I am having some issues with my 1983 Berlinette, here is the whole story.

My car would lose power and stall if I put too much gas in her. It felt like she was flooding. Then it got so bad that I could not even push the gas pedal hardly at all or she would die, and going up a hill was impossible. This happened for a few months, ended up parking her for a bit. A friend of mine thought it was the secondary’s not opening up in the carb, and suggested I get it rebuilt. I did this and saw a significant improvement. But the issue is still their when going up steep hills and when I drive at high speeds for 20 - 30 min. She acts like she is flooding. If I pull over right when she starts losing power and let her idle for a min or two, then she will be good to go for a short distance but does the same thing.

After a short trip on the freeway the check engine light will come on as well, but when I take it to AutoZone, or checker to have it tested the machine states my car is not responding, even if the check engine light is on. I try to turn off my car and then back on, but that turns off the check engine light, so they can’t test it.

I am trying to find out what it could be so I can start eliminating the suspects, but do not know where to start. Please help...

 

Clogged fuel filter or tired fuel pump if it is starting and idling fine.
Can you ever get a connection to the ECM with a scanner?

 

I have not been able to gt a signal to the scanner. I will take a look at the filter and the pump and will hope thats all.

 

I would guess that it has something to do with your ECM since you can't connect to it. Other then that I would check float level. Check the floats for leaks too.

 

Not good news that you don't ever get a signal from ECM. I'm no expert with CC Carbs, but I don't see how the computer could let it idle smooth, run a short distance at high speed and then mess up.

Do you have access to a vacuum gauge and timing light?

OldCelica: Wouldn't it be hard to start and not idle if there was a float problem?

 

Yeah, probably. I'm pretty sure the issue is with the ECM anyway. I was just thinking that if rebuilding the carb had an effect on performance then the ECM is not or at least was not the sole issue.

 

So i just replaced the fuel pump and the fuel filter....

Still stalls. This is how I test it. I either take it on a freeway for a bit, or I act like i'm racing. It still acting like it is flooding and stalls, I let it sit for a min or two, then starts up and goes for a bit longer.

Another thing I noticed is when I push the gas it takes just a second before it gets going. Not sure if this is related.

I tried to get the check engine light tested again, but its the same thing. by the time i get the computer hooked up to it, it has already cleared out, or it just never talks to it. not sure which one yet.

On a side note, might be related or not, The speedometer is not working.

I know I have a plethera of issues, and thank you for all your knowledge.

 

Kind of a stupid answer, but when you take it autozone, are they using a OBDII reader or a OBDI reader? Because our cars, atleast yours and mine are going to be OBDI. Another thing you might want to check, is the spark timing at the dizzy. If the timing is out it will act fine at idle and when you give it throttle, it will act like its overfueling and wants to die. Because the spark is so retarded that its not burning all the fuel in the combustion chamber, so its bogging down. Just a suggestion. My dads TBI 350 C.I. blazer did this exact same thing, and it turned out to be the spark/ignition timing was to retarded.

 

When you hook it up to the code reader and try and scan your ECM, it will either give you a "scan sucessful" or and unable to connect message whether there are codes or not. An actual scanner will give you all kinds of good info like if your O2 sensor is even working and show when your mixture is going really rich.

Still need the basics checked first. Timing, vacuum, compression, plugs fauling, plug wire resistance. Guessing its your ECM or carb (secondaries) but don't have enough data.

Where are you located?