I got my '92 RS Friday before last. I just started driving it this Friday because I had to wait until I had insurance. The car had been running fine until I was heading to work yesterday. I had stopped at the gas station. After I had put some gas into the car, it had trouble starting, but I finally got that car to start. Everything seemed fine until I got further down the road when I came to the stop sign and pressed on the break. The car stalled there. I could get the car to crank, but it wouldn't turn over. So me and my buddy towed it back to the house. It still wouldn't turn over when I got it back to the house. So I went to work, and when I came home from work about six hours later, I tried starting the car and it started right up. So I thought maybe I had just flooded the engine. I took it for a test drive today, and it started right up. Everything was fine until I got to the video about five miles away and the car stalled when I put in it in park. The car would start up, but everytime I put it into gear it would die. I found that if I fed some gas for about a minute or so I could put it in gear and drive some way down the road. It stalled me another two times. I finally got to the gas station and put some more gas incase I had gotten some bad gas, and added some the STP gas treatment to get water out of the lines and some STP treatment for the fuel injectors. It seemed to run much better once I put this in, and I was able to make it home with no stalling. I am hoping that it is fixed, but does any of this sound like a more serious problem? Like a fuel pump or clogged fuel filter.

 

since you put stp in and it seems to be running better, I would start their.

Change fuel filter, check fuel pump pressure, make sure vac hose is on the regulator.

Did you do a tuneup on the car before you started driving it? Plus, wires, cap, rotor, o2 sensor, replace vac lines, belts, check battery wires, oil/filter, fuel filter, and many other things. All stuff that should be done before buying and putting ANY used car on the road in my book.

 

Does it shake or lurch before it stalls, or is it a real quick, abrupt stall? Considering you said it will stall and then not start back up...that sounds like a fuel delivery problem to me. A bad IAC valve will cause a stall, but the car should start fine. If this doesn't do it, I'd check the fuel filter. There's a chance that it's stalling because the filter is clogging up and cutting fuel, which is keping it from starting back up til it gets enough through. If a filter doesn't fix it, then I'd start looking at the pump itself. Make sure the pump is priming when you turn the key to Ign. before you start. If it doesn't want to start again, try using a hammer or something and tapping on the gas tank in various places....sometimes this will make the fuel pump kick in if it's bad.

 

Thanks for the help so far, it is a quick, abrupt stall. I am going to change the fuel filter tomorrow to see if that helps. Any tips on doing this?

 

I've never done a fuel filter on these cars....but I would make sure the fuel line pressure is purged first, or you're in for a gasoline bath. If the car hasn't been run for like a day....then just get a rag and a philips head screwdriver or some small point, and open the valve on the Schrader valve and release the fuel pressure...hence, the rag, to wipe up the extra fuel. If the car HAS been run, and there will probably be a decent amount of pressure built up in the lines...you can also pull the fuel pump fuse, start the car, and run it til it shuts off. That's a less messy way to purge the pressure.

 

Well, we changed the fuel filter today. The other one did seem to have some clogging,but the car still stalls. I am able to start up the car, and it will run for about five minutes before it starts to stall. I am going to look into getting the fuel pump changed. Any other suggestions?

 

How is your idle? Is it real low? The fuel pump COULD be the cause....but it's a fairly expensive guess, ya know? I'd buy or borrow a fuel pressure gauge and check it....and keep it with you. When it stalls out, hook up the gauge and turn the key forward like you're gonna start it, but dont try. See what the pressure reads. If it's real low, that indicates a problem. You're looking for around...maybe 35-40 psi.
You COULD even ride around with the gauge hooked up and kept under your hood, so when it stalls, you can see the immediate fuel pressure after the stall without having to hook it up and losing that pressure. Just make sure you duct tape it all down and tighten it at the Schrader valve real good if ya do. And make sure the pressure release hose is aiming at the ground and not, say, at hot engine parts.

 

You are all looking in the wrong place. I knew what exactly is his problem when he said it happens when he "step(s) on the brake". It happens when hot and he steps on the brake, he has a vacuum leak. Simple as that.

