Hate to resurface other topics. Have been reading forums and asking mechanics and part stores, getting no where. This is my first forum post, as is also my first fiero.
I was doing 65mph in the fast lane on a 100 degree day for a 5 mile journey, and the car shut off suddenly with lots of backfire while making the return home (1 mile from home).Tried to start every 15 minutes for an hour. The first two tries resulted in back fire w/starter sound (no start) the third try had softer back fire w/starter sound(no start). The forth had only a starter sound(no start). towed home. initial inspection showed no fluid leaks or transfers (i.e. oil mixed in coolant=No/ metal shavings in oil=No/ coolant leak=No) so i checked spark plug wires. Piston #3 wire was cut and when removing the boot the wire clamp inside boot remained on the plug. so i pulled that spark plug(carbon deposits) so i set out to replace the spark plugs, wires cap and rotor. I used NGK plugs gapped to 0.045. New import direct spark plug wires, a standard T-series cap, and i cant remember what brand, but i put in new rotor.( i couldnt help but notice the pick up coil had a small fray-not replaced yet). so, now i still have no start. Some forums mention ICM (ignition control module) may be out. The V6 coil to distributor wires (2) are frayed and unwrapped from heat shield and whoever owned it before rigged it together with wire connectors, its brittle and exposed (very bad i assume). Background to cover anything that may be pertinent : Im not mechanically savy. I've owned this car for 5 months with many things over come. New radiator, heater core, O2 censor, catalytic converter, magnaflow magna pack y-piped. new EGR gasket. Oil was changed and is due again. Tranny fluid and filter changed recently too. cant leave 195 degree thermostat that i cant leave in or the dash says i overheat (but fine without) So we observed the rotor moving upon ignition attempt with cap off... does this mean distributer is fine? Also observed rotor stops at different points under cap... is it only supposed to stop at cylinder #1? Is this the classic ICM problem still or should i change tactics? Should i replace coil to distributor wire? Should i replace pick up coil? How about Ignition Control Module (ICM)? Maybe Ignition Coil? Im lost Im all ears, ive read and read but im ready to tackle this
I'm not sure if this will help you or not, before it started to backfire and die, did it seriously decrease your speed and did the temp gauge skyrocket? If so, had this happen with a cogged muffler from a cat that deposited all the material into the muffler.
Also had my control module die on the distributor, which sounds like what your describing, suggest replacing with acdelco and make sure you use the dielectric grease under it.
Forgot to mention slight unidentifiable smell when stall occurred. not oil or coolant but a strange smell- thought it may have been another car on freeway. cant find that smell anymore though. Also the tach bumps like 1 or 2 millimeters when i try to start it, but not to 200rpm like i read on another forum.
No i did not notice sudden decreased speed, just stalled (shut off). nor did i get a chance to see if check engine light came on or gauge jumps due to navigating safely to the shoulder.
Very likely the ICM. When you replace it, like said, don't use dielectric grease. Don't even use the stuff that comes with the module unless it's white. Buy yourself a tube of white heat sink compound. If the parts store doesn't have it, go to Radio Shack, Frye Electronics, MicroTech, or one of the computer stores in your area. There's also a silver version that's supposed to be much better. And before you attach the pickup coil wire, twist it round about 2 times. This will shorten it to keep you from pinching it underneath the back of the distributor cap.
This happened to me a second time in 85 SE about ten days ago. O'reilly's sells ICM's with a lifetime warranty. Radio Shack sells heat sink compound, about three bucks, easy to find. The O'Reilly's ICM's come with a little package of it anyway. The little screws that hold it in place are expensive, I got a magnet tool that was strong enough to turn the screws in and out most of the way at Sears for about four bucks. The screws take a 6mm socket or nut driver if I remember from last week. There should be little blue gasket thing under the old ICM, save it and reuse it, so say the O'Reilly's ICM instructions. You can get the ICM tested before you buy at many autoparts stores. You can also ask them to check the new one before you install it. All this can be done by the side of the road pretty easily.
