I have a '79 245 that's always run well. The other night it cut out on an interstate ramp and would not start again. Cranks well but will not fire up.

Timing belt is new. Fuel pump and relay fuel pump are fairly new. Spark plugs are pretty old. I have had some electrical weirdness lately.

I know this is a general question, but any ideas? I stupidly had it towed to a local garage that had it two days and is clueless. Tomorrow I'm getting it towed 25 miles to the local specialist.

I had a mis-installed timing belt...it popped off. Car had your symptoms then.

I know it is obvious...check the battery.

Check for loose grounds.
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Chuck B '89 245 DL, '85 244 DL

Ok. I know you said the timing belt is new. But if there's fuel and spark , check the belt. Ie. is the distributor rotor turning? Maybe it's cranking over too easily.

You'll need to determine if it's fuel or spark. SOme of these earlier cars had trouble with the wiring right at the distributor. If there's no spark, that's where I'd start to look. Also you'll need to check the coil, or maybe just grab one at the junkyard and try it. After that, you'll need to go after the fuel system and make sure the pumps are running. If the tank's low, it could just be the in-tank pump. The main one ought to noticeably buzz upon turning the key.
Replace the plugs, cap and rotor anyway if they're old. They're not helping. And you're sure the timing belt did not break? Even new ones can break.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total

It's going into the shop today. Will report back in a few days with a diagnosis.

The first thing I did was check to see if the timing belt had popped off, because the symptoms were the same as when it broke. Seems OK.

Of course, I had trouble with the in-tank pump once and the symptoms were the same. Of course, I checked the fuses.


Aggravating. At least it happened in 15-degree weather instead of the 15 below we had the other night.

this has never happened to me , but from reading other posts i suggest checking the 25amp fuse on the firewall.
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Dan D. '85 245 DL , '83 244 Turbo Delanisdjd@aol.com