I purchased a W reg a few months ago with just 51,000 on the clock. It occasionally coughed when pulling away from a cold start so I checked the plugs - they had Very Wide gaps so I decided to fit a new set (Bosch) rather than re-gap them. It ran like a dream but, started cutting out when driving in slow traffic. It takes at least 20+ minutes to get it cool enough to restart, then it runs well (including motorways) until I get into slow moving, heavy traffic again. On the open road it doesn't miss a beat, and the cooling fans are working fine.

Two different service people that I know said that it sounded like the description of a crankshaft sensor problem. I got a new one fitted but it still has the same problem - it dies in slow moving traffic when it gets hot. Having said that, the temperature gage has never been above half way.

As the ignition packs had to be removed to fit the new plugs, any ideas if this may have upset things? I've checked all the joints, and they are fine, but I have heard that these ignition packs are not very hardy and movement may upset them. When I get this problem, it always dies completely - i.e. all four cylinders die, so it's not just one faulty plug. I'm on a basic state pension so I can't go on buying new bits without a reasonable idea of what's wrong. All suggestions gratefully received.

Many thanks - Mike (Cheltenham)

It's possible that there is an ignition module that's failing when it gets hot. Happened to another car of mine- ran fine for 20 mins, then coughs and dies. Has to cool down before it will restart (and for a while it gets hotter sitting in an unmoving warm engine bay).

You may be able to confirm this by:

1) checking for spark when it dies- no spark, then there's an ignition problem.
2) replacement with another module that does work.
3) You could try heating it when cold or cooling it when warm to see if it makes the problem recur or disappear.

Whilst this isn't definitive and there may be other answers, it's a good indication.

Cheers,

Patrick

1987 Mitsubishi Magna - Like Pat said but was attached to the distributor (somewhere)
And also later on it developed a POOR connection on the fuseable link on the battery +

That was a whole lot of hurt to trace !

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Speed is subjective to only how far you keep your right foot down..

Many Thanks for the replies folks.

It turned out to be the Cam Sensor.... unfortunately I had to replace several things because 'cam sensor' was not at the top of the list. hey ho... At least this part was easy to get at.