If you get the car home or somewhere you should probably rebuild the distributor. Besides the ICM the pickup coil, and o-ring should be replaced. I think it's also a good idea to make sure the shaft has the right amount of play in the housing. Rockauto sells the right washers for pricey, but if it's way off hardware store washers are probably a good compromise.
It sounds like tune up parts are needed in your case, but often people spend a lot without much to show for it. Check for broken or brittle wiring and loose vacuum hoses.
I burned up my ECM when a spark plug wire grounded on the exhaust manifold. It would run fine and then I would hit a bump and the wire would ground and the car would sputter and then run fine for awhile until I hit another bump. Finally the ECM burned out and the car would not run anymore. The first time that it happened, it burned out a fusible link and the mechanic replace the wire without a fusible link. The next time it cooked the ECM. Even after the second shop replaced the ECM, they did not find out why it burned out. I noticed that the spark plug wire was burned and replaced the bad wire after making sure that it could not touch the exhaust manifold.
so today I removed the AB wire connector off was all burned up and rigged horribly by previous owner.(wire from coil to ICM) I have to order that thanks above. Icm soon, bought distributer coil today will replace. Update soon thanks guys
Definitely sounds like the ICM. My 88 GT did a similar thing on the way back from Ohio. Look carefully at the connector to the ICM on the *inside* of the distributor cap. Both my Fieros have massive amounts of rust inside the distributor cap and the connections for the pick up coil were rusted. It made the ignition intermittent especially when it was hot outside. Oddly, it worked pretty well when the weather was cold. I replaced the ICM, but I probably could have just cleaned the connections. It just wasn't worth the trip back to Autozone to return the new one.
Echo using the HEAT SINK grease that comes with the new one. It is white paste and helps the electronics stay sort of cool. This is nasty stuff. Wear throw away gloves and wash your hands well after using. You really don't need much. Its job is to fill in the gaps between two uneven surfaces.
So i heard T-storms were coming and i went to put on moon roof last night, no dome lights & no trunk pop button but floor lights work. Hoping its just the low battery, because idk if this stuff happened from that daytime stall or if its just down the line from a simple low battery(interstate) or not. ECM issue? Just mentioning in case you see a red flag that changes everything. Not to get off subject Id noticed my radio always dropping stations(before incident) and when my headlights or running lights were on my radio display would dim.-just covering anything i thought might change or raise speculation as to change tactics sooner than later! but if you have ran across other forums you thought were good that revolved around these side issues please post a link. thanks again
You are new to the Forum, and I have not read your thread completely so I may be repeating some advice, but any time you see lights dimming on a Fiero you should think about ground connections. In your case it's more important because something has cooked some of your wires. ICMs fail on their own, but they also fail because another component has failed too, like an ignition coil or spark plug wires. Clean and re-attach ground wires as you find them. If your spark plug wires are old, test them for resistance, and do the basic test on the ignition coil.
so I replaced the spark plugs , the ICM, coil to ICM wire(took almost 2 weeks)streetfire msd coil,spark plug wires, cap, rotor... No start. Sounds like it wants to... :'(
so I replaced the spark plugs , the ICM, coil to ICM wire(took almost 2 weeks)streetfire msd coil,spark plug wires, cap, rotor... No start. Sounds like it wants to... :'(
So I'm off to read a bunch of ECM stuff...had an electronics guy come out and well great new parts but a big waste of time in the wrong area. AB terminal jump shows jack. So that smell might have been the ECM.
So i heard T-storms were coming and i went to put on moon roof last night, no dome lights & no trunk pop button but floor lights work. Hoping its just the low battery, because idk if this stuff happened from that daytime stall or if its just down the line from a simple low battery(interstate) or not. ECM issue? Just mentioning in case you see a red flag that changes everything. Not to get off subject Id noticed my radio always dropping stations(before incident) and when my headlights or running lights were on my radio display would dim.-just covering anything i thought might change or raise speculation as to change tactics sooner than later! but if you have ran across other forums you thought were good that revolved around these side issues please post a link. thanks again
Nice exhaust!
