Woah I got a weird one. After a bit of a vacation in Texas I got back in my sedan and all sorts of stuff seemed wacky. I got a few things Ironed out which I will have more time to talk about some other time but I need to get this reverse rpm thing nailed first.

 

I have an 83 standard 5spd 2wd sedan. I will be going along and I will feel a small jolt in my forward movement (feeling opposite to my direction of travel) my tach will ROCKET to zero, something also seems to be going on in the electricity department cause the dash does something odd? I dont remember off hand exactly what I will keep a closer eye on it. Anyways It will rocket to zero, I just leave it in gear and keep my foot where it is and it plays with me. Bouncing back to life and rocketing to zero.

 

Does this ring anybells?

 

the car can die while doing this. It doesnt seem terribly violent except for the tachometer needle.

 

It had never been more than a problem of a few hiccoughs on the road until recently now sometimes the car wont "bounce" back out of the dead tach funny running state. Sometimes it wont start after this. But usually after a bit it will!

I have no idea.

Why would this self correct?

 

Any question will be tolerated and any help would be worshiped! I need to drive to san fran for my sisters wedding soon.

 

Thanks Folks.

 

Joshua

Sounds VERY electrical. Check ur connectons and as much of the wiring U can see. Make sure they're tight and no corrosion. I'd start there.

dodge caravan turbo did this

turned out to be the pickups in the disty

or could b the the transistor doohicky under the coil getting flaky

so after a while it heats up and fails

cools off and works

only 2 things that immediatly come to mind

or even the coil itself and Josh call Andrew he can help and he might want to talk to you anyways lol

Hey Josh, sounds like a coil or a distributor problem to me. Take your cap off and see if the shaft wiggles, if it does, your bushings are shot. Although we might have to go bonyardin for a dizzy since I think you got my last one!

PS my # is 541 990 8697

Andrew number.

My 83 was doing this for a while. I've got it tracked down to a combination of a tired alternator and a poor ground condition. Mine does this when I've got a lot of electrical stuff on. I'm in the process of getting better grounds by running 10-ga wire to various places on the body to try and get around the worst rust spots. Later I'll tackle the alternator.

 

What I figured out was that system voltage would drop to a certain point at which the fuel pump could not move enough fuel to feed the engine above a certain speed (~3k rpm). Then it would do exactly what you are talking about.

 

I've replaced my coil, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, both battery cables and terminals, the battery and installed a bunch of new ground wires. The ground wires were what finally did it for me.

Interesting! Where should I look for the most important ground wires?

 

J

dude. Josh. Call me, I leave for wyoming in 11 days...