Hi, I have a 1991 Toyota Corolla that can run for about 15 minutes and then when it gets to full operating temperature, it dies. (this is from a cold start when car is just sitting there running, not driving). The problem originally occurred a few years ago. On a trip out of town on a very hot day, the car died on the freeway. I had it towed to my mechanic. He did a temp fix and told me when it happens again I would have to get a new electrical harness. Well it is now happening again but my mechanic has since moved and I need to fix it. I'm trying to avoid the cost of tracking down an electrical problem (which I was quoted $200 just for looking). Any idea what might be causing this problem? I thought I remembered that it may have had something to do with the fuel pump in the gas tank. I had that replaced but I still have the problem. One thing of note: If I take the car out for a short trip and then try to start it and it won't start, I lift the hood to let it cool off and that seems to get it to start sooner than if I left the hood down. Also, the radiator has always had enough coolant in it and the oil has been kept up as well, so it's not that kind of a cooling problem. Hope that helps you diagnose the problem. Thanks
Any OBD1 diagnostic codes?
A common failure mode for electronic components is to stop working when hot and then start working again after cooling down. It's likely you have a problem in your ignition system. When the car won't start try spraying some starting fluid into the air intake. If it doesn't fire up briefly in this test you have no spark and the problem would likely be the pickup in the distributor or the ignition module, or the wiring. The car is over 30 years old so really almost everything is suspect.
It could be that your injectors are partially clogged and dripping fuel into the cylinders and temporarily flooding the engine. If these are the original injectors, they are now 31 years old and probably malfunctioning. New ones run about $140 per set, available everywhere.
