440 still wont idle for more than a minute

[69dodge383]

My car starts fine, idles good, goes into gear, backs up, drives forward, and will die. Throttle response is good., timing is locked at 35 degrees. does not seem rich at idle smell wise and doesnt seem to struggle when reving or moving. i can rev the motor at idle and it does not stumble. the car will just die on its own.

i have noticed that my 12v source is only showing 10.8v on my digital volt meter, and my oil pressure gauge works when car starts and then quits working eventually like it is losing power

my battery shows like 18v on my battery at idle, too much, sounds like a voltage regulator gone bad

if i have too much power at my battery while running, how can my gauges be so low?
i have noticed everytime i start and stop the car my battery has went from 12.5 to 12.3 to 12.29 dies a little everytime

car has ground wires installed. at battery, engine block, fuel pump, accessory wiring block

i checked my 12v source wiring all the way to the bulkhead connector and the max i get is 11.48v when key is on

[firefighter3931]

You definately have a Charging issue if the battery is showing 18v at idle. I'd swap the VR asap. I like to see 13+ volts with the engine running, especially if using an aftermarket ignition box (MSD/Crane/Mallory etc...)

You could have a fuel delivey issue or it could be electrical ? Hard to say which one without further investigation. 

When it dies is there still fuel in the carb ? Is there still spark ?


Ron

[nvrbdn]

i had a mustang that did the same thing. run perfect. rev, idle, no problems. then just die. i would check everything. finally it did it and i checked spark from the coil imediately after it died instead of waiting for a minute or two. the coil was working when cold. it would warm up and seperate and lose fire. it cooled back down and had power. changed the coil and was back in business.  

[69dodge383]

I am going to get the VR, it is $8 from RockAuto.com
The coil is a new blaster 2 coil, do you think it would be okay if I swapped in my old coil as a test?

I am charging my tablet now, I will take a video in a little while of the car running and what the gauges are doing.


Thanks!

[firefighter3931]

I am going to get the VR, it is $8 from RockAuto.com
The coil is a new blaster 2 coil, do you think it would be okay if I swapped in my old coil as a test?

I am charging my tablet now, I will take a video in a little while of the car running and what the gauges are doing.


Thanks!

There's no problem swapping the old coil back. It's possible that the excessive voltage is overheating the coil. 


Ron

[nvrbdn]

yep, thats a good possibility

[nvrbdn]

swap the VR first, then put the old coil back in and check it out.

[69dodge383]

Here is a video of whats going on. Of course in this video the gauges didnt act as erratic as they have been. Anyways, still dies.

Any way to 100% rule out a fuel issue?

The only thing hooked up on the digital tach right now is the power and ground, i havent hooked it up to the MSD tach adapter yet.
The AF gauges are wired for power, but i havent installed my oxy sensors yet

Also, I have noticed a chattering noise on the driver valve train. I have not set the hot lash yet for the solid lifters, but this just started yesterday.

This motor was bracket car engine, bought it, tore it down, new bearings, rings, gaskets, etc. put back together and installed in the charger..

If you guys want to see something else, let me know, I can take another video if need be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH6zmACNNBA

[Cooter]

First things first.  You need to figure out which of the three main things it needs to run you are losing.
I assume we can rule out air. Now only two. Fuel or fire. When dies and won't restart, have a buddy spin it over and see if there's fire at the cap from coil wire. If fire ok, get a can of good carb cleaner like  2+2 and give the carb a snort.

[69dodge383]

@cooter : car will restart after dying out, but will die out again....carb is new.

[69dodge383]

You can see the video here.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5v531fLC5I

I can do another one if more info is needed, just let me know
Thanks!!!

Doug

[Speedfreak]

After seeing the video, have to say I do not like the wiring you have setup, could be a potential problem

Do you have an electric fuel pump?
Electronic ignition?

When it stalls, can you manually squirt fuel in through the acc pump?

Can you check fuel pressure?

If Chrysler electronic, check the pickup in the distributor, some will cut off when they heat up, then restart. 

[69dodge383]

The electric fuel pump is a holley blue on a separate relay. Msd 6al box. Msd Billet distributor timing locked out at 35 degrees. Fuel pressure is at 6psi.

I have all my 12v on one block with the 12v source wired to it.
All the grounds are on another block and the block has two body grounds to it.
No wires are shorting or touching.

