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Tell me about being stumped ! The mechanics at the dealership said " It's a mystery to us " and I have taken it there twice about this stalling issue. I know it's so hard to diagnosis since the stalling is so random. Like I said it happens when I am going slow or going into turns, it has only happened going less than 15 -20 mph. It has only happened once per day when it does occur. On one occassion it happened twice within less than a minute a part. I get no indication that it is going to happen. I just feel my wheel get tight, then I look down and see the engiene and oil light on, put it into neutral, and turn the ignition again. It always starts right back up luckily.
I am keeping a log of when it occurs and what was going on at the time it happened. I am now keeping an eye to see if there is a relation to how much gas I have in my tank ( like if it's only occuring when it is below 1/2 tank Vs. a full tank) I have tried a to switch to 93 octance Vs. 87 and I see no difference, so I went back to the cheaper gas, since it is costly.
If you need any more information ,, please ask. Thanks for taking the time to think about my prblem, it's greatly appreciated !
About a month ago, I was trying to find a parking spot when my car dropped below 500rpm, then stalled, with only the oil and battery lights coming on. I was able to start the car up again with no problems. The weather had recently become cold, so I put some gas line anti-freeze in my tank, and for a while, the problem went away.
About a week after that, while I was driving, my car would not drop below 2000rpm. Even as I applied the brake, the car would not drop below 2000rpm, when it finally did, it then dropped below 500rpm, stalled out, and the oil and battery light came on. I started the car up again, and it ran fine, no problems. I used an OBDII reader to see what, if any, codes came up, but there was no problem codes.
Two days ago, my city was hit by a cold snap that brought the temperature below -36 degrees Celsius, and my car did the same thing again. I put gas line anti-freeze in the tank again, and that seemed to help until today. On the way home from work, my car did the same thing, first it would not drop below 2000rpm, when it did, it would drop below 500rpm, stall, and the oil and battery light came on. This time I put some fuel injector cleaner in my tank.
Now my car idles at 500rpm, and my instrument panel lights and heater seem to loose a small amount of power at 500rpm. Sometimes my car will jump up to 1000rpm by itself, then slowly go back to 500rpm, but now it doesn't stall.
My car, up until that first problem, has never idled below 1000rpm. I have no idea what's going on, but I could really use some help.
Thanks!
Sometimes a "short" or "grounded out" wire is not actually the problem, when it could seem like it's obviously it. a poorly grounded negative can be just as bad, if not worse causing harm to alternators, batteries, ignitions, computers, basically everything. Here's what you can do.
If you have any experience with electrical, and a voltage meter, then this could be easy. If you don't, then I'll try to explain it to you so you can explain it to someone else so they can say "wow that's easy."
Since you have a new alternator and a new battery, this should help you find out EXACTLY what's wrong with it and you can save a LOT of money with costly "let's see if this works" type repairs.
First off, take the voltometer, (not a test light, those are pointless at this point) and test the voltage of the battery with the engine off, between the two terminals. If it's above 11, you're fine. Wait an hour, then check the voltage again, if it has gone down say... more than half a volt, you've got a short circuit. if it hasn't changed more than a few hundreths of a volt, then so far so good.
Start the vehicle, and leave it running for the duration of these tests.
2. Test the voltage between the two battery terminals. If it's more than 13.8, you're ok, 14 and up is preferred. lower than 12 indicates a dead alternator, dead/dying battery, or a big electrical problem if those have been replaced already. If this is the case, bring your car to a parts store, most of them like Advance Auto and such will test these for free. If the voltage difference is below 13.5 it means you could have a bad ground or charging wire somewhere so we move on to step 3.
(Keep engine running)
3. Now comes the fun part, test between the alternator's positive terminal, the one separate red wire coming off of the alternator housing, and the positive terminal on the battery. If there's a difference of more than .1 volts there's a problem with that wire. It's the one that charges the battery, and a common culprit.
4. Test between the frame (any unpainted bolt on the frame will do for this) and the negative battery terminal. Once again, a .1 volt difference is bad. This means that the negative battery terminal is not properly grounded to the frame.
After that, test between the negative battery terminal and the engine block to test that wire. Just make sure it's an unpainted surface when testing.
Lastly for the ground wires, test between the alternator housing and negative battery terminal. You're basically looking for a sharp increase in the voltage difference to indicate that the electricity isn't flowing between any of the grounded parts, the negative terminal, frame, engine, and alternator housing.
