Engine dies when car heats up

JasonNCJasonNC Posts: 963Expert Adviser
in HUDSON
I have the same problem with my two Stepdowns.  They run great for about 10 miles but once they warm up, they start sputtering and nearly cut off.  In fact, the Commodore left me stranded on a busy street just yesterday.  Anyone have a similar problem? 

Comments

  • ToddhToddh Posts: 427Member
    Coil issue?  
  • ToddhToddh Posts: 427Member
    Also have you replaced your distributor  condensers?
  • GeoffGeoff Posts: 4,714Senior Contributor
    Vapor-lock
    If you're stuck in a hole, stop digging.
  • ToddhToddh Posts: 427Member
    Maybe. Others here are experiencing coil issues with step downs
  • 50C8DAN50C8DAN Posts: 2,785Senior Contributor
    I would check the coil.  I had the same problem a few years ago with my Hornet.  Ran great until it got hot, then just sputtered and died.  I chased what I thought was a fuel issue for over a week, took it to my local Hudson buddy and they chased it also as it sounded like a fuel starvation problem.  Finally replaced the coil and whalah fixed!
  • ratlee2ratlee2 Posts: 369Expert Adviser
    I had the same problem 50C8DAN had.  I would get 4 or 5 miles down the road and it wohld sputter and die.  I could wait a few minutes and it would restart just fine.  Changed the coil with a spare I had and it has not occured since.
  • JasonNCJasonNC Posts: 963Expert Adviser
    Thanks for the responses guys.  I have a feeling that it is the coil.  We'll see what happens when I replace it.  
  • kamzackkamzack Posts: 531Senior Contributor
    Had Same problem with my 50 C8. Went through 4 coils in nearly a year Put a new one on and after month or two same problem. Took a while to figger out fuel delivery wasn't problem. I ordered a Pertronix coil. No matter how hot, it starts. I feared going anywhere as I didn't know if it would restart. COIL
  • 50C8DAN50C8DAN Posts: 2,785Senior Contributor
    edited August 2021
    I did not comment that I also replaced my coil with a Petronix unit.  Some of the 6V coils today are junk.  Petronix seems to be of better quality. 
  • cheyenne7271cheyenne7271 Posts: 552Member
    It must be poor quality off shore coils being sold to us. I haven’t bought one in years. My 50 Super is running its original still, why can’t we buy quality anymore? Just saying
    51 Hornet Club Coupe
    51 Hornet Sedan
    51 Commodore Six Club Coupe
    50 Pacemaker Deluxe R.I.P. (burned and destroyed in building fire)
    49 Super Six Sedan
  • lostmindlostmind Posts: 1,587Expert Adviser
    I'll throw this out there but it's a rare incidence. Your coil secondary wire can be bad, the one running from the coil to cap.
    If it's a carbon thread resistance wire , they can break inside and cause the coil to produce at max capacity to jump the gap. Overheats the coil and it quits or fails.
    Left on the side of the road a few times until it cooled down. ( not a Hudson , but a 6 volt truck from same era ).
    Wellington , Ohio
  • GlowplugGlowplug Posts: 2,412Expert Adviser
    Lostmind... I am in agreement with your statements as well as the coils available today being junk.   Over 55 years ago I was tooling down the byways of the Catskills and the car I was driving abruptly stopped running.  After scratching my head and others giving their 2cents... the car was towed to our friends garage.  The owner came out spun the engine over with the ignition key and pronounced the high voltage lead from the coil to distributor cap as bad.   Marching back into the bowels of his parts room he returned with a fresh coil lead, installed same and started the car on the first turn.... This is something I look for every time I encounter a car that runs then dies from heat or will not start. :)
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