91blue_fire

wile stuck in traffic, after about 40 mins of it my car stalled. suddenly. no warning what so ever, it was like i turned the key or something. this happened before when i started the car up...waited a few seconds and put it in gear and it stalled. i have a new fuel filter, plugs, wires, cap and rotor. also i did a fuel rail flush at work when i bought it. the car didnt have an airbox on it when i got it (yeah..i know, the guy that had it didnt drive it like that. he gutted it because of hood clearance) the car would stutter when id start it after it was warm and itd ilde rough otherwise. when i got an air box it stopped this and its run perfect since.. i cleaned the throttle body when i got the box so everything should be clean........it seems to idle fine. a little miss or something from time 2 time at idle but nothing out of the ordinary....u guys got any ideas? sorry this is so much info at once and kinda random, lol. im at work! i just cant get this outta my mind. thanx!

91blue_fire

oh yeah i forgot to mention the car was sitting for a wile when i got it..dont know how long. but the gas in it was no good. i had to drive it home from the place i got it from so it did burn off that old gas. perhaps ive still got some buildup in the tank from it sittting?? i bought it in september and ive put 4 grand on it already. car only has 74,000 miles on it.

subroc

iTrader: (2)

If you didn't have the airbox on it for awhile enough dirt might have gotten into the MAF for it to go bad. I had a bad MAF on my car and it would do the exact same thing. After about 40 minutes of driving all hell would break loose and it would stall in traffic with no warning. Also, just as a precaution i would change out the fuel filter again if your worried about sediment in the tank.

91blue_fire

its just wierd that its only happened twice. itd suck if it was the maf. theyre pretty pricey arent they. my sister said her truck did it and she got dry gas because she thought there could be water in her gas. possibility i guess....but i was thinking more along the lines of fuel pressure regulator or pump. i read where someone had a problem with theyres and how they checked it (it was a topic on this board.) i guess ill start there too. its just not very often this happens. it happened once about a month ago. then today. and itstarted right up. it was like something interupted the fuel. also....do these ever fluxuate at idle? nothin major but just where u can see it move a little. and maybe even feel it? thats another reason why i think i may not be getting enough fuel. hopefully my friend will let me use his gauge so i can see how much pressure ive got soon. if u guys think of anything lemme know. opinions too!!

firebirdjosh

iTrader: (1)

I'd guess electrical.

My 89 did it twice while I owned it, but started right back up luckily. Check your battery terminal connections and starter connections. Clean them up and tighten them down.

91blue_fire

hmm........i will. sounds like a good idea. its just wierd how after the cars running for a wile the idle gets weaker. in a way. or if i put it into gear itll sputter at 1st..u know? i wont know untill i get a pressure gauge on it. hopefully this weekend

sancho

I second the damaged/bad MAF theory.

When you consider that an internal combustion engine needs three things to run (air, fuel, and spark), the only one of those that is likely to disappear *instantly* and without warning must be electronic. In a fuel-injected car, that could either be spark or fuel (via the fuel injectors). In either case, the ECM is the "gatekeeper" to all things electronic on a fuel-injected engine, and if it gets bad data (i.e. from a faulty MAF sensor), it's liable to cut or over-adjust fuel and/or spark without warning. If that ends up being the case, it shouldn't be surprising that an engine that was just running like a champ won't start after stalling due to something like that.

Of course, there are other electrical gremlins which can cause similar behavior (i.e. bad engine grounds) which don't directly involve the ECM. However, in my experience, those things tend to pop-up instantaneously and not go away until you track them down and fix them.

Either way, don't underestimate the power of a bad sensor or other faulty electrical connection to stop your engine cold and without warning.