I replaced my battery, and my alternator, and the garages said "everything seems fine" but THIS was how I found out that I had a bad ground wire which gave me an increase in everything electrical after I fixed it, and solved the problems.
If it's not the wires, and you're getting 14+ volts between battery terminals, with less than the indicated differences in voltage, then the problem is not with your charging system, the electricity isn't getting to the spark plugs correctly. Ignition Coils on these go fairly quickly, but if you haven't replaced the spark plugs and wires yet, I'd go with that first, then get the ignition coil looked at if the problem persists.
Hope this helped, I had 2 dealerships and a garage tell me "generic electrical problems" and one gave me a huge estimate, but I fixed the problem myself with a 7 dollar cable from a parts store. Turns out that the negative battery terminal is attached to the engine at the bottom of the engine, which rusts, corrodes, and a bunch of other bad stuff that makes it fail, causing problems with spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel injectors, computers (rarely), alternators, starters and batteries. If you're not having the same problem I did, then at least you know what it's not without having to "replace first, figure out problem later."
So,,, I got a bottle of the fuel injector cleaner, put it into my almost empty tank, and filled up with gas on 1/26 . My car stalled 3 times with that tank of gas ( which I went through abnomally quickly, I figured that was because of adding the bottle of injector cleaner). Once I was almost empty a week later on 2/3 ,, I filled up again. NO STALLING with this tank of gas ... My last fill up was on 2/9 and it seems to be running very good. I haven't noticed anything so far and I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I'm very glad to hear all is well so far. Sometimes it's the smallest things that are the issues. I would suggest running a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through your tank around 6000 miles, or every other oil change. This will prevent any return of the build up. If you have further issues, look into the items "danielsparks" mentioned - Also good suggestions.
1. Could you please detail what possible problems, I might have (including price quotations if possible).
2. I've recently read about Seafoam, would that even help me at this point?
I'm a student and can no longer put money into this car. (I bought it last November, and 2 weeks after I had fuel leaking from the fuel injectors, which caused me some $580 to repair at a shop.) Should I even have it repaired this time? How much do you think I could get for it if I just sold it to the junk man?
Thank you!
I have about half a tank of gas. So I guess, you may be right. I think it's really at the half point mark, if it dipped below that, it's just slightly below it.
By the way, should I have noticed an incline in engine temperature in the dash, if my fuel pump is going bad? I kept looking at it while I was driving (when the car kept dying on me), and the gauge is just in the middle or a tad above the temperature monitor (whatever that is called).
Any other ideas what my problem could be? I just want the car to run until graduation this semester or until I could sell it off for more than $200. That car has now cost me a little over $1,800. Tough luck. Thanks green0886!
My check engine light has been on since I bought the car last November 2007. About 2 weeks after I bought the car, 2 of the fuel injectors started leaking. I had those replaced, my CEL was reset. One day after that, my CEL was back on.
Anyway, on Jan. 4, 2008, I had Autozone read my OBDII codes...it was PO300. (That's what the shop that repaired my fuel injectors had, back in November 2007 too.)
We tried to "odd man out" the problem with cheapest solutions first, hence the change of spark plugs, wires, and coil. The car ran well for exactly 19 days, and then stalled yesterday.
The OBDII code of Jan. 4 says:
P0300
Definition: Cylinder misfire detected - Random cylinders
Explanation: The powertrain control module monitors the crankshaft speed and has detected a misfire condition.
Probable causes:
1. Ignition system fault - spark plug(s), ignition wires, coil
2. Vacuum leak
3. Injector fault
4. High or low fuel pressure.
Also, since I bought the car in November, I noticed that the odometer wasn't working. It was only yesterday that I saw my odometer has moved. The trip meter has 49 miles and the odometer moved approx. 109 miles. I don't know when this happened. What could have made my odometer to work suddenly?
(Purchase history: I never met the seller. It was a former student who left her car at a friend's to sell. I just talked to her over the phone. The CEL was on when I bought it. I took a gamble for $700. The car with repairs is now worth over $1,800. Hence my apprehension about more repairs. But I want to at least be able to use it until May and sell it off in running condition to recoup some of my money.)
Last bit, when I have my heater or A/C on for a while, I get some stinky smell. Is that another set of problems all together? Or I just have to replace my air filter?
