Got a call from my Mum today saying her EA wouldn't start. I went and had a quick look under the bonnet but everything appeared to be connected and normal and when I turned the ignition key, it started and idled fine.
What she said was that recently the car has intermittently lost power while she's driving - just starts to drop off and then comes back on all of a sudden and the car drives normal again.
I'm figuring some sort of electrical fault but that's just a guess. Have any of you EA owners had some similar problem?

hey, i washed my engine bay out the other day and went for a quick drive and the car died! but i started it back up and hasnt had a prob since! has your mum washed her car latley and got water where she shouldnt??

Nope.
Full of engine oil, all belts attached, water full, leads connected properly. Nothing appears out of the ordinary.

did she include EA when she called you? i know my mum would just say car
ummm we had a prob in the f'mont with power...check the leads

She doesn't have to say EA for me to know what car she's had for 17 years.

I've been thinking that it could be dirty fuel or lack of fuel. Where is the fuel filter located on the EA?

Iv'e been thinking that it could be dirty fuel or lack of fuel. Where is the fuel filter located on the EA?[/quote]

On my mutipoint it's on the floorpan next to the transmission, basically beneath front passengers feet.
Could also be the fuel pressure regulator or pump.

Yeah, I'd be going along with dirty fuel or even distributor playing?
I did have a similar problem when I first bought mine, and turned out distributor rooted.

ive got an ef but my lack of power could apply to u too i had a broken up cat and wen goin over a bump it would bump up sidways and stop exhaust flow but then wen i stoped at lights or something it would be fine wen i took off coz it fell back down untill i went over a bump again....

Yep, That sounds like a fuel or ignition prob. Did it backfire at all?? I think it may just need a good service (if It hasnt had one allready) Once you service it, Give around the ignition system a spray with some silicone spray (Especially The Dizzy) This just helps disperse any moisture.

No backfiring at all. It just immediately stalls. This problem is still very intermittent, sometimes it won't fault for a week or two then sometimes it's happening all day.
The idle speed controller has been cleaned out thoroughly but it is still doing it. The one time that my Dad said it began to stall on him, he immediately floored it and the car kept going but was stuttering something shocking.
I think most times that it does stall is at low rpm or even at idle while waiting at a traffic intersection. It's happened to me while I drove it and when it stalls I turn the ignition off and then on to hear if the fuel pump is working ( hard to tell even with the windows up because I can't hear the fuel pump from the noise of all the other cars idling next to me ) and then crank it. It starts straight up and idles smoothly. I can't decide if it is an electrical or fuel problem.
Has someone had this problem before with the 3.9 MPI ?

ive had this exact problem and had racq tell me that the coil pickup sensor in the distributor was shagged, i wouldbe driving along next minute it would die and wouldnt start for about 5mins
just kick over and that would be it. replaced distributor and it was perfect

So there is a sensor inside the dizzy?
Does the EA dizzy come with a TFI module?

yea they do, i had changed every part accessable on the outside of the distributor (tfi, rotorcap, rotor button etc etc), before i knew what it was racq guy told me it was pretty common. Got a $60 dizzy from the wrecers and it was good for 2 years until i sold the car

i had the same problem as you. I change everything on my dizzy and made no diffrents, i also thought that i may have had a fuel problem as well, but in the end all it was, was a ECU relay was crook. Start the car and give the relay wiggle (or a tap) and see what happens. Mine used to run well, then rough, and then cut out then wouldn"t start. Give it another wiggle, and then it would start again. changed it no problems since, car going sweet. Good luck Hope this helps .

Replaced the sensor in the dizzy but it is still doing it.
Bugger.
What else could it be?