Le Mans breakdown, help please!

[Phoenixcat]

I'm currently at Le Mans. On the way down the car cut out. I restarted then it ran for 10 miles and cut out again. I started it again and it cut out straight away. I changed the 100 amp fuse, it hadn't gone. An hour had gone by, and the engine had cooled down so i started and it ran fine for the remaining 45 miles to Le Mans including a 1 hour queue to get into the campsite. I took it out yesterday and it ran fine for a bit then was a bit hesitant. i think it's related to heat so i'm thinking it is the coil pack getting hot. Does anyon have any ideas? I had a new alarm fitted last year by Karl so it isn't the hot start issue.

Does anyone know what coil i need and where i could get one from near Le Mans or perhaps on the way back? I have a 1998 4.0.

Thanks in advance.

[Julesprivate]

Sorry to hear you are having issues, especially so far from home.. It could be any number of things though, potentially it could be the fuel pump (amongst other things) what makes you think it's the coil?

[blackchim]

Hopefully there will be lots of help n advice around for you, but soz re issue. Could be a number of issues but I've had this issue and it was down a loose ECU chip not fully pushed into the holder. Dont know if you have the correct bit to get into ECU box? Anyway may be worth you just unplugging ECU for a few mins to reset any faults. Other than that check all leads & electrical connectors under bonnet. Stepper too. French fuel!!!

Hope it sorts V quickly

Will

[Phoenixcat]

I think it's the coil as it seems to be heat related. In the steve heath bible it describes this problem with the coil, plus i read a post a couple weeks ago on this forum with a similar problem.

I have disconnected the battery so the exu would have reset so it isn't that, i also filled up with new fuel so i don't think it's the petrol.

The coil i need is the bosch pc6574, i just don't know where to get it from.

[Andav469]

Where abouts in Le Mans are you, I'm at a campsite about 7 miles outside lemans

[Phoenixcat]

I'm at Beasejour, leaving on Monday.

[Colin RedGriff]

Could also be the ignition amp.

[TVR Stef]

I had a similar situation, for me it was the two main ecu relays. They work fine when testing them. But the car would just cut out occasionally, but would only happen when I done over 20 or so miles.

Hope you manage to get back ok.

[s p a c e m a n]

Next time it does it pull a lead off and see if you can get a spark off of the chassis or something, atleast yoill know if youre looking in the right direction.

[Phoenixcat]

I couldn't find a coil anywhere so I had to call my breakdown service. They towed me all the way home!

I am going to change the coil and the distributor in the hope it will be sorted.

[Barreti]

Bugger, its a shame I didn't see this or I'd have come to help. I carry a spare coil, leads and ignition amp but try to forget computers when I'm away.

Change the Ignition Amp before you start with the coil. Its the cheapest fix and has symptoms like yours when it dies. Yours should be on the side of the Offside rocker box. Check the number of pins before you buy a new one. I think yours will be 3 pins.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Phoenixcat said:

I couldn't find a coil anywhere so I had to call my breakdown service. They towed me all the way home!

Wow! That's good service. Better than I got from the AA (booked via Eurotunnel), who did get us home on hire cars and ferry, and repatriated my car but it took about 2 weeks. Which breakdown service was yours?

[Phoenixcat]

I'm with Autohome which is part of my insurance with MSM.

I say towed all the way home but it wasn't an easy journey. I called them at 11am and 1.5 hours later a French bloke turned up and put it onto the back of his lorry.
I was informed by the people at Autohome that because my car was specialist they would not try to fix it and I would get a tow home. So imagine my surprise when I was towed 5 minutes down the road to the recovery companies depot. No-one spoke any English at the depot so I had to use google translate to try to work out what was going on. The bloke that spoke French from Autohome(Andy) had gone to a very long lunch. 3 hours later and many failed pigeon French conversation later Andy finally checked in and spoke to them and they agreed to tow me to Calais, or so I thought. They decided to tow me to the nearest port, which was Cannes, despite the fact I had a ticket from Calais that could be transferred for a later ferry.

So they towed me to Calais, literally dumped my car at the port and left me. I had a massive argument with the French lorry driver as he wouldn't let me load and unload my own car, he insisted on driving it himself. He had no mechanical sympathy and stalled it 3 times getting it onto the ramp, then couldn't work out how to open the door to get out-no the that's an ashtray not a door handle!

So I was informed that I had to get the ferry to Portsmouth (9 hour journey) and was picked up by a uk recovery vehicle at Portsmouth and taken home. The car kept cutting out while queuing at passport control, it was a bit stressful.
They also made me pay for the ferry crossing (276 Euros) which I am now trying to claim back as it is supposed to be covered.