stalling

**gnjim** · 12-29-2008

hi. i changed the fuel filter today. there was some black cloudy gas that came out of it. i started the car up and it stayed running, but now its back to doing the same thing. any help would be appreciated. thanks, jim

**gnjim** · 12-29-2008

would the car even start if the c.p.s. was bad?the car starts fine. the fuel pump comes right on and the car starts right away, but then stalls. it will start right back up without any excessive cranking, and then it stalls again. i appreciate any help. thanks, jim

**gnjim** · 12-30-2008

as per the above test, the fpr seems fine. anyone?

**SyntheticShield** · 12-30-2008

Well one of the symptoms of a bad CPS is that it will start up, run for a bit (time varies) then just die. Other symptoms include a loss of the traction control system, no tach signal on the dash.

If the CPS were completely dead and fried, then no, it probably wouldnt start because the Ignition control module would not be getting the signal it needs to fire the ignition coils. However, I have yet to see one just go flat dead. They usually become intermittent first.

One way to test the CPS is to start the car up, let it run until it dies, then test for spark at the #1 cylinder. If you have no spark the most likely culprit is the CPS.

Now, all that said, I have a problem with the fact you found black cloudy gas out of the fuel filter. This could be an issue as its possible that the filter was severely loaded with gunk and if that is the case it is likely some of that slipped through and perhaps clogged up one or more fuel injectors. As well, just because the car runs at all, does not mean that the FPR is good.

What you need to do there, is get a fuel pressure tester and see what kind of fuel pressure you have when the car is running.

So what you need to do now is try what I mentioned and report back what the results are. We'll have to rule things out that are likely to be causing the issue before we can narrow it down.

**gnjim** · 12-30-2008

thanks for replying. i just rigged a line to come out of the fuel filter and pump gas into a can so i could see what the gas looked like, and it looked fine. i thought the gas would just be spraying out at high pressure but it really didnt. it flowed for a couple of seconds then stopped. when i had the fuel gauge hooked up last night, with the line pressurized it was between 40-50 lbs. the car started and ran, and after about 5 seconds, the pressure began dropping until the car stalled. turning the key back on pressurized the rail again. any ideas? is there an electrical plug under the hood i can hotwire to activate the fuel pump to test its output, as on my grand national? i am pretty unfamiliar with these cars right now. thanks in advance, jim