Engine cutting out sharply

Hey all,

I presume this is an electrical problem, hence why i posted it here! My engine is cutting out quite sharply at (normally at high revs). It is often accompanied with a bit of a backfire when it kicks back in.

Basically, when driving, suddenly the engine will stop firing, the revs will drop but within seconds it might kick back in. Last night was the worst scenario, i dropped into 4th to overtake, i redlined it and the engine died, it took a good 10 mins of witing for it to come back to life.

Any ideas guys? This is really irritating. I checked all connections to the coil and they seem ok, could it be a fueling issue or should I just replace all HT leads and the coil?

Do you have a rotor arm with a built in rev limiter?
Something like this:



If so, might worth checking it out as if it is cutting out when you red line it, this is what is supposed to happen, however it sounds like the return spring is not working for you, sticking maybe, causing a permanent short to earth.

If you have a rotor arm without a limiter on it, try that…

EXCELLENT response, thanks mate, would kind of make sense!

Ill try and get my hands on a rotor arm without a rev limiter and give it a go!

Any body recommend a good online store i can try? Picking parts up here in NZ is HARD....

Also worth checking the ignition barrel as these can become worn , sit with car on tick over and give the key a wriggle

Its not the rev limiter, it would cut the ignition off at its top rpm but it would come right back on below it, not take 10 mins! So don't go changing that part!!!

Its probably dirty fuel, the high speed/high acceleration caused a blockage somewhere which reduced fuel pressure and caused the poor running, which eventually unblocked itself and cleared.

Very common problem with Mk1s!

I have a fuel leak too, i only noticed last night, which to me would indicate some lack of pressure on the line?

This is getting quite frustrating, can anybody point me in the direction of how to eliminate the block? Should i try a fuel additave to try de-coke it first?