Mine did the same thing before I went through and replaced all the upper intake gaskets and vac lines. Just make sure that the evap can is good before you replace the lines-mine has now killed my crank bearings (unless there is two pounds of carbon/ice/etc in the chambers I don't know about) because the extra gas gets in the oil and thins it out. If, when you replace all the lines (around $13 and is cheapest thing to check) the car starts running REAL rich (throwing chunks of carbon out tailpipes), shut the car down and don't run it again until either the can is replaced or disconnected!

 

The car will also stall when it is sitting in park in my drive way idling. It seems to idle normal and the engine seems to run smooth until it stalls. I am going to get one of those code readers tomorrow to what code the computer is throwing because the service engine soon light comes on.

 

Check the codes and post them, although I can guarantee that a good portion of them can be attached to a vac leak and/or bad ECM. Code 12 (when engine stalls and SES light comes on) doesn't mean anything other than that the engine is dead.

 

What all would I need to purchase to replace the vacumm lines and what would be the total cost? I am just considering taking my car to a shop.

 

Go to local parts house and ask if they have windshield washer hose in bulk packs. The hose is generally sold in an 8' length and are around $3-4 per box. I used three boxes to do all of the rubber hoses since none of the hard lines were damaged, but you might want to get a box of hard line just in case something breaks on you. Also pick up an adaptor when you are out, those are like $2. You won't spend more than about $20 on all of the vac hoses under the hood. Labor alone is probably $50 for replacement of the vac lines, if they even do it. You have a diagram sticker under the hood somewhere that shows hose routing for your engine.

I had to replace ALL of the rubber vac lines except the one for the power brake booster (it may be listed as fuel line or coolant line, it is 2' long, don't know how much it costs as I have not replaced it yet) because of the cold shock they suffered when the car was brought here from Alabama. They literally crumbled to pieces in my hands! There was at least one huge hole over by the evap can that I tried to patch with duct tape (didn't work) and there was a lot more than that that was damaged. It took an hour and $16 worth of parts to do the job.

If this don't fix it, then by all means go to a shop. Either you have little to no vacuum in the system, or you have a bad fuel pump/ECM circuit/oil pressure switch/etc and are getting a lack of fuel as a result.

 

You don't need to buy one of those overpriced paper clips to read the codes (called an overpriced paper clip because all you need is a paper clip)

If you want to be as technical as possible without wasting money, autozone gives away "GM Code Keys" .. which are oversized free paperclips and happen to fit perfectly for this application.
Insert small length of wire, bent paperclip, or GM Code Key between pins A and B

Turn car to "on" (do not start). watch SES light. Count flashes. Will start with a code 12, which gives you a chance to understand the flash system.. flash-pause-flash-flash-long pause ... it will display code 12 three times, then move on to the next code. It will display each code three times. Write them down. When the SES light flashes code 12 again, you're done. Get back to us with the codes, we'll go from there.

 

I'm still confused on how the code system works. My SES light doesn't blink when then engine stalls, it stays lit Also, where is the port located where I push in the paper clip? I think I saw it under the dash near the fuse box. Sorry if my questions seems stupid, but I am new to this.

 

Yeah, the light won't blink til you jump the ALDL. The terminal is where you said it is....down by the fuse box..I think it's close to under the steering wheel. Connect the two rightmost pins, like Tech said, and turn the key forward to Ign. It'll start flashing the codes then. Now, it might not give you a current code though. It'll also flash codes that have come up from previous problems...I believe it takes 50 different starts/running without that code to erase it from the memory. If you wanna keep the memory fresh and get only the most recent codes, you can reset the ECM by pulling the fuse for it. It's under the hood, on the passenger side of the engine bay. Pull the fuse for like 30 seconds I think. Or you can just disconnect the battery for about the same length of time.

 

It is towards the radio pod on the lower trim panel... it will have a cover on it that is about 1" X 2" rectangular. Jump the upper right terminal to the one just to the left of it and the SES will blink.
The SES won't blink when the engine stalls because the ECM receives trouble code 12 (not receiving ignition pulses from ignition coil, aka RPM signal) and will display only the light to say something's wrong.

 

Well, I got my car fixed today. It turned out that it was a distributor rotor and an ignition control module. Its good to have my baby back.

 

Glad to hear ya got it fixed. If only I could get my car running again that easily.

 

Same here.