Stalling after start up

[Cal]

Hi all, not sure if this is carby or electric related....

Went on the club run last night, and all went good. Decided to visit a mate later on that night . Started the car up to leave later on and sat there idling for a minute or so. As soon as I went to drive away, the car lost all power, and the electrics went dead - no lights. Then it came to life, though driving up the road as soon as it dropped to idle so I can change gear, it did it again. After a couple of times it righted itself.

Today I took it on a 300km return trip and each time I went to take off after starting up, it died, then spluttered to life again. After each episode, it ran like a clock.

I'd say it was carby related, but I can't explain why the dash and headlights would completely go out when it does it. I'm worried it's something that might get worse and will leave me stranded one day.

This bloody car is cursed lately

[Thommo]

Sounds electrical to me Cal,
Loose connection somewhere I'm guessing.

[Craig Allardyce]

Cal,
sounds like you may have a major short that is sapping all your available power to run the ignition and lights.
Are you running a generator with mechanical regulator? Sounds a bit like the cut out coil contactor is fused closed or is sticking at low engine revs. As the engine revs drop below about 1200rpm the contact should open as the generator output is low at this speed. Opening of the contact prevents reverse current from the battery to the generator i.e. the battery power tries to drive the generator and this draws heaps of current which would cause the voltage to drop enough to kill all lights and ignition power. Once revs are increased and the generator starts to increase output the system runs ok. If this is the problem I would disconnect the battery when the car isn't in use as it could be a major fire risk unless the system is fused (standard systems aren't fused between the generator and regulator). You may also end up with a flat battery very quickly as power will drawn from it when the engine is running and the ignition is turned off.
Easy way to check is to remove the cover on the regulator and watch the cut out contact open and close when revving the engine from idle to approx. 1400 rpm then back down to idle. There shouldn't be any arcing across the contacts either.
If this is all ok I would check the charging system output at low revs.....maybe the output isn't enough at low engine speeds to run all your electrics and this is affecting the output of your ignition system.
Broken engine mount and loose earth or main power cable connections. Every time you drop the clutch and the engine rocks to one side the movement might be enough on the cables or connections to cause the problem.

[Cal]

Thanks guys, I'm guessing it may be electrical. It's just a standard generator and regulator set up.

I'll try that thing you suggested with the coil, Craig. Sort of explains why the lights would die like that when the revs also died. Odd though why it fixes up once you get going

Think I'll disconnect that battery too .