Thanks for all your help green0886!
I'll keep this board posted on whatever solution/s I'd find.
Nonetheless, if any reader out there has other suggestions/comments, I would really appreciate it, just so I'd have an idea what kind of car repair fees I'm looking at. (Or junkman estimate.)
This, happen to me about 2 Summers ago with this car but, I didn't ever really get anything done on it,cause then it would start and the problem only happened maybe three to four times but always started and I got home. Now, my Son has the car he starts it stop by to vist.Goes to leave the car don't start. :confuse: Take it to the shop (towed in). Then the car starts. What is wrong? I, found a recall on something that goes along with the fuel pump UPC(?) plug they forgot to put in the O'rings. But, my car's Vin # is not on the list. Could they have missed my Vin#? I, just would like some help cause this just isn't right. Cause, soon we will have new everything but the body? Hope someone can help us cause the shop guy has no iclue he said he has replaced the parts he though was wrong. It's been towed in 2 times in one month going to be towed agin on Monday? Pease, help. Thanks !
I have a 96 that won't start sometimes right know and I was told to check that or the fuel pump. Will get at it in a couple of days.
Could this be the fuel pump?
Thanks so much
Try to see if your car would have a hard time going uphill, and do take note of when your car stalls (whether at full tank, half a tank of gas, a quarter of gas). My car still runs and doesn't stall nowadays, but I make sure I always have a full tank or close to a full tank of gas. I also do not turn on the AC, as the car cannot take load and eventually stalls. My mechanic has replaced the car's module, plugs, wires, coils, sensor, and fuel filter. I think it needs an EGR valve and possibly a new fuel pump.
Hope that helps. Anyway, if you've identified the real culprit for your car stalling, do share. Also include which parts you've changed to solve the stalling problem and how much it cost you.
Thanks!
My 2001 Pontiac Sunfire has the identical symptoms. I have change the whole fuel and ignition systems. I've even exchanged the entire exhaust system. It ran good for two weeks. I just left it at the Wal-Mart parking lot knowing that nobody can possibly steal it. I agree with an earlier e-mail traffic stating that the Transmission Control Solenoid in the transaxle may be defective. I have worked with earlier Sunfires, Cavaliers and Celebritys that also have this device and it is a very unknown item even to the local mechanics (or I think so $$), however; it is never mentioned in commercial repair manuals or at dealers (they are mum $$). And these symptoms are indicative to all GM front wheel drive vehicles. The Transmission Control Solenoid activates at 45 mph (your overdrive), however; if stuck, it may fool the PCM it is going at that speed even though you are going 20 mph and cause the engine to become flooded by fuel, hence the stall and leaking fuel injector symptom and starting two hours later. Please, look at part number TCS1 at Autozone. I'm replacing mine tomorrow. It costs approximately $26.99. Commercial repair manuals do not mention this item (I wonder why?$$) Unbolt the the rear transmission pan (not the bottom pan) located on the driver's side of the transmission (approximately 10 bolts) and you will see the Transmission Control Solenoid smiling at you. For those of you that have felt the frustration and loss of money; General Motors, the secret is OUT!!!
I live in ont canada. I have been a technician for about 5 years. I enjoy working with the electronic side of the auto. I have read many of the posts about sunfires and can't figure out why u guys can't get these problems delt with effiently. (Sry not verygood at spelling.) Mostly all of the problems found with sunfires are extremely common to all. If your techs are unable to locate these problems i sugest going somewhere else. For electronic problems i find that techs in there 20 to mid 30 are the best. Most old timers have no clue about modern technology. I have looked at about 200 sunfires for a no start condition and find 90% of the public neglect to change fuel filter. This causes undo stress on the fuel pump eventually it says goodnight.Rec fuel filter be changed once a year. When i bring a sunfire into my shop for a drivibility problem i can on average figure it out in under ten minutes. If u can find good qualified techs with good quality diagnostic tools they should also be able to do the same. If not come to my shop in canada.lol Ask your techs if they go on any courses, most good techs will go to them all, I know i do. You need to be constatly learning Hope that helps. ps u get what u pay for, if u don`t want to pay for the time to diagnose the car then what do u expect the tech to do.(sry just a little venting there.)
:confuse:
• Recall covering 1992-1993 models with the 2.2L engine: unstable deceleration or stalling due to a defective lower intake manifold seam. Replace seam.
http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?DocID=23