Ok.. I'm at a loss now.
For the past week my engine has been just cutting out.. I'll be cruising along and bam..nada.. just dies!
I've replaced the coil. and one of the leads (that fixed it for about 2 weeks) now it's started again.. really getting annoying at this point.. Suggestions?
Oh and the specs.. 3.4, 2 month old MSD coil. New plugs, rotor and cap checked.. appear to be fine.

Did you replace the ignition module?

Have to second that one - different manufacturers call it different things - spark module, ignition module, igniter....point is, whatever you want to call it, it is now defective.

When the engine dies, you can restart it after it cools down a bit, right? Time to replace your ignition module.

pick up coil or module

Just to make sure we are talking about the same part.. It's the little thingy that goes under the Dist right?

quote Originally posted by Uaana: Just to make sure we are talking about the same part.. It's the little thingy that goes under the Dist right?

Under the distributor cap, but on top of the base plate for the distributor itself.

It's a plastic-cased module with 1 2-pin connector and 1 4-pin connector which go back into the wiring harness, and a little 2-pin connector which hooks up to the pick-up coil.

edit because I forgot to mention.... Make certain that you apply fresh layer of heat sink grease between the new module and the distributor base when re-assembling, or you'll cook the new module.

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-d.

1985 2M6 SE
1988 VW Jetta (winter beater)
1968 Mustang (long-term project)
1998 Suzuki VZ800 Marauder
1991 Arctic Cat 550 EXT

[This message has been edited by dguy (edited 06-20-2003).]

Ohhhhhhh MSD coils? on a DIS engine.

I believe the Ogre has some info on this in the cave, it deals with the 4cyl DIS ignition and aftermarket coils. In short the coils run hotter than the OEM versions and since it sits directly on top of the PIM it can cause heat failure of the PIM.

You may be able to install a heat sink spacer between the coils and the PIM to disapate heat from the coils before it gets transfered to the PIM. Or you could just put the OEM coils back on and see if the problem goes away.

Either way it sound like heat failure of the PIM

IF it does not have a DIS ignition, yes the ignition module is in the distributer. It's the cressent shaped thingie with wires plugged into it.

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 06-20-2003).]