car wont stay running... (not electrical)

[xcelr8n]

hey guys, this problem started today and is getting worse...
car will turn on, but run like hell for a few seconds and die... idles around 500rpms vacuum around 10, and then slowly everything turns off.
I made sure everything was connected, I pulled all the plugs theyre good, timing marks line up, I did a leak test, no major leaks, the small leak at my shaft seals remain, nothing has changed from weeks prior though...
anyone have any ideas? I was sooo hoping to get to the track Sunday and the car was running so nicely up until todAY... thanks guys

 

[Malice]

sounds like an alternator

 

[xcelr8n]

yes I know it does, but why would my vacuum be so low?
and the alternator is like less then 12 months old...

 

[Gary 420A RS]

check the votage coming from the battery... if its the alternator it will drain the battery and it wouldnt keep turning back on it would just stay on enough for the lights and stuff... is it fuel? maybe but check the voltage...

 

[deos123]

I dont see how it would be alternator or battery if the car is continually starting then dying.
Check that your plugs are properly gapped and your wires are ok. Make sure theres no vacuum leaks. Those are the two most obvious answers i can think of... . maybe your injectors are clogged and its running too lean? since you say your plugs look fine it wouldnt be too rich. i dont know that was more of a guess.

 

[R3dR]

Sounds like your CAS ty me.

Allows the car to start because at startup the ECU runs timing fuel and spark but as soon as the car starts it reverts to its systems to run IE CAS and then FLOP car dies.

 

[xcelr8n]

well, i got around to doing a ton of stuff today, chnaged the cas, coil, fpr, injectors and rail, checked all vacuum hoses.... and it then i re-checked timing.... :thumbdown
looks like i skipped timing by 1 tooth on the exhuast cam, now would that alone cause the car to act this way, im gonna fix it tomorrow... just hoping for the best.

 

[LAUNCHED]

Yes, it could cause all the problems your experiencing. The tell tail sign of a timing problem is the low vacuum. I just had a car that had the timing was way off, it would run half way decent but had no power and had no vacuum.

Just make sure you get everything lined back up once you are ready to put it back together.

CRAIG

 

[xcelr8n]

WELL we took the timing cover off and lined everything up turns out timing was already fine, so we tested the coil it was good, went ahead and swapped isc throttle bodies and tps and still the problem is there..
anyone have any least resort ideas ive been through everything..

 

[Harris91]

I see that you said the alternator was 12 months old, but have you inspected the belt. Sometimes a somewhat fraying alternator belt will cause the alternator to not work properly. This exact same thing was happening to me, then I changed my alternator belt and now everything is fine.

 

[xcelr8n]

no the belt is fine

 

[blue92laser]

It still could be ur alternator, because the car is running at 500rpm, maybe that particular motor cant pull good vacuum in that low of RPM's...

As engines get old things go that can mess with the vacuum at idle, such as rings, valves, blah blah blah....the lower the motor idles the worse the vacuum gets.

change ur alternator...even if thatd oesnt work, u can get ur money back. so theres no loss.

 

[xcelr8n]

got the alt tested, its good, changed the power transistor and it didnt help at all..
any more ideas? my wits end is upon me here.