Isn't the 1980 the model year that had hayzoo computer everything, including the engine controls, and would break down if you looked at it wrong?
I think, your thinking of the imperials of the era..?? I know they had a electronic everything dash but don't know of problems with it. I do remember though that the Imperials did have a magor problem computer related that left many a car not able to drive faster than 30mph or it would stall but I can't remember the fine details. I don't recall any problems like that with cars such as the one posted 4-sale though. But...???? The k-car Newyorkers, they had the STFU dash that would talk to you. A friend of my Dad's had one new for a VERY short time as it allways had problems....mostly it just wouldn't shut up! 'your door is ajar, your door is ajar.............. meanwhile you have slammed the **** out of your doors, open the door and it stops, close it and it starts again. That was just one of the many problems he had with it.
I never had that 'pleasure,' But I think you're right...it was an Imperial I was having the problem with, but it was a no-start. My boss and I found that the ignition wasn't getting a signal to fire from the computer. And it was a butthurt load of money for the customer to get a replacement, as they were scarcer than hen's teeth.
I owned 2 NY's from 1987-1994 great cars mine were black /red leather #2 had sunroof and limited slip.
You folks are thinking of the "Lean Burn" computer controls I think. A lot of folks swapped over to a standard carburetor, which cured the ills and got better mpg too. My uncle loves to talk about his Volare, which from the factory would actually retard the timing just a bit when you tried to pull out into traffic, so the car basically would fall on it's face and in many cases stall dead in the middle of an intersection. Nice! As for the 81-83 Imperial, the standard engine was a normal 318 (5.2L) with an advanced-for-the-time computer controlled EFI system and combustion control computer, which was ok...until it broke, at which point most Chrysler techs at the time had no idea how to fix it...and converted them to a carburetor. Fun stuff! -Mike
On a road trip from NS - PA i had ny#1 quit dead on the road at 1:00 am the next morning after sleeping in a rest area (coasted in!) i started looking for reasons i found the lean burn harness down on the intake burnt off! So after cleaning the wires and taping then back together (black ground was not burned) it fired right up! i was thinking the frail lean burn is tougher than i thought.
The EFI Imperial was what I worked on. But I'm also familiar with Lean Burn, because I had a '77 Cordoba with the Green Corinthean Leather....
