Oldsmobile/Buick: Car dying when it gets warmed up, vacuum hose, faulty engine

Question
I just bought a 1990 Calais for my 16 year old son to drive. The car starts fine and runs fine until it gets warmed up and then it just dies going down the road and will not start again until it cools down.  What could it be? There was a vacuum hose that was coming off, but we clamped it on and it has stayed on. It has 101,000 miles on it.  

Answer
Hi Pam,
There are so many variables to consider which makes diagnosing problems of this nature difficult. The reason is it may be electrical or on board computer related or a faulty engine sensor with erracric readings. To know for certain, the car will need to be taken in to a shop and have a diagnostic performed. Due to the age and mileage of the car the likelyhood of a bad sensor may be the culprit. The engine has many sensors which work in conjunction with the computer to run the car efficiently. These sensors if not in good condition will cause the car to shut down. There is also the possibility that there may be components within the computer box itself that may have been damaged at some point and time. Though this is rare, it does happen. By doing a diagnostic on the car will tell a mechanic where the problem is by a series of codes that appear when scanning the system. By  reading those codes will tell what area is at fault. This is really the only way that the car can be properly fixed. Unfortunately, I doubt that the loose  vacuum hose could be causing. Sensors for your car are not expensive, but do require calibration using special equipment. Especially if the sensor that controls the fuel injection has gone bad. Hope this helps! Good luck!  Ray