Stalling question, sort of odd..

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70DartMike

70DartMike

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The car is a 65 Valiant V200, stock 273 2bbl, auto. The transmission is that one year only: column shift, but has cables going into it.
It has just been happening recently, and doesn't happen all the time, in fact, it rarely happens. Say I've been driving for a while, and I stop somewhere, and shut off the engine. When I start it again, and put it in reverse, as soon as I start rolling backwards, the car will stall. Put it in Park, start the car again, put it in reverse, roll backwards a bit, stall. This does NOT happen ever when putting it in Drive. And this does not seem to happen if I keep the car running, and say do a 3 point turn, and put it in reverse, then drive, etc. Only when I start it up, warm, and put it in reverse.

Any ideas?
 
If the engine just stops running and the car is still rolling it's an engine problem but if the transmission seems to lock up it's a trans. issue. How's it acting?
 
70DartMike said:
The engine stops running, but the car is still rolling. Isn't the reverse RPM typically the same as the drive?
Click to expand...

Yes. The gear selected has nothing to do with the idle rpm although the line pressure increases when in reverse on a Torqueflite so that puts a very small amount more drag on the engine. What is the idle rpm? If it's low you might try bumping it up 50~100 rpm's and see what happens.
 
The idle RPM is actually a little high. Could something electrical be shorting out when I put the column in reverse, causing it to stall?
 
Probably not shorting out as that'll blow fuses or melt things but it may be a loose connection. Only thing is the only wiring in the column is the turn signal wiring and that won't cause it to die. If you suspect a bad wiring connection, and that is a possibility, start the engine and start wiggling wiring under the hood. I've found loose wires that way.
 
Alright, thanks, I'll try that next time I'm home. So it won't be anything in the column due to signals? Because I did swap the turn signal switch stuff inside the column not long ago, so there is a wack load of butt connectors in there.
 
Well the turn signals are a totally different circuit so I don't know any way they can affect it running. You can even unplug the turn signal plug an it'll run fine. But what the heck, wiggle them too just to make sure. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't eventually have problems with the turn signals too (which also control the tail lights) due to the butt connectors. Butt connectors were designed to be used as a temporary repair, not permanent. To do it right the wires should have been soldered at the splice and shrink wrap or a high quality electrical tape used to insulate them.

If wiggling wires under the hood doesn't do anything also try wiggling wires under the dash as there are also wires there that can stop it from running. Especially the wires near the ignition switch. You might even try jiggling the ignition switch as they go bad also, although they don't usually cause the problem you have of it dying when you back up but you just never know.
 
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