QuestionNew symptoms, not new, but I never caught them. I drove 25 miles with no problems and on the return trip on the end it started. It would suddenly just cut to idle or somthing, as my gas pedal wouldnt raise the engine speed. I guess this becuase I still have power steering. Then if I was to put it into neutral it would stall, but not putting it in neutral led a differnt event. It would do the no trottle thing for 5-10 seconds or so, then it seemed like the battery guage would drop a bit, the lights surge and the engine light blink once and I would have full power again, and then I would go for a bit and it did it again, then it didnt do it again for awhile. With those new symptoms, any more ideas?
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Followup To
Question -
It has the 3.3 L V6 engine. Do you have any ideas for the stalling? It seems like after it stalls, I must turn the key off to "reset" something. I checcked t he key switch last night thinking it could be the problem, but it did not cuase any stalling. It strarted right up and runs great right now for the five minutes it ran. I checked most of all the wire connectons for corrossion and applied dielectric grease to every conection that I checked. So any ideas for the stalling? Could the crankshaft or samshaft sensors be bad or going bad?
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Followup To
Question -
I have a '91 New Yorker Salon that I have owned for a couple months. I drove it since the day I bought it with no problems until three days ago. I was on the highways and it just stalled, like someone turned the key off. I tried to start it, but it would just crank until i shut off the key and then it would start right up. It did this a few more times so I decided to get off the highway and park it. I left it there overnight and got it the next day, and it drove the 30 miles home without a problem. That is what puzzeled me. I changed the fuel filter, which was nearly plugged. We have just changed the O2 sensor and that works properly. Now it is stalling constatly to the point that I cannot drive it. I expect tommrow that it will run just fine. When it stalls I hear the fuel pump whine and stop. My cooling fans were running once and it stalled and the fans kept running for a few seconds. So my questions specifically is what could be the problem and how to test it. The only code I get from the check engine light is 12, and the 55 end check. Any help is appreciated.
Answer -
Hi Jason,
We need to treat this in the classical manner, starting with the spark.
While it could be a fuel problem, the typical approach to a 'no start' is to determine if you have a spark. Take a phillips head screwdriver with a plastic handle and insert the metal tip of it into one of the rubber caps that you can remove from a spark plug (don't pull on the wire, just grasp the cap itself, rotate it back and forth while pulling to free it from the spark plug). Once the tip of the screw driver is put in the cap so as to touch the wire clip at the bottom of the cap which normally touches the tip of the spark plug, hold the 'assembly' via the plastic handle and rubber cap and position the metal shaft of the screw driver about 1/4" from the cylinder head or other metal part of the engine which is in contact with the head or block of the engine which serves as a ground. Then have a helper crank the engine while you observe whether a spark jumps across the gap from the screwdriver shaft to the metal ground point during a 5 second cranking period. See if you get spark for 5 seconds, 1-2 seconds or not at all.
If not at all, then disconnect the two (or four) wire plug to the spark coil and use a voltmeter or 12V neon glow lamp to measure the presence of 12V at the dark green/black wire at that plug. Put one lead of the tester on the pin for that wire, the other lead on the engine head. Let me know the results (no voltage, voltage for 1-2 seconds, or for all 5 seconds of the cranking).
There are four different engines that were used in that car so when you write back tell me which size engine you have.
An outside chance to consider also is that there is a bad contact in one of the sections of the ignition switch. So when you next have it running smoothly, try moving the ignition key slightly in all directions to see if it might stall even though you don't actually move the key out of the "run" position.
Roland
Answer -
Hi Jason,
It might be one of those sensors, but that should set an 11 code or a 54 code. You might want to be sure that the 12 code isn't an 11 code. I would still be ready to do the spark test and the voltage test that I described imeediately when the car stalls. You have to catch it in the act. The only explanation that I have experienced for a shut down-no start-no codes was a MAP sensor that was reading way inaccurately, but not so much as to set its code. That was only diagnosed via a DRB II at the dealer whose mechanic noticed it was telling him that the ambient pressure was saying that we are at a hight of 10,000 feet above sea level!
So keep checking for codes and looking at the engine when it refuses to start. You also could check the spark pack primary resistances to see if they are each between 0.45-0.65 ohms and that the readings between the paired secondary coil towers are in the range of 7,000 to 15,800 ohms. Because it just dies while you are driving along at constant throttle would eliminate in my mind the throttle position sensor or the automtic idle speed motor.
Do let me know what develops on this situation.
Roland
AnswerHi Jason,
It makes me wonder if the ignition switch is flakey. I suspect that the 'neutral/no neutral' difference just represented whether the engine was being 'powered' or not by the momentum of the vehicle. The 12 code says the power to the engine controller has been interrupted in the past 50-100 key cycles and unless you disconnected the battery that shouldn't have occurred. I would put a voltmeter or neon glow light on long cables so as to be able to attach it to the dark blue wire at the diagnostic connector under the hood (6-sockets, behind the battery, on a harness) and have that readout in my view inside the car. It should show 12v when the car is running. Then when there is a stalling interruption see if the voltage has disappeared. If it has then the ignition switch is flakey and needs to be replaced or cleaned up internally as to its contacts. If the voltage is still there then the ignition switch is o.k.
It certainly is behaving like it (the switch) is shutting down the engine function on it own accord. Also keep looking for codes. And as ever be ready to test for spark and voltage as described earlier if you progress to the 'no start at all' condition.
Roland
