FJ62 Stalling occassionally or losing power

[phillip601]

Hey everyone,

my FJ62 has developed a problem that I have no idea where to start with it..

Every so often, the car will stall for about half a second then come back to life. It makes no difference what speed i'm driving at or how long i've been driving. I say stall, but it's like everything stops although it doesn't seem to affect the electrics, the radio, lights, etc stay on, it's like the engine just cuts out then comes back to life

I originally thought that i'd got some bad fuel when i was coming across the dessert as that's when it first started, so I changed the fuel filter but it's made no difference.

Anyone got any ideas what i should start to look at?

Thanks,

Phill

 

[The Machinist]

Maybe check the injectors, and the fuel pump? I'm not really an expert on this stuff but thats what I would check next.

 

[arkman]

mine is doing the exact same thing. you will be going along and then it stalls out like you just stop giving it gas. then a second later it picks back up and starts going like nothing ever happened. did you ever find out what it is

 

[Dunbar]

Make sure the cat converter is not clogged. The innards can come loose and bounce around and block the exit of the cat. Whack the cat with a rubber mallet ans see if you hear anything rattling around in there. My cat failed and the guts just plugged the outlet. It rattled when idling like I had a loose exhaust mount.

 

[1tontoy]

Spray a bunch of cleaner in the MAF (mass air flow sensor) that is in the air cleaner lid

 

[arkman]

about ready to take it to the GUY... I will try both in the morning and see what happens.

 

[TS888]

Random EFI thoughts --

It sounds electrical, but probably not fuel pump. Fuel pumps usually die slowly or all at once, not intermittently.

It could be a fuel pump relay going bad, those will sometimes drop out when the contacts get too hot.

Pull the connectors from the AFM and ECU, clean with contact cleaner, apply a little dielectric grease, and see if that helps. Also look for corroded or possibly broken wires in the harnesses. You can continuity test the ECU harness. I know it sounds crazy, but there are likely only 5 or 6 wires that could cause a power failure, it's not necessary to check the entire harness.

IIRC, the 62 does not use a flywheel sensor or cam sensor, but someone else can chime in to confirm.

Injectors would probably not be a cause, as it is a complete stall out, not a loss of one or a few cylinders. Complete stall points to the ECU or other power supply issue.

I don't have a lot of experience with 62 injection specifically, but it's basically Bosch L-Jet, and that system can have problems with older ECU's developing faults from old circuit board components, corroded traces or cracked solder joints. I've fixed L-Jet ECU's with intermittent problems by reflowing the solder joints. All it costs is time.

 

[billmc]

Spray a bunch of cleaner in the MAF (mass air flow sensor) that is in the air cleaner lid

This won't help since the FJ62 doesn't have a MAF, it has an AFM.

 

[billmc]

Random EFI thoughts --


IIRC, the 62 does not use a flywheel sensor or cam sensor, but someone else can chime in to confirm.

I don't have a lot of experience with 62 injection specifically, but it's basically Bosch L-Jet, and that system can have problems with older ECU's developing faults from old circuit board components, corroded traces or cracked solder joints. I've fixed L-Jet ECU's with intermittent problems by reflowing the solder joints. All it costs is time.

Yes you're correct, it does not have a crank or cam position sensor. It is a clone of the old L-Jetronic, but has some improvements which make it a little more complex, most of which pertain to cold running. It is an analog ECU, but I don't recall many people finding solder problems in them, though every day is a new day for these as they push the age envelope. Maybe solder issues will start to show up.



Bill

 

[TS888]

This won't help since the FJ62 doesn't have a MAF, it has an AFM.

Pardon the OT, but just saw billmc's sig -- A fellow Alfaholic! I used to have a '74 GTV 2000, and I get regular seat time now in a 164 and a late Bosch Spider. I keep waiting for a good Milano/75 to fall in my lap.

 

[billmc]

Pardon the OT, but just saw billmc's sig -- A fellow Alfaholic! I used to have a '74 GTV 2000, and I get regular seat time now in a 164 and a late Bosch Spider. I keep waiting for a good Milano/75 to fall in my lap.

Me too!. I keep eyeing Verdes as they pop up on craigslist. I'm a bottom feeder, so they're typically more spendy than I can handle. Also, my stable of beaters is a bit full now. But nothing beats the music of the Alfa V6 above 4500 rpm. As Jeremy Clarkson once said, The sound of driving the V6 through a tunnel at 4500 rpm is like angels licking your soul

Bill