GE Sigma Help Needed!

[valitank]

Hi Everyone
Im New to the forum. i live south of adelaide and my mum bought a 1980 GE chrysler sigma se identical to the on in the ad, same gold colour and all. The old girl is origional with roughly 154,000 on the clock. I has a few problems with it though and i as hoping someone would help me becuase im only 15 and my dads not around anymore (died from cancer in '06). First of all when you start her in the moring its a real pain! if you dont rev her to around 3000 It will just stall when your drive it but after you rev her up itll stay at 2000 for 1-2 mins and slowly go down to 1000. Secondly shes has got a fair bit of go in her but she startes surgeing at 90kph+ its really hesitant to go at that sped but up to 80 its fine. It also preignites a fair bit. and lastly i there a common problem with the fuell gauges? Like if you tap on the glass it works? BTW its a astron 2000 3spd auto. Thanks
Regards
Chris

[516MA]

haha mate another GE sigma owner yay lol not many on here... espeically 15yr olds like you or i but dont worry all the guys on here so far have been very great full and helpfull unlike other forums u tell them ur 15 and its like u say ur 5 lol (btw sorry about ur dad )

anyway moving on...

yea the fuel gauge is a common problem i dont exactly no how to fix it (coz i ripped my gauges out lol) but im just guessing i would check all the wires and the earthing spots first.

the other problems definately sound fuel related (anyone else care to share what they have done with a problem similar?) at first i would check the fuel pump and filter but if there okay then its the carby

anymore question regarding the GE just ask ;)

Nick

[zabatron]

Hi..sorry to hear about your dad.When starting your car from cold,try turning on ignition(turn key to on position where dash warning lights come on(but do not crank engine).Depress accelerator pedal to floor and release to reset automatic choke.Then depress and hold accelerator pedal about one third of fulll travel and crank engine until it starts.Once started,slowly release accelerator pedal and engine should run at fast idle and slowly return to normal idle speed within 3 to 4 minutes.
not sure what you mean by engine surges,but I would check fuel filter for blockages and also check that the fuel flow direction arrow on the fuel filter is pointing in correct direction(towards carburettor and not back towards fuel tank.Also check that ignition timing is set correctly at 5 degrees btdc.
Pre-ignition may be caused by dirty spark plugs,incorrect ignition timing and also by using fuel with too low an octane rating.Try using premium unleaded as 2 litre astron has relatively high compression ratio of 9.5 to 1.
Fuel guage problems are very common.Try replacing voltage regulator at rear of guage cluster(if this is faulty,it may also cause your temp. guage to read incorrectly.)
Hope this helps you.Please let us know how you go.

[valitank]

Thanks For The Help zabatron on 516MA. Just a couple more questions... How do you get the front+rear windows out and do they have a rubber as such? And what would cause a heater to blow cold when engines warmed up and not bypassed?

[zabatron]

Heater blowing cold air when not bypassed may be caused by a blocked heater core,siezed heater tap or snapped/broken heater tap control cable.Move heater temp control lever from off to hot and observe whether heater tap opens and closes(also check whether control cable is still attached to heater tap.)If heater tap opens and closes as it should ,then your heater core may be blocked.Also,heater will not work unless engine reaches correct operating temperature.
Which front and rear windows are you referring to?Are you asking about the front and rear windscreens or front and rear side windows?

[75wagon]

Mate, a common problem with these is the heater tap. They fill up with shit and don't work any more. I pull them apart, clean and lube with boating grease. You may be lucky, that might be all it is. See if you tap moves when you move the heater controls.

I haven't pulled the screens from a sigma but:
Your f/r windscreens are either heat seal style of rubber or just siliconed in place aren't they?
If they are don't pull them out unless you've got something to put them back in with. It would be a bastard to pull them out fix the rust or whatever and then not be able to get them seal to put them back in.
Be careful getting them out, you don't want to have to buy new screens

[camB]

Screens: Yep, you can usually get the back one out with a knife all the way round (or even pressing with your feet) but the font, laminated one will crack if you try the same. If it's had a bit of driving and is pitted like most of them, it'll bust on the way out or not be worth putting back in. They don't use the hot wire/heat melted rubber seals any more - they'll just glue a new one in. (about $150 - $170 I think)

Sounds like the heater tap is screwed. They're crappy little alloy things which soon seize if not maintained (and let's face it... you're very lucky if your car's original owner was that pedantic). Chop out the heater tap and don't bother with one. Or mount a good sturdy one in the engine bay for Summer/Winter switching.

[Leethal]

i,ve seen water lines blocked on carbies, i'd also check that the second barrel is working as a seperate issue re surging ect, diaphrams on these is usually the problem, heater taps are shit they block easy and are small as it is