an open rotor or missing carbon contact. Open coil wire.
With this older system the engine has to see the airflow plate lifted to run the fuel pumps. That's what the connector on the side of the airflow unit does.
 
Thanks guys I'll check all this stuff when I have the chance. Sometimes I feel like I do know the answers and what needs to be done, but its super helpful to have someone else kind of confirm my suspicions. I know I'll get it all sorted out eventually.
 
You and I have similar issues with our cars.. I recently had my fuel dist rebuilt but still kept experiencing problems so I just dropped my car off at a shop here in Portland. They found that my car was running super lean, so I’m hoping when I pick it up tomorrow all the fuel related issues I’ve had are gone. Fingers crossed… 🤞🏽 you got this
 
I got it going again. I took the distributor cap off and noticed marks of green corrosion on the 4 points inside. Cleaned them all off, put it all back together and it runs. This is a bosch cap and rotor that I replaced when I first got the car. I also took the external pump off and hooked it up to 12 volts just to check and it seems to be fine. Now it's all back together I'm getting the slightest little leak from the banjo bolt connected to the pump. Do the two washers on either side of the fuel line need to be replaced again?
 
rearwheelpeel said:
I got it going again. I took the distributor cap off and noticed marks of green corrosion on the 4 points inside. Cleaned them all off, put it all back together and it runs. This is a bosch cap and rotor that I replaced when I first got the car. I also took the external pump off and hooked it up to 12 volts just to check and it seems to be fine. Now it's all back together I'm getting the slightest little leak from the banjo bolt connected to the pump. Do the two washers on either side of the fuel line need to be replaced again?
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It's messy but some loctite 592 thread sealant slathered on the washers and sealing surfaces make it much easier to get a good seal when tightening the banjo bolts.
 
rearwheelpeel said:
Do the two washers on either side of the fuel line need to be replaced again?
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They should be anytime you open that connection, they're supposed to be copper crush washers and will create the seal as you crush them with the banjo bolt. Pick up a pack of assorted sizes from a local auto parts store, K-jet cars have a lot of them in the fuel system. I broke a banjo bolt off in a fuel dizzy stubbornly trying to make an old crush washer seal instead of replacing it.
 
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