clicking and stalling on a 1988 Gran Fury.

SonOfaTomP

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took a video of the problem. weird clinking sound i believe is from those metal boxes. been told its a pcv valve. hose has tape on it as well as some wires. stalling issues have returned. carb has recently been cleaned and some plugs have been replaced but i guess it still needs a real tune up but i want to be informed of the issue before i take her in to the shop.
 

Elwood P Dowd

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You should be able to pay your hand on any of those metal boxes and feel if it's them clicking. I doubt it's your pcv, that is on the driver's side and the noise was louder on the passenger side but if you want to test it simply remove the hose from the Pcv and place your thumb over the hose to seal the vacuum.
 

SonOfaTomP

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car seems like she needs air. had an issue tonight where she stalled at idle. ran for a sec then off. only started working properly once opening up the air cleaner. she definitely seems to want some air. even starting her up with the hood open seems to make her run better. taking her for a tune up tomorrow. wish me luck!
 

Camtron

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Any update? That sounds very metallic. Like two metal objects hitting one another while ones rotating/lifting in conjunction to your idle speed.
 

SonOfaTomP

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after a rough ride i put an ear to the engine to try and once again find the source of the click. pinpointed this set of wires attached to the two right side metal boxes on the firewall. i have heard that the larger one with the plug on the front has a history of failing on multiple m body cars. anyone know what each of these boxes do? i adjusted them and suddenly the clicks just went away! and even stranger is that after adjusting these wires the choke closed after the car went cold! previously my choke was stuck open. the car has treated me well these two days and i don't want to jinx her by saying my problem is fixed.

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Camtron

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the big one with the plug and green/blue wire is the voltage regulator. That could do it.
 

SonOfaTomP

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i'm guessing the lean burn computer wasn't getting its proper voltage thus causing the carburetor to go nuts. only way that makes sense to be. i'll still take her for a tune up soon and tell the mechanic about my finding
 

kmccabe56

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after a rough ride i put an ear to the engine to try and once again find the source of the click. pinpointed this set of wires attached to the two right side metal boxes on the firewall. i have heard that the larger one with the plug on the front has a history of failing on multiple m body cars. anyone know what each of these boxes do? i adjusted them and suddenly the clicks just went away! and even stranger is that after adjusting these wires the choke closed after the car went cold! previously my choke was stuck open. the car has treated me well these two days and i don't want to jinx her by saying my problem is fixed.

View attachment 37139

View attachment 37140

By virtue of you playing with those wiring harnesses, it sounds like you've either got a bad connection at one of the connectors or a break in the insulation of one (or more) of the wires inside that big taped bundle. The tweaking you did on it has temporarily solved the problem. The "clicking" noise could be electrical arcing from those wires which is causing the engine to not fire on all cylinders all the time, giving you that "hunt" in the idle. Some careful, gentle unwrapping of the bundle, and a close inspection of the wiring should find you your problem.
 

Opticon77

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The one with the wires going in the bottom looks like a metal relay box. A short within or leading to it would cause it to click. If it controls something like start/run timing conditions that click could also be messing with your timing.

I admittedly have no idea what it ACTUALLY does because it's part of the mysterious late year LeanBurn setups with baro sensors and other retrofitted emissions junk.
 

SonOfaTomP

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one thing about my timing is when i start the car after its been cold the car revs up to oblivion until i press the gas. then it goes back down to normal idle. this used to be when the clicking would start with a very slight possibility of a subsequent stall. so far shes been good. shes going to the shop to get some tlc tomorrow.
 

SonOfaTomP

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just got her back from the shop. runs very quietly after getting some new belts but alas the stalling continues. they cleaned up the connections on the wires and added some new electrical tape but the clicking soon continued stalling me out in the wal mart parking lot. fiddling with the wires helped get me home with one final click while parking her at home. luckily it went away when i told the car to "shut up!". over all she does run great except for that one issue. could it be the dreaded "LEAN BURN?" the sound isn't coming from the computer. its the top right part of the engine and goes away once you fiddle with that set of wires. guys at the shop said the voltage regulator should have nothing to do with carburetor function and its most likely a lean burn issue. i'm lost here but i can live with having to pull over and fiddle with some wires every now and then for now.
 

Elwood P Dowd

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Leanburn is always the default excuse when they can't figure out what's going on. Try to figure out which wires it is that you wiggle to get it to stop clicking and check the connections on those wires. It could be corrosion or just an old connector that has gotten loose over time
 

SonOfaTomP

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Leanburn is always the default excuse when they can't figure out what's going on. Try to figure out which wires it is that you wiggle to get it to stop clicking and check the connections on those wires. It could be corrosion or just an old connector that has gotten loose over time
the main bundle seems to jolt while its clicking. i think its the voltage box. one one with the plug on the front. but i do see there are other thing hooked up in that area of the engline like the round thing directly beneath the washer fluid. not sure if thats what could be messing me up. i want to know what these two things do and where does that wire lead to. what in this area of the engine could cause me to stall? just the voltage?

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Camtron

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Open up the wire loom going to that relay looking deal (yellow square) next to the voltage regulator. Make sure the insulation isn’t cracked on the wires inside the loom/under the electrical tape. It sounds like an electrical short if it’s happening intermittently and shaking those wires “fixes” it.
My car had its lean burn deleted well before I ever bought it, it doesn’t have that relay so, I couldn’t tell you what it’s there for.
 
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Camtron

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the main bundle seems to jolt while its clicking. i think its the voltage box. one one with the plug on the front. but i do see there are other thing hooked up in that area of the engline like the round thing directly beneath the washer fluid. not sure if thats what could be messing me up. i want to know what these two things do and where does that wire lead to. what in this area of the engine could cause me to stall? just the voltage?

View attachment 37178
Red circle, that’s your ignition coil. Check that thing for cracks, that red wire could be rubbing on something...dig deeper lol
 

Opticon77

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Later models and Cali compliant cars would have had extra emissions equipment. I'd bet Elwood doesn't have the barometric and evap solenoids right behind the air cleaner either. Picking up something like a Haynes manual isn't a bad idea for the vacuum and wire diagrams...

Chrysler Fifth Avenue (1983 - 1989) Repair Manuals
 

SonOfaTomP

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Later models and Cali compliant cars would have had extra emissions equipment.

I've been trying to find my Haynes manual. i believe its packed up in a box somewhere. i know my car isn't Cali compliant, it's spent its whole life in the mid atlantic so that means its late 80s emissions crap.
 
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