Radio lights dimming with headlights on is how it's supposed to work. Stations dropping might be a loose or jury rigged connection. It sounds like PO wiring might be at the root of this issue. What kind of volts does the battery have? By dropping stations do you mean losing memory/clock setting? It sounds like loose ground connections could be the common denominator.
Sorry tuneup parts didn't help. That seems to be the case more often than not. A number of people have had problems with the Streetfire coils. Regular MSD coils have been recommended. I added big wires and a fancy coil (Accel), burned up two ICM's since then. Keep it simple seems to be the best advice on ignition parts for these cars.
A while back a guy burned up a couple of ECM's due to the oil pressure sender/fuel pump relay bypass circuit. Was your oil pressure gauge working? Leaking oil from the sender? Hear the fuel pump relay click after you turn on ignition and wait a few seconds?
Well i've gotta go get this battery charged. I pulled the stereo and found a wire that needed a dressing of electrical tape, may have solved stereo issue. Thanks all that have helped too. So I'm ordering a new Tach filter and ECM currently...the distributer was receiveing current but had no pulse, causing a neutral effect in the distributer. The OBD port was where I jumped the A/B terminal, key to on : the ECM blinked on short,then off, then stayed on. To address the previous videos, I have had too much time on my hands since the breakdown and have made my car look over the top awesome( to me) I will post a new video when I'm back up and running. (I wish my pics would post but am uncertain the correct steps) this is a real learning process.
So i wanted to post an update on the current situation.(i hate when i read a good forum question,then see a short answer and the forum ends without so much as a "thanks that worked" or a "no it was the_______ in the long run") Put in a refurbished Fiero store ECM(funny they make you use the same PROM ) the tach filter replacement looks funny,but is new and installed. so i just got the distributer out. it is at a shop to have the pin driven and the pick up coil changed (so i didnt end up breaking something-would be my luck) as to the radio it was a dud. Bought a nice deck and also replaced those 4x10s. i added leds to the headlights and engine bay(awesome look-cant wait to drive again) im praying my baby starts. will update when distributer is back in. There is a car show this weekend and i hope to have my baby right there with the 3-4 other fieros i see each year.
Nice pics....would be a little easier to see if you edit them down a little. 850 pixels wide or so..... Cars on your street look like a movie set....California weather.
[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 06-12-2014).]
Beware Fotosizer. I had it before with no problems, but after a couple crashes I tried to download it recently. Not paying attention I clicked accept too often, now I have impossible to remove nasty adware installed until my next crash or recovery.
Have you checked your fuel pump relay and oil pressure sender? If your ECM went out do you know why? The guy who posted a similar problem in the past burned up a second ECM before finding the cause. Check your grounds. That's pretty much free and might solve the problem. Your car looks nice and the new wires, coil, and connectors look good, but it sounds more like parts throwing than diagnosing. This approach doesn't usually work, IMHO.
SHE RUNS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) So the Distributor Pick Up Coil was the issue. I would like some information on as to why i had a unresponsive ECM over this (bought one so its cool now) but i heard that 9 out of 10 people didnt need a pick up coil when bought and 9 out of 10 people need a icm or coil....can any one shed light on how this stuff all relates. I just want some solid knowledge on the subject.
The ECM needs to know when the engine is turning over. It does that by receiving an ignition pulse every 1/3 rotation of the crank. If the pick up coil is bad the ICM doesn't fire the plugs but also doesn't send ignition pulses to the ECM.
SHE RUNS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) So the Distributor Pick Up Coil was the issue. I would like some information on as to why i had a unresponsive ECM over this (bought one so its cool now) but i heard that 9 out of 10 people didnt need a pick up coil when bought and 9 out of 10 people need a icm or coil....can any one shed light on how this stuff all relates. I just want some solid knowledge on the subject.
Congrats! Such a sweet sound when it turns over again...
Do you still have the old ICM? Take it to one of the chains that test for free. If it's good keep it in the car. I was following my advice but wasn't sure if the one in the trunk was good so took it out. Of course that's when the installed one failed lol.
