83 Telstar engine dies for no reason

BlackDalek · 08-02-2015, 04:13 PM

Lately our car just dies or no reason. It seemingly happens at random.
The car will run for a while, then suddenly just stop without warning.
It appears that it just stops putting out spark from the distributor, but we can't figure out why. When it's done its dead thing, and we check the spark plug cables, no spark is generated... then after a while, suddenly it starts sparking again. Battery is new and charges OK.

We've tried replacing several parts to rectify the problem but the problem persists.
It has a new ignition coil.
The distributor cap is new.
All the spark plug cables are newly replaced too.

We are booking it into a garage again for their opinion on Monday.

Any ideas?

**russellw** · 08-02-2015, 06:28 PM

You've covered off most of the obvious causes but it sounds like something is overheating if it gets better 'after awhile'. Does it have a ballast resistor?

Cheers
Russ

BlackDalek · 08-02-2015, 06:44 PM

No idea what a ballast resistor is, but will investigate to find out if it has one.

Tassie f100 · 08-02-2015, 07:46 PM

I would suspect the ignition module in the distributor has an intermittant fault.The module in my 351 f100 had the same symtoms.Wouldn,t start,let it sit for a few minutes then off we go.might happen 3 days in a row then be good for weeks.New module 4 years ago no problems since then.

XAGT1972 · 09-02-2015, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I would suspect the ignition module in the distributor has an intermittant fault.The module in my 351 f100 had the same symtoms.Wouldn,t start,let it sit for a few minutes then off we go.might happen 3 days in a row then be good for weeks.New module 4 years ago no problems since then.

Back in the early 90's but we had an 87 TX5 that did the same thing. Replaced the ignition module and that fixed the problem.

Peter B - CV8 · 10-02-2015, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XAGT1972

Back in the early 90's but we had an 87 TX5 that did the same thing. Replaced the ignition module and that fixed the problem.

Yep - same here. The TFI module is located at the bottom of the distributor & is a sealed unit that is packed with dialectric grease (for heat insulation). The unit cracks easily & as a result, loses grease, overheats & causes spark failure.
Google "telstar distributor grease" & all will be revealed.....

BlackDalek · 13-02-2015, 11:38 AM

After the garage had a look at it, they decided they want to replace the whole distributor at a cost of around $500 + labour.
I just decided to have another look at it and see if I could locate the ignition module. After a few minutes, worked out that there was a metal cover on the side that could be removed with 2 screws. Inside is what looks to me like the ignition module images I saw on google. This black plastic piece is completely surrounded by thermal grease which seems to have leaked out of the black module.
Does that sound like the location of the problem? Should there be any grease at all outside that black plastic thing? There was at least a desert spoon's worth of grease around it.

**russellw** · 13-02-2015, 12:16 PM

In short the answer is no it shouldn't.

Cheers
Russ

BlackDalek · 13-02-2015, 12:43 PM

Okay.. so it would be a HUGE coincidence if the leaked grease from the module was NOT the cause of the "no spark" problem ;)

Tassie f100 · 13-02-2015, 02:10 PM

The thermal grease is usually white.I would suggest the black stuff is accumulated oil resulting from engine blowby which has semi dried out over the years.

BlackDalek · 13-02-2015, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

The thermal grease is usually white.I would suggest the black stuff is accumulated oil resulting from engine blowby which has semi dried out over the years.

Yes... the grease is white/translucent only the plastic module is black. There is no black grease. I guess you misread somewhere ;)

Peter B - CV8 · 18-02-2015, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackDalek

Yes... the grease is white/translucent only the plastic module is black. There is no black grease. I guess you misread somewhere ;)

Yep - the grease has escaped from the module - causing the module to now overheat & shut down randomly.

Grant245 · 15-10-2015, 10:15 AM

I know this is an old thread, but I just put this up for info if any one searches.
I had this exact problem on a Telstar I owned once and after changing the ignition module, the problem turned out to be the crank angle sensor.

BlackDalek · 10-12-2015, 08:21 AM

We haven't had a problem with the car randomly dying since the ignition module was replaced. Seems to have done the trick.