I have a 91 firebird with the 305 engine code E. I was on my way home waiting for a light and the car kind of sputtered twice I tried to put it in neutral to feather the gas and she just died. I tried to re start and got nothing not even a click like she wanted to turn over. I ran the self diagnosis and got a code 54, my Pontiac book only shows up to 46. Here is a stupid thought, I talked to a guy at my local dealership when the car wouldn't start before and he said that the anti theft key had a diode in it and if that was going bad that it wouldn't start, but if this is true would that cause the car to stop running if the diode went bad while driving?

 

VATS will not cause your car to die. The only thing that will is lack of fuel or spark source. This could be many things - fuel pump, filter, ignition module, ignition coil, pickup coil, battery and alternator, wiring.

Assuming everything unrelated is in working order, I would guess that both your battery and alternator are dead. But since you CAN check for codes, that would suggest your battery is fine. Still, I would remove it and have it tested along with the alternator.

I looked up a code 54:
54. Low voltage at fuel pump OR
Low voltage at Fuel pump relay OR
Output failure at quad driver module

Without fuel the car should still crank, so you need to do two things now. Trace the wiring with a test light or a multimeter/voltmeter and check for power at your fuel pump connections, the relay, etc when the pump should be running. Listen for the pump priming, check your fuses. The second thing is find out why the car will not crank - this has to be power to the starter, as I doubt your starter/solenoid would die when the car dies coincidentally. Although it could happen. Post with more findings so we can help you further.

 

Right after I posted this I went out and checked the car out better, I found the battery was dead ( the green eye was gone )so I put the charger on it then got the car started but the alternator was making a lot of noise, so I pulled it out and took it and had it tested and it was shot. I can't believe with as much noise as that alternator was making that I didn't hear it before the car died.

Thanks for the info.

 

And tell the guy at the dealership that the key blank pellet is a RESISTOR, not a diode. I'd think a dealer traind technician would know better...

 

You would think. I know more than some of these guys and thats not saying much

 

Is there a way to test these keys to see if they need to be replaced? I would think with a resistor in them they go bad.

 

the key really nevrr goes bad.. it gets worn and doenst fit inside the ignition switch as well and effects the contacts... but the contacts in the ignition swith are what gets worn the most...

 

So then do you just replace the contacts or is it best to replace the ignition and the keys?

 

It’s your battery, maybe your alternator also, I was playing with my car today and I ran the battery down. Well I got out my good ole Coleman Started Battery and it started. But before this the car did nothing. I'm guessing the code that was popping was 64 while it wouldn't start. But I charged up the battery and left it running for 10 min and its back to normal. What most likely happened is your alternator went bad, so the car was running off your battery. Then your battery died. The car battery still has juice just not enough to start it. If it did it wouldn't last for long anyways because it would just kill the battery again.

 

If the alternator went bad on him, he might just as well go ahead and replace the battery also. I had an alternator go to pieces on me about a year ago. My battery was never right after that, had plenty of voltage to it but no amperage. When the alternator went, it spiked the battery. At one point, it was showing 19 volts but wouldn't even turn the starter over. I was lucky, I had one day left on the warranty when I took it in to be tested and got a new one free (almost). Had to pay the state's $2.00 battery disposal fee. But not bad for a new Optima battery with 900 CCA's.

The Trickster

 

cool, what i told you before about my battery dieing happened 1.5 hours ago.

Do you think i will need to get a new batery, i mean i was only run down for 15 minute before i noticed it was too low and the car wouldn't start. So the batterywas only dead for 15 minutes. The battery is also only a yearold so what should i do i mena the battery seems to be pretty low lately, but it charges all by itself. Do you think my altenator maybe going, but is not gone yet?


thnaks,
shane

 

Yours might still be good, try putting a full charge on it and let it sit in the car for a day or two and see how it does. Mine was driven for several miles and then jump started and driven for several more. When I took my alternator off to have it tested, there were some nasty looking pieces falling out of it so I knew it was shot. I didn't completely find out about the battery until several days later.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!