Dead RRC... Again

[RBBailey]

The truck just died when I came to a stop. Seems a bit like what it was doing when the ignition module died, but it is at full operating temp this time.

Anyway.

New plugs and wires and ignition module and coil.

I?m on the side of the road without tools. And I?ve checked for anything loose. It was running real sweet after the new bits put in last week. Was running fine just now.

 

[RBBailey]

Sorry, I put this in the wrong category while I was looking at it on my phone.

I got home when the truck started up again. It died three times while driving at 45 mph and about 2500rpm. Died once again when I was parking it in the driveway.

At least this is an excuse for getting the heater core fixed on the Series! It is cold out there again.

 

[lordhelemt]

Is it throwing a code? Did you put a multimeter on the coolant temp sensor?

 

[RBBailey]

I’ll check for a code.

What is procedure for checking th e temp sensor, and why should I be looking there?

BTW: another symptom is that the idle speed is very erratic. It is either right on, often low and feeling like it wants to die, or sometimes revving at 1200+

 

[badvibes]

You've probably already checked this but just in case. It has worked for me in the past. Taken from the rangerovers.net site...

Idle Air Bypass Valve
This little beast is a stepper motor that opens an air channel bypassing the throttle, for those occasions when the engine needs a bit of extra respiration -- such as when you are running the air conditioning while idling in the desert. Unfortunately it has a mind of its own, especially after you have driven a couple of hundred miles on dusty desert dirt roads. The symptoms are a fast idle of about 1,500 RPM, and an annoying oscillation in engine speed when descending steep hills with the foot off the throttle. The device can be easily removed by unscrewing it from the back if the air intake plenum -- right hand side facing forward. (After removing mine a few times, its crush washer is broken so you might want to get a spare one). The problem can usually be cured with a squirt of WD 40 or carb and choke cleaner, and a clean out of its seat in the plenum. Care is needed not to try and force the shaft to move; it is plastic and fairly delicate. (A new one costs $140, so it's worth trying to revive the old one. However see the EFI section of the parts and service page for lower-cost substitutes).

 

[lordhelemt]

Good write up here. Gives the resistance when checking the sensor, among other good tidbits if info.

http://www.britishv8.org/articles/rover-14cux-efi.htm

 

[Uncle Douglas]

I'd start with the throttle position sensor (TPS) or the ICV. The coolant sensor for the injection are another failure point, have seen them read cold and the engine runs very rich trying to warm the truck up which fouls the plugs and makes the cats get cherry red.

Any chance the advance plate in your distributor is sticking ?

 

[RBBailey]

OK, the last three posts at least give me a place to start. The weather is supposed to clear up this Monday (no really, it's not nice out there right now) so as long as I don't work late (yeah, right) and don't fall asleep, I at least have some stuff to look into now.

The stepper motor is one I thought of, but I know that the previous owner had replaced it. However, knowing that it could simply be dirty, I'll take a look.

At least it looks good in the mean time:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bhcmbailey/37807780892/in/photostream/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4455/37807780892_d57cb414c3_z.jpg" width="640" height="361" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[RBBailey]

Aaaaaaaaaand..... my wife’s Mercedes just broke.

The tailgate won?t latch, and since it?s automatic, it is now stuck in the open position with an alarm going off while trying to drive in the rain. I?m hoping a good cleaning might make it work enough to latch till we can get it serviced.

 

[pl626]

Any resolution?
You reminded me of my experience bringing my '95 RRC back from a 10yr slumber on my driveway. She'd run fine, then, randomly, she'd stall. We went through everything and it came down to two things. She had a bad TPS and she also had a bad fuel pump (brand new Genuine pump). In fact, I went through two new Genuine pumps in about 3 months. First one was clogged with debris from old fuel lines, but second one was just a dud. Then, I bought an Allmakes (a third the price) from Lucky8, and she's been fine ever since.

 

[RBBailey]

I had to have it taken care of for $1100.....

All relatively easy stuff, but I’m not able to work on it. I had to give in.

So far, it is running well now. The fix involved all of the above, plus a new alternator (which I knew was going bad, but I didn’t think about how it could be a problem in this way) and new vacuum lines, new cap and rotor, and a few other things. The cost also included a new front main seal and pulley and belts

 

[RBBailey]

Well, I didn't post about this, but the truck started stalling again. This was shortly after the $1000 was spent. I put it away, in December of 2017, and I just revived the truck a few weeks ago. So.... it has been sitting for two years.

