Thread: Car keeps stalling out

Hey All, maybe some of you guys can help me diagnose this. My car seems to like to stall out at idle here and there. Seems to only like to happen at stop lights. tach sort of jumps a bit then it dies. It doesn't happen all the time. I've recently replaced the fuel filter, battery, had the alternator checked, new DP since the flex went bad, had just about everything flushed that could be....

My guess is it's one of a few things. Fuel pump on it's way out or I need to get off my lazy ass and install my rewire because the pump can't handle what's there, or maybe it's just something stupid like it needs new plugs since they haven't been changed in about 20K miles. Am I heading in the right direction here?

Well since the wireing in our cars are not up to par
i would say def do the rewire since you have it....

Check all your grounds also.... i had my car a few times
and every time it was the ground strap by the battery..
once the stap and connection to frame was cleaned up no more problem..

Don't quote me on this but i belive we have 3 grounds in our rides

I know of 2 the second one going down to the tranny..

Good luck and hope you find your fix..
Might want to check for a Vac leak also..

John

Im going to pick apart what you posted and answer it as best I can, and then I will fill you in on some current information.

Symptom #1: Stalls at idle randomly
Symptom #2: Tach is flaky then dies

Action Taken Thus Far:

1. Replaced Fuel Filter
2. Replaced Battery
3. Alternator Checked
4. Replaced Down pipe
5. You stated you had everything flushed so Im assuming oil has been changed, coolant and tranny fluid flushed. If Im wrong on that then just let me know, though I dont think it has any bearing on your issue.

Questions for you:

1. When it dies, does it just die or does it sputter or hesitate or stumble before it cuts off?
2. Does the TCS light come on?
3. Does the SES light come on? If so, have you checked codes? If so, what were they?
4. Does the engine refire immediately or do you have to let it sit for a few minutes or longer before it will start back up?

My Diagnosis:

The tach is the tell tale sign to me. And I have a couple reasons for this. One, it gets its signal from the CPS (Crankshaft Position Sensor). Second, my car did this right after I got it. It would just randomly die, sometimes when I slowed down for lights, other times even when I was at full speed. Sometimes it would sputter a little then the tach would die and the TCS light would come on but the car would keep going. Early on, it would usually start right back up, but as the issue wore on I would have to wait several minutes before I could start the motor again. I had the CPS replaced and all was fine after that.

Now, the last few days Ive been troubleshooting an issue where my engine will run a few minutes then just die. I have no spark, fuel pressure is good and its a long time before I can get the motor to start again. So my diagnosis on that has been the CPS again, I just havent replaced it yet because I dont have the proper harmonic balancer puller. Im hoping I can get that today or rig something up that will work.

Hope this helps out. I would appreciate it though if you would let us know what you find or if the CPS is the issue. It helps us build information to help out the rest of the community. Thanks.

Thanks for the info, Scotty!
In answer to your questions, I have not had any SES codes or TCS lights on when this has occurred. However, I have noticed the battery light comes on. The engine is kinda sporadic with starting back up. Sometimes it starts right away, sometimes it takes a minute or 2. Most times it starts right back up though. When it goes to die, it will sort of sputter out.

However, I have to admit, sometimes I wish I had my video camera cause it makes the cam more noticable sounds nice and lumpy. Now if I could just keep that sound and keep it running.......

The VS cam doesn't need a raise idle does it?

Originally Posted by Andrew_99GTP

The VS cam doesn't need a raise idle does it?

Nope. it's built for a completely stock set up if need be.

How does your car act through the whole rpm range? Have you checked your crank or cam position sensor? I forget which one the tach gets it signal from.

The car pulls really strongly and smooth through the powerband. Never hesitates when I have a foot on the gas, even in light duty. The problem only seems to be intermittent when sitting at a stop light.

Does it matter if the car is in gear or not?

Ok, time for the update. So, the car finally threw a code yesterday. P0103. MAF High Frequency. I just replaced that thing, no lie, 2 months ago. The fact that DuBob tuned my VE tables is the only thing that keeps it running normally at times.

My moment of the week.

i kno mine does it and i found that it is my crankshaft position sensor it kinda sounds like the same symptoms. just thought id put this out there.

We'll get to the bottom of it.

So did replacing the MAF fix it? Or have you replaced it yet? If it does fix it please either PM me or post up here as I would like to try and track troubles like this and get a troubleshooting database together. Maybe your trouble will help same someone else in the future.

Awesome. Let us know how it all goes.

MAF is in and the car runs like a champ....or so the tire tracks on route 71 tell me

ROFL. Glad to hear that Matt. Would you have any issue with me making a troubleshooting guide out of the info here?

Not a problem at all with me Scotty. I'm here to help

good to hear you got it back up and running.