Car is stalling, Went to start the car and nothing, I mean nothing. Took it for a drive, and as soon as you come to a stop, or slow, and the rev's drop, the car stall's, and loss of steering comes into play which is dangerous. The car was also hesitation, Like it was not getting fuel......

Any Ideas Guys? I put Sunoco 94 in yesterday! Oh yes so after I go nothing, I played with the battery cables, and moved the battery slighty, and the Car started right up, but died again when the rev's fell....

Thanks! Was going to take the car for a cruise toinght, but I guess not!

 

just went to start the car, and it started and did not stall......

I don't get it!

 

could this problem go along with the thread i posted earlier about the smell of gas, and the car being hard to start?


fuel injectors maybe? but the car was totally dead!! huh!!

i guess i will loose some more sleep

 

Could be a number of fun stuff.......I would say start with the basics, battery terminal connections tight, alternator getting voltage, battery at proper voltage? You can check the plugs see how things are fireing, but it sounds more voltage related if your steering goes and other things are going on. Can you give any more hints, how are the lights behind the dash and in the car, dim?? Without a lil more info you could be looking at any number of things..... Im sure others will have stuff to add. Goooood Luck!

 

Reread your post.....also may wanna check throttle body, make sure its clean without 02 you no go :( Im rethinking voltage is not the issue, goes to show, reading slow once beats reading fast :crazy:

 

When you wrote "nothing" do you mean that the starter will not even turn over, no clicking sound from the starter solenoid, that no interior lights will come on, that the headlights will not raise, etc?

Or are you just saying that it cranks but won't start?

Jake

 

Nothing was nothing......Nothing even cranked over!! Voltage was good, 14.0 Volts, Umm, I regaped the plugs to .035 from .040, but that should not effect it......Simply did not start, then played with battery connection, and started, then it died when the revs dropped........Car drove like poopie on the way home like it was not getting gas.....thanks for helping guys!!

 

So I gather the starter cranks the engine but it won't fire up.

Put a gauge on the Schraeder to see what kind of fuel pressure you have when trouble occurs.

If fuel is ok, check over the ignition system, i.e. dist cap, wires.

If all is ok there, try to borrow a MAF, even from an F-body to try a substitution (I gather there are no trouble codes). That was the only way I could diagnose my bad MAF.

 

If you wiggle the battery terminals and it starts, that is a BIG signal that you have a poor battery connection or defective battery cables. First thing you should remove the battery cables (neg first) and clean the cable lugs and the battery posts and replace (neg last). If it won't crank then you could have a VATS problem or a clutch safety switch defective (gear selector sw if automatic). Try your spare ign key, its contacts aren't worn like your everyday key. Find the wires from the ign tumbler to the 2 pin connector (on my 87 they come out the steering column under the carpet) and unplug the connector and measure the resistance of the wires from the tumbler with the ign key inserted. It should measure the same as the pellet. If over 13k ohms, you have worn contacts in the tumbler that make with the key pellet. You can temporarily bypass VATS by clipping a fixed resistor the same value as your pellet across the wires going to the passenger side (VATS module). Don't permanently bypass VATS because 99% of thefts are done by bashing the column and jumping the ign. If VATS is ok, then try bypassing the clutch safety sw or gear selector switch if an auto.

 

Yeah...

Sounds electrical in nature. Check your ground cable and the pos wire from the bat to the starter. I would bet you have a loose connection at the battery or cables. Also, check that ugly thingy right behind the bat with all the red wires going to it. That thing always has bothered me, for some reason.

BIG JIM

 

i will try those suggestions, you guys are good!

 

You're problem description matches that of my brother's car about a year ago. Ran funny at some speeds, died after starting, and sometimes it wouldn't start at all when warm. After having 2 good mechanics look at it I got a last shot before he took it to a (gasp!) dealer.

I pulled on all major wires involved in the ignition system and last but not laest pulled on both battery cables. Just like your 88, that immediatly caused it to run funny and die at idle.

Turns out he had a new battery cable put in a couple of months before. They broke the bolt that is embedded as part of the factory cable and used a replacement bolt. The fit wasn't perfect and vibration caused the bolt shaft to wear at the point of connection to the cable. During idle when the alternator wasn't producing a lot of voltage if the car vibrated just right, the bolt lost good connection and the car died. Same appears to have been the cause for the funny way it ran at some speeds. Having the battery drop in and out of the circuit even momentarily due to vibration and electrical loss at the cable end was not a good thing in these electrically controlled cars.

In my opinion you have already found the cause, it's the battery connection. As mentioned already, check out both battery cables really well. Make sure the cables are screwed in tight with no slop whatsoever.