I have a friend at church that has a 92 firebird with a 3.1v6 all stock in it and he was pulling away from a stop sign ad the car just shut off he could not start it again. the lights and everything worked as they should. when he got off work it fired up just like it did not have a problem. any ideas on where I should start looking I was think9ing the battery and alt. but i'm not sure!

 

My '91 was doing that right before the fuel pump went out. Check fuel related items...fuel pressure/filter/pump when it does it next time or before if you're able.

 

Been there with the same symptoms. Start by checking the injectors. If they are original they almost certainly need to be replaced. And while you're replacing them replace the fuel pressure regulator diaphragm.

 

Just talked to friend he sqid when car shut off he tried to restart not even starter wud turn.car wudnt say anything wudnt even turn over.A few thing you may need to know key has a chip in it key was made two months ago i dont think thats the problem.when he starts the car their is a puff of smoke on passenger side i dont know if thats starter wires or if its unrelated.Do you think it could be the ground wire or an electrical wire or electrical problem? sounds like it to me could it be vats shuting car down?We could not get it to act up again when he fired it up it started quickly ran rough actually real rough but then smooth out.I told him even if it was a fuel problem it should still turn over.He said it would not do anything.Then a couple hours later it fired up with no problem help please

 

You need to find out exactly what the smoke is from. You need to check all the wiring. Look for corrosion, loose/broken wires and signs of burning (blackened or melted insulation). Then go from there.

 

we need to check: the starter wire connections, battery to head ground connections, find out where the puff of smoke is coming from, and start checking the fuel related items.

now, he just had a key made for it about 2months ago could VATS be a culprit? or more than likely not? please remember that when he tried to restart not even the starter would turn over. the car wouldn't say anything.

 

I haven't had vats issues so haven't had to learn much about it. They resistance of the metal 'chip' in the key has to match what the ecm expects. The values are in the manual. However, smoke is not a symptom of a vats issue.