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TR6 Engine dies slow left turn.

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Tosh

Tosh

Jedi Trainee
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My 1969 TR6 has an issue. Currently throttle body fuel injected (Patton Machine/Affordable F.I.) set-up. Runs great under all conditions except one; slow down to make a quick left turn...1/2 way thru the turn...engine stalls. This with the clutch depressed. Alternator light comes on, turn key engine restarts just fine. NOTE: the car handles right turns with no drama under the same conditions.
What is interesting here is that the car showed the same behavior prior to F.I. while running on the Strombergs.
Everything has been changed from stock (pretty much) including fuel tank, F.I setup, electronic ignition (and computer controlled advance), 3/8" fuel line and return, electric rotary fuel pump, also experimented with swirl pot located ahead of and after fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator set at 12.5 lb., fresh NGK plugs, bungs on each side of fuel tank, vented factory cap.

With the car on a lift, one can turn the steering wheel left to right with no stall.

Have had the car to auto electrical specialist who states (under the described conditions) that there is continuous power to the fuel injectors and coil.

Anybody know what is going on?

Thank you for any suggestions.
 
I'd try hooking up a test light to the hot wire at the coil (and at the ignition module if it's fed separately), so you can watch it when the problem happens.

Also a fuel pressure gauge (not necessarily at the same time).

Just to show the strange things that can happen, I had a similar problem on a Stag. Turned out, the WY wire had broken loose at the starter solenoid, and was hanging free. Going up a hill, it would swing far enough to touch ground, and short out the ignition. But your 69 wouldn't have a WY, so that's not your problem.
 
DavidApp said:
Is the motor shifting during left turns and making a poor connection to the coil or ignition circuit?

David
Click to expand...
Good point David. I have thought of this in relation to the engine mounts because it seems like an inertia related thing. Just hard to wrap my head around the engine moving to such effect.
Maybe fresh engine mounts???
Thanks for your input.
 
TR3driver said:
I'd try hooking up a test light to the hot wire at the coil (and at the ignition module if it's fed separately), so you can watch it when the problem happens.

Also a fuel pressure gauge (not necessarily at the same time).

Just to show the strange things that can happen, I had a similar problem on a Stag. Turned out, the WY wire had broken loose at the starter solenoid, and was hanging free. Going up a hill, it would swing far enough to touch ground, and short out the ignition. But your 69 wouldn't have a WY, so that's not your problem.
Click to expand...
"Driver". I have done the fuel pressure gauge thing and that was inconclusive because pressure drops as the car stops but, as near as I can tell, not before. I have looked and pulled at the starter wires but have not actually removed the starter and cleaned and secured everything. The auto electric shop has ruled out loss of power to the coil and injectors. I actually drove the tech in the car to show exactly what happens. They say it is a mechanical not electrical. I guess they ought to know???
Will review starter connections.
Thanks for your time.
 
Wow...fuel injection shouldn't have an issue. It sounds like you may be getting fuel pooling in the manifold on braking. Is mixture adjustable on your system? If so I would try leaner on deceleration.
 
Boy, thats an idea. As I may have mentioned before it does seem inertia related. That would make some sense. Gotta go back to Affordable F.I. an ask about that.
 
CJD said:
Wow...fuel injection shouldn't have an issue. It sounds like you may be getting fuel pooling in the manifold on braking. Is mixture adjustable on your system? If so I would try leaner on deceleration.
Click to expand...

Replying again John as I think my reply to you may have gotten out of order.
Boy, thats an idea. As I may have mentioned before it does seem inertia related. That would make some sense. Gotta go back to Affordable F.I. an ask about that.
 
pdplot said:
Something in the fuel tank shifting and blocking the outlet? I've seen it twice now.
Click to expand...
Have spent many dollars redoing fuel tank. Two taps on bottom (left and right) with baffles. What else can you do there?
 
Tosh said:
"Driver". I have done the fuel pressure gauge thing and that was inconclusive because pressure drops as the car stops
Click to expand...
And is that normal somehow??
Some old mechanical injection systems modulated fuel pressure to control mixture, but AFAIK, fuel pressure should be constant for a modern EFI. Any desired change in mixture is accomplished by changing the pulse width to the injectors.
 
TR3driver said:
And is that normal somehow??
Some old mechanical injection systems modulated fuel pressure to control mixture, but AFAIK, fuel pressure should be constant for a modern EFI. Any desired change in mixture is accomplished by changing the pulse width to the injectors.
Click to expand...
Yes pulse width is correct for this system.
 
Is fuel tank line centered or pulling from one side of tank! Seems like a fuel starvation as car leans into turn. Might check position of fuel pickup, even with baffles.
 
LarryK said:
Is fuel tank line centered or pulling from one side of tank! Seems like a fuel starvation as car leans into turn. Might check position of fuel pickup, even with baffles.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Fuel taps are exactly where they would have been on TR F.I. setup. There is a flat on the right side of the tank normally unused in carbed version. That's where I drilled the second tap.
It made absolutely no difference in the cars behavior.
 
Any flexible fuel lines that could be cramped during a turn?
 
LarryK said:
Any flexible fuel lines that could be cramped during a turn?
Click to expand...
Flexible lines are no more than 5-7in. long and running from solid to solid mount tubing.
Lines are 5/16" to 3/8" diameter so there's lots of flow.
Thanks.
 
This will probably be of no help, but nevertheless an amusing story about a similar situation. My brother bought a Sprite several years ago that would die turning one direction if he took a corner with too much oomph. After it died it would start right up and run fine.

After lots of diagnostics and head scratching he figured out that the distributor was not clamped down, a spirited turn would result in centrifugal force pulling the shaft out. Ignition would of course stop. After the car stopped when he went to turn it over the distributor shaft would settle back down on the drive dog as he cranked it and it would run fine.
 
glemon said:
This will probably be of no help, but nevertheless an amusing story about a similar situation. My brother bought a Sprite several years ago that would die turning one direction if he took a corner with too much oomph. After it died it would start right up and run fine.

After lots of diagnostics and head scratching he figured out that the distributor was not clamped down, a spirited turn would result in centrifugal force pulling the shaft out. Ignition would of course stop. After the car stopped when he went to turn it over the distributor shaft would settle back down on the drive dog as he cranked it and it would run fine.
Click to expand...

Nothing related to these machines is too hard to believe.
Her's one I heard today at the PGH. Vintage GP; A fellows Sprite would go down the road for a mile or two make a turn then stall. Sit for a couple minutes, car would start and go a couple miles: another turn then stall.
After much fussing they narrowed it down to the fuel tank. Turns out there was a penny in the tank so situated that when turning the penny apparently blocked the fuel pickup stall the car then with the fuel pump off the penny dropped away from the pickup and would travel for a time.
Remove the penny...problem solved.
Thanks for your distributor tale.
 
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