alright, here's the deal. Was driving this weekend, noticed some minor hesitation (almost a surge) thought, ok, somethings gonna give, might have an issue of some sort, work it out soon. Weekend goes by w/o incident for the most part, drive home 50 miles (in the opposite of the 50 miles i had to drive to get to the city, + the one day i drove around up there, maybe another 50 miles)

So, i get back here to my college, no problems yesterday, didn't notice anything overly out of the ordinary. Then this morning (tues) i wake up to go fly at 7 in the morning, on my way to the airport the car dies as i approach a traffic light, wasn't really slowing down or accelerating, just coasting, and boom, it's dead, i coast into a gas station, restart, and continue driving , now even more cautioulsy. So, i get to the airport, fly, and drive back (have class coming up soon) and all goes w/o problems, on the way, i stopped @ autozone and bought some injector cleaner, added it to the already full tank, no probs, drive home, go to class, come back, drive around campus, do some stuff, then have to go back to the airport for work. (maybe my car just doesn't like the airport) as i'm driving around town getting lunch b4 going to work, it started having some hesitaiton issues again, more prounounced than they were in the city over the weekend, and hesitation isn't really like sputtering (such as fuel related problems) but its as if i turned the ignitino off (electronic related problems). Neway, so the thing basically turns off and on very rapidly, i pop the hood at hardees, check cap/plugs for security, along w/ the wires @ the base of the cap. Check the Coil for security, along w/ lead wires to and from it, MAF, IAC, and TPS, everythings tight and the distributor isn't lose and turning around on itself. So, i drive to work, no big issues, get there, drive to the gas station on break to get a soda, and on my way back (it's only about 3 hundred yards on the highway) the car does a complete hesitation, dead as a doorknob, i have to rapidly jump into the right lane and knab a bit of the shoulder, but just as i did, the car kicked back on. I then drove it back to my work, parked it, and tested it around the airport some.

The car died twice while it was idling w/o me doing anything, then would seem to idle forever, i drove it soft and hard w/o getting any of the same problems, but i decided to leave it at work, as its easier for me to work on it there than to try and get it towed if i broke down on the highway anyway, plus, i'd have to have it towed to a shop or back to my work so i could work on it again. So, what do you guys think? Im feeling an ignitino related componenet as it wasn't "fuel" related, these are the ideas.

ignition module (replaced this past summer)
Cap/Rotor (doubtful as the car runs fine normally, just occasional stumble, which is now more plentiful)
PU Coil (replaced last year)

Then came sensors, although i don't think any of them are directly controling spark, while they do manage the fuel, i don't see spark really coming into play w/ it, but you could correct me if i'm wrong. The ones i'd be wondering about are the TPS (seems more common than an IAC problem given what my car is doing) and the MAF (which has been replaced probably 4 times since i've owened the car, and it has rarely thrown a code)
I'm doubting O2 sensor, as even if it doesn't throw a code, normally the car runs worse when it's bad, and i believe i replaced it last year, but can't be 100%....

Fuel pressure could be a culprit, but doubtful given the problem

Injectors are a possibility also, but removing the upper intake seems like more work than i'd like to do if i can fix the problem w/o it.

There is a chance i might test fuel pressure however, since i might have a fuel pump that was crapping out on me. (happened once b4, and i believe it didn't "sputter" out on me, it just "died" and could have easily been mistaken for an ignition related component) If that's the case, i'll probably do the ole' cut and hack system, followed by the instalation of an "inspection" panel riv-nutted to the sheetmetal.

All assistance is appreciated, hopefully i can have tihs thing pinned down by the weekend as i'll need the car sometime in the near future (don't want to be asking for a lift all the time) Thanks everyone

 

Fuel.
I get that with mine "often" but not steadily.
Usually happens in parking lot and I drive with very light gas pedal work. Once outta maybe 85 times.
I know mine is fine & I need tune up or just replace cap & rotor. It's been while since I did that. I find white powerdy stuff under my "used up caps".
Other solution COULD be alternator related. As in running engine power voltage drop to low to keep system operating. Low speed alt. output.
Hope these are clues.
Mine I replaced the pump several years back. Do it right way, lower everything, much easier. Why?
The angle to remvove the pump is so "odd" it helps to have all the room under that area, as in dropping tank.

 

I'm having a similar problem, see my post. except i was thinking mine was fuel related bcuz i've got a new dist cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. i'm gonna check fuel pressure next.

 

I've essentially got an entirely new ignition system, however, it doesn't mean something isn't bad...even new parts fail. The fuel pump is new also, as of about two years ago, done by a trusted shop, lol. I've gotta get a tester on it to see if pressure is holding from the pump and i'll go from there.

If the fuel pump was bad, like the last time it was bad, when i was driving down the highway the car turned off (basically like pullin the key out) well, then, after a second, the car came back to life and kept driving. very very akward, and my bad fuel pump didn't do that, which is what's leading me to ignition.

Module, PU Coil, probably not Cap/Rotor, but i'll inspect and decide if i'm going to change them right away or if they're good...and it's definately not plug wires, as that might make a car run like crap, but normally, it'd make a car run.

 

For a strange reason, I also get a stall during a extreme wheel turn of parking or out driveway.
Happened getting into muffler bay, yesterday.
But this I know of and it's a power steering sensor, kinda like oil pressure shut off.

 

LOOK check alll your grounds and starter connections..

trust me on this....

 

how many grounds are we talking here, and can you give me locations from the factory? that's gonna be a nightmare trying to hunt out grounds that are now 20 years old, many of which might have been changed over time...

 

batt to frame, batt to engine, <---- via neg batt cable

engien to firewall <---- via steel braided cable on back of heads.

THose ar ethe three main main connections I cain think of right now. break out the 'ol DVM and see if you cain find any voltage drops to your ignition/fp from moving some wires around.

 

Ya beat me to it; also check the positive cable, too. Maybe something's corroded all to hell.

 

eh, thought there were more than that,as all those were intact, i was expecting a good ole' crawl up under her and look around. Those grounds are all good to go, pretty well clean, and connected. It's an ole' sidepost battery which is still workin good, drove the car around the ariport today, no probs, also took it on the highway, and filled the gas tank up (just a few blocks up the highway) and came back. Wasn't to excitied about the drive, but nothing happened, so that's gotta be a good thing, that or a bad one. Also pulled a code 22, TPS, however, that might be from me disconnected the TPS w/ the engine running, which is what i'm assuming. I'll clear the code tomorrow and run her again, see if it re-appears. Any other suggestions?

 

battery cables can corrode in the middle w/the insulation/covering around it lookig good. I hop e you realize that we're gonna beat this "grounding" thing likk a dead horse on ya.

 

i'd perfer you to beat anything and everything that's a possibility like a dead horse, w/o it, it costs money to fix...lets beat it all and solve the problem.

Thanx for the suggestions so far

 

you DO have an 4 gen dash...........so phucking check your wires agin..and agin..and agin....

 

hey xcel, thinking a ground under the dash? more than a possibility, i'll go over them soon. Gonna pull the computer and see if i can have it tested, while i'm under there, i'll go through all the grounds i can find, to see if there's anything hot connected....For the most part, the 4th gen dash stuff really wasn't a big deal on the wiring, with the exception of the guages and the headlights (motors and bulbs were a bit of a pain) not much was touched. I'll have to check everything i hooked up to make sure things are still as good as they were 5 months ago.