[Dino]

Would you be able to hold that engine at around 3K rpm for a little while to see if it still dies?

[69dodge383]

Yes, but should I wait to get the voltage regulator? I an getting an 18v charge to my battery as of now.....

[Dino]

Yes, but should I wait to get the voltage regulator? I an getting an 18v charge to my battery as of now.....

Yes please do!  I would not fire that thing up until the VR is in place.  This may be a good time to check under that ds valve cover as well while waiting for the part.

If you find once more that the engine is producing close to 16v or over or less than 13, stop testing.  We'll need to find out what's going on with the charging system before we do anything else.

 

[69dodge383]

Thanks dino, I have the VR on order from rock auto.

I did pull the valve cover and gave it a once over, nothing was loose.....all looked okay.

I will get the new VR installed and will report back.

[69dodge383]

I got the new voltage regulator in and we are charging at 14.4v now.

Car still dies. At idle and also if I hold to 3000rpm it will stall....

[Charger4404spd]

I watched the video and it sounds like it may be a carb issue. Just because its new doesnt mean nothing. Run the idle up and see if it will keep running.

[john108]

I would probably use a squeeze bottle of fuel and see if I can keep the engine running with it.  That might help determine if if is a fuel issue or something else.  Sometimes I have used starting fluid out of a spray can.

[1974dodgecharger]

NICE charger man.....curious where did u hook up the o2 sensor at?


Maybe a vacuum issue somewhere when u put in gear loses vacuum?

[cudaken]

69 Dodge Charger, there are so many things that could be a problem. To me it all most sounds like fuel starvation. But with all the electrical jungle you have going on? I am sure it makes sens to you, but to me it looks like a electrical fire waiting to happen. 

My self, I would start with the basics. After checking to see if you have fire and fuel and if you have both I would unhook all the fancy doodads and start over.

If you have a stock distributor, install it. Gravity feed the carb and hot wire the hot the coil to the battery and see what happens? Next I would add the electric fuel pump then start adding stuff till you find the fault!

On you ballast resistor, sure in the heck does not look like mine! What did you do to it!  I run MSD 6 AL and I still have a stock one.

Cuda Ken
               

[69dodge383]

I  messed around with it some yesterday. So it still dies at idle. It will die holding the throttle open. it will be fine and then it just get choked up and dies. like it is starving. i pull the plugs and they are black like a rich burn. my eyes are not burning when it is idling nor do i smell a ton of gas. fuel pressure is at 5.5 or 6 i cant remember but something like that.

i have seen where these edelbrocks need adjustment, it says in their book for long duration cams that adjustment is needed, i also saw on their site for this carb that they do not list a victor jr intake as a match. i thought about swapping on the Demon 850 that the previous owner had on the engine when it was in his bracket car. i switched from it to the edelbrock cause i thought the vacuum secondary is better for the street or so i have heard. dont know if that is the case though...

@cuda ken: i ditched the ballast resistor and wired the two together. what you saw was a wire i ran between the two connectors on the resistor. i ditched the resistor and put in the new voltage regulator. voltage issue solved. it shows 14.4 in car now. i did the best i could with the wiring and i dont see where i will have a short causing a fire, i will post some pics with it cleaned up more. do you have any pics of your wiring on your charger? i am always open to doing things a better way

[69dodge383]

NICE charger man.....curious where did u hook up the o2 sensor at?


Maybe a vacuum issue somewhere when u put in gear loses vacuum?


i have not put on the 02 sensors yet. i am going to put them on the header reducers before the cutouts. vacuum is the same in gear or out. all ports plugged on carb except power brake in back of carb.

[firefighter3931]

If the plugs are black....they are fouled. Time for a new set. What plugs are you running ? Heat range ?

*your plugs may be too cold (heat range) 

With 10.5:1 you should be using a 6 series NGK (BCP6ES) gapped at .040 with the MSD box. Adjust the idle mixture using a vacuum guage ; you want max vacuum with the idle mixture adjustment.

Some carbs just don't work well with a long duration cam that has lots of overlap. The idle circuit and fuel curve on an Edelbrock carb are not well suited to a build like yours. A Proform/Holley/Quickfuel double pumper with 4 corner idle would be a big improvement. 


Ron