After a bit of attention, I've found that the truck really runs and drives very well. I went for two weeks of daily driving, stop and go, longer drives, and shut off and on cycles without any issues.

However.... it has now gone back to its dying ways. When driving it I let it warm up in the driveway so that it won't die on me at the 3 mile mark. This seemed to do the trick to keep me driving. But now, for the first time, it is dying after the warm up period. For instance, I run it for a bit to get the temp gauge to come alive, then drive to work. As I'm rolling up to my last stop, coasting, in gear, 25 mph, the engine just dies. Won't start. Just cranks. Then, after 3-4 minutes, starts.

So I've stopped driving it again. But I did manage to borrow a 14CUX, and I'm going to try swapping with mine over the weekend and doing a few test drives when I don't need to worry about being to work on time. I'll be reading back through this thread to see if maybe I could try something that I missed earlier.

 

[Giftshopduane]

My classic was doing the same thing, I found this resistor to be the culprit, at least it was the same type. There are some threads out there, search chiclet resistor. Mine was in the harness, passenger side footwell next to trans hump. Pretty much below the left knee.

could be?

 

[1of40]

Well, I didn't post about this, but the truck started stalling again. This was shortly after the $1000 was spent. I put it away, in December of 2017, and I just revived the truck a few weeks ago. So.... it has been sitting for two years.

After a bit of attention, I've found that the truck really runs and drives very well. I went for two weeks of daily driving, stop and go, longer drives, and shut off and on cycles without any issues.

However.... it has now gone back to its dying ways. When driving it I let it warm up in the driveway so that it won't die on me at the 3 mile mark. This seemed to do the trick to keep me driving. But now, for the first time, it is dying after the warm up period. For instance, I run it for a bit to get the temp gauge to come alive, then drive to work. As I'm rolling up to my last stop, coasting, in gear, 25 mph, the engine just dies. Won't start. Just cranks. Then, after 3-4 minutes, starts.

So I've stopped driving it again. But I did manage to borrow a 14CUX, and I'm going to try swapping with mine over the weekend and doing a few test drives when I don't need to worry about being to work on time. I'll be reading back through this thread to see if maybe I could try something that I missed earlier.

Dude you have some of the worst luck/experience going. Good Luck.

 

[jymmiejamz]

I would suspect the coolant temp sensor. If you unplug it, it will run fine.

 

[RBBailey]

I'll test it tonight or tomorrow. That's actually one of the things I did not do earlier.

 

[RBBailey]

My classic was doing the same thing, I found this resistor to be the culprit, at least it was the same type. There are some threads out there, search chiclet resistor. Mine was in the harness, passenger side footwell next to trans hump. Pretty much below the left knee.

could be?

Interesting.... tell me more about your symptoms before I dig into the harness to find that thing.

By the way, I have a replacement engine for this vehicle sitting in the garage, since the current engine has a non-original (probably a 3.9) intake/fuel rail, or some kind of mix; and the engine is sucking coolant, and it has a nasty knock that sounds like a bad bearing, slipped liner, or really bad valve. I just don't want to put the new engine in only to have this same problem, which seems to be a CPU/electrical issue that could stay in the truck even with a new block installed. The swap might be a coming summer project.

 

[Giftshopduane]

On mine it would start hesitating then shut off, I’d let it cool then no issue Drive on. Then do It all over again. Until I replaced the resistor. which motor is in it? 3.9? Is the ignition module you replaced the amplifier?
also this may seem from way out in left field but.... (here me out) had a car in the shop, ran great but would randomly lose power and die.. drove me crazy then I gave up, shipped it back to owner. I check in with him a short time later, he had an old timer fix it right away. There was something in the gas tank that would get sucked up to the pickup and kill it, then when pressure subsided it would release it back into the tank only to get sucked up again in a weird cycle. Probably not it, but few stranger things have happened.

 

[RBBailey]

Interesting. Mine started doing this by dying while driving, pretty quickly, as the RPMs come down while braking to a stop, but like running out of gas. Then no start while cranking till finally seeming to get gas and coaxed to run. This almost always happened right when the temp needle was going from cold to normal temp reading. So on a normal drive, it would be when pulling up to an intersection at about three miles from start.

 

[rocky]

Humor me...how is your fuel line pressure? Does it drop off quickly during use?
Also, I had horrid luck 2 to 3 years ago with bad coils... seemingly good at starting but no good after running for a bit.