QuestionHi Calvin,
About a year ago, I encountered this same problem with my car; it seems to be a pattern that happens only when the weather is the hottest. Here's the problem: after driving my car and allowing the engine to warm up (between 10-20 minutes), my car hesitates, stalls, and ultimately dies; it becomes very sensitive to when I shift and accelerate into a different gear(especially uphill). This all happens intermintently, but progressively gets worse the more I drive it until it doesn't start unless I wait a good while allowing things to cool. Last year when it happened, I took it to a mechanic and he told me the distributor was bad. I replaced the distributor and cap, spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, and even the battery and thought that did the trick. Here I am in the same boat as about a year ago. I get a code 34 from my OBD and know that has to do with the knock sensor which in turn controls timing, but also considered the possibility that my ignition coil may malfunction in the hot weather which would cause it to stall and die. I am not sure what to replace first or how to go about checking possible culprits. Any advice you would have for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Tim
AnswerHi Tim -
Understanding that it could be many components that causes a vehicle to die when hot, the most popular is the ignition module, located in the distributor. That does not trigger a code, but since the knock sensor is giving a code, perhaps you should check that out first.
The ignition module has a layer of heat sync between it and the distributor base. Over time this sync disintergrates, causing the module to heat excessively and fail.
Next time the engine dies and you have a no start condition, pull a spark plug wire, insert a screwdriver to contact the terminal inside, hold it close to any metal surface of the engine, and have someone crank the engine. If there is no spark jumping, then it is probably the module. If there is spark, then it is the fuel system.
Be careful not to touch any metal surface while performing this test.
Hope this helps -
aloha
calvin
