Left the house this morning and drove the car most of the day. It ran perfect. Left the house again about 4pm to go to a local car show. I was down to about 1/4 tank of gas I so stopped and topped of with fuel. Left the station and went about two miles when the car backfired and cut off. It would not refire. I immediately thought about bad gas.

Well, after the car cooled off about 30 minutes, it fired back up but ran rough and then cut off again. This time it would not refire. Well, I could see it was getting plenty of fuel so I figured it had to be something electrical. I walked to the nearest parts store and bought an ignition module and pickup. I installed them but it still would not start.

I pulled a plug wire, spun the engine over and discovered a weak, orange spark. By this time a buddy had arrived so I sent him back to the parts store to buy a coil. Once the new coil was installed, she fired right up.

I have never had a coil fail so abruptly. Normally they have given a little bit of a warning. But I suppose there is a first time for everything. I kept the old module and pickup for spares. They will be kept in the rear storage just in case. I thought I would share this in the event one of you guys experience a sudden failure like this.

Scott

Thanks, Scott.  Some good info to keep in mind.  I keep a spare fan belt and fuel pump, never thought about needing a coil on the road.  Maybe need to pick one up to add to the collection.

The early HEI systems were usually long lasting components. Coils do fail, and that is normally the cause of module failure. Keeping your old module for a spare is a good idea, as it will prolly get ya home sooner or later.
I would recommend a new cap and rotor to go with the new coil/module, even if they look ok. Then again, I've never seen an HEI rotor with any miles on it that didn't have signs of spark ark on the bottom.
Glad ya got it running, but sorry ya had to go thru so much hassle...

Guess you didn't make the show,huh? Sorry to hear of your problems but glad you got it fixed!

Thanks for the heads-up!  Glad it was a relatively easy fix even though it screwed up the evening for you.

Glad it's going again.  But how many spare parts can one person carry?

Yeah Joel,

I'd rather have a spare with me since I do go on road trips. Ken, I agree that I can't carry spare everything but I keep a little canvas bag of spare fuses, connectors, clamps, bulbs etc. These are small parts, as you know, so better safe than sorry. I am glad it happened locally and not on a road trip.

Scott

Actually, I like to carry a few things as well.   Mostly tools.  Then I can fix it if I can get my hands on parts.   So far I have been lucky, but I have had to walk a bit.   Fortunately, never with the C3.   I did have to jump start it before.

Ken, I carry a spare fuel pump because both times I attended the Gathering, someone had a fuel pump failure and were left stranded on the road.  You know the third time's charm and its my luck mine would be next.  Years ago, I had a fan belt break on me, so I carry a spare one anytime I go on the road.  Better to be safe than sorry, or maybe just too cautious.