Pothole = dead engine

[eskimo810]

I was driving today with 4 people in my car, horrible shocks and all. It's pretty rough driving on the main road where I live, but with four people it's excruciating. Anyways, we hit a pothole and the tach drops to zero. Shitty. So the engine was off. No sputtering or anything. Just dead.

Tried restarting, cranks like a champ, but no ignition. My hood latch is broken, and I couldn't get the hood open, so I'll leave it until morning to do some real diagnosing.

So what do you think is the problem? I hear the CPS has the ability to produce such an effect.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[der affe]

main relay or fuel pump relay loose or bad?

[e30leigh]

is the battery secured? it may of jumped up, shorted and blown the main fuse or fusable link.

[FLG]

main relay or fuel pump relay loose or bad?

Agree 100%, little black cover over the relays a bit more forward then the fuse box. Chances are it popped out, common issue.

Also hood will open using a long screwdriver through the front of the grille, theres a slot near the latch to put it in and turn.

[Ayman]

Agree 100%, little black cover over the relays a bit more forward then the fuse box. Chances are it popped out, common issue.

Also hood will open using a long screwdriver through the front of the grille, theres a slot near the latch to put it in and turn.

This. I was stranded for 3 hours before a friend drove like 10 miles and checked it. Biggest facepalm of my life.

[eskimo810]

Thanks guys, I'm about to go down and try to figure it out. I'll be sure to check in and see what I made of it.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Tried restarting, cranks like a champ, but no ignition. My hood latch is broken, and I couldn't get the hood open

Seem's a little scary to have a broken hood release on a vehicle so prone to engine fires.

[eskimo810]

Seem's a little scary to have a broken hood release on a vehicle so prone to engine fires.

Yeah, well I won't debate that. It's also inconvenient as hell, seeing as this happened to me at like 9:00 last night. And judging by how easy it was to fix this morning, this might have never been a problem.

The good news is that it is fixed, I didn't know which relay was for the fuel pump, but it was the white, sunken one in the small housing in front of the drivers front shock tower. It was loose, I just plugged it back in, and it started right up.

[jlevie]

While it is more likely to happen on a race car, a relay coming loose isn't that uncommon. A ziptie around the relay & socket eliminates that potential problem.

Prone to engine fires??? Not if the car is properly maintained. Part of that maintenance is periodic replacement of the fuel hoses, FPR, and injector seals, which are the usual causes of engine fires when they leak.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Prone to engine fires??? Not if the car is properly maintained. Part of that maintenance is periodic replacement of the fuel hoses, FPR, and injector seals, which are the usual causes of engine fires when they leak.

Thus, prone to engine fires. Most vehicles on the road are not properly maintained.

OP, good to hear this was an easy fix!

[canadiankid]

I did this. Negative lug came off. Stalled in a parking lot. 10 people behind me were doing a wtf when I opened the trunk, closed it and then drove off.

[eskimo810]

I did this. Negative lug came off. Stalled in a parking lot. 10 people behind me were doing a wtf when I opened the trunk, closed it and then drove off.

[u3b3rg33k]

Prone to engine fires? what? hot and cold sides of the engine are separate - not like it's a chrysler straight six...

[fatsooo]

I did this. Negative lug came off. Stalled in a parking lot. 10 people behind me were doing a wtf when I opened the trunk, closed it and then drove off.

lol my positive comes off usually wont let my car start. happened one time when i got pulled over. the cops face was hilarious.

[durtyE30]

If you had 4 people and shitty shocks....is your oil pan okay? Just wondering....