While driving my car on the highway the engine died on me. I made several attempts to start the car again with no success. The mechanic has yet to find what the problem is. He has checked the timing belt, fuel pump, and everything else.
View 2 RepliesThe alternator belt recently broke off on my Mazda Protege and by the time I was able to drive it to my local Mazda dealer to have the belt replaced the engine was completely dead. I drove the car about 12 miles after the alternator belt broke. I noticed as I was driving to the dealer that my heater was not working; the fan was working but it would only blow cold air. I know that the alternator belt also controls the water pump, so I tried to keep my engine rpm's below 2000 while driving to avoid overheating the engine. On the way to the dealer the temperature gauge on the dashboard increased to about halfway between cold (C) and (H), which is where it usually sits after the engine warms up.
The belt was replaced, but I have noticed that ever since then the temperature gauge always sits at "C" and the engine never warms up. The heater continues to not produce any warm air. In addition, I have felt the engine with my hand after driving for about 20 minutes, and although it feels warm, it is not nearly as hot as it should be. I suspect that the engine cooling system is continually working for some reason, instead of allowing the engine to warm to its optimal operating temperature and then maintaining the temperature at that level. Because this coincided with my alternator belt breaking, I suspect that the root of the problem is either electrical in nature or associated with the water pump somehow. However, I don't know enough about cars to figure it all out.
1998 Mazda B2500. Timing belt broke while driving. How likely is it that my valves are warped & how do I fix it?
View 11 RepliesI had my minivan stop running while i was on the freeway. My electrical seemed a bit off, the speed decreased and it slowly died. I tested the battery and it was fine, tested the alternator and it failed. I changed the alternator and still wouldn't start. I changed the battery as well and it worked for about 2 days and then it did the same thing. Radio started to flicker, all the lights turned on and the car decreased until it didn't run anymore?What could this be? Bad gearing? A faulty brand new alternator?
View 4 RepliesMy 1998 Nissan Pathfinder dies randomly while driving. There is no consistency to when it dies. I will be driving down the road and then all of a sudden the car will not accelerate and it eventually dies. The other issue is it won't start from time to time. It sounds like it wants to go, but it won't. Eventually it will turn over. It has been to many mechanics. The crank shaft sensor has been replaced and the mass air flow sensor. Neither one of these were the problem. They now think it is the distributor possibly. There are no codes saved. It has been sitting at the shop now for 9 weeks.
View 2 RepliesBeen having this problem since this past Easter when our mechanic installed new valve cover gaskets.
When the van is hot (normal operating temperature) and you turn it off just for a minute, like to get gas, and try and restart it acts like it’s not getting enough gas. It will cough and sputter and balk. It will finally start though and after 30 second all will calm down and it will run fine.
One big problem is, is that is intermittent – meaning it won’t mess up for the mechanic and putting it on the computer shows nothing wrong.
One mechanic said it was a cracked distributor. Replaced that for $400. and same problem. I’ve also cleaned the Mas Air Flow sensor and changed the fuel filter.
The check engine light is blinking on my 98 Mazda Protege. I'd like to purchase one of those little hand held computers so that I can diagnose the problem myself. Should I leave it up to the professionals?
View 19 RepliesI am at my wits' end with my 98 Honda Civic LX. The problem starts around late summer of last year. It is sporadic, so I didn't quite pay attention until one day the engine died on the highway after I picked up the kids at the school. It didn't make any sound nor giving any warnings, just suddenly died. After that highway episode, it seems like it just taken its own fancy schedule as far as when to die, so to say. In a given day, it could 4 episodes in a day. Then it runs perfectly for some weeks then it starts again and went away again.
It just quietly dies while being driven. I had to turn it completely off, wait for some moment and try to turn it on again. Sometimes it just turns on again without me being frustrated and there were moments when I had to do several attempts. Once I heard clicking sound before the engine died, only once, the rest makes no sound at all. No lights are on.
I'm in the process of changing the coolant on my 98 Mazda Protege LX. I have the radiator drained and rinsed out. Now I want to get the rest of the coolant out. Where the engine block drain plug is on this car? My Haynes manual shows a picture of the location but It's of a different model.
View 12 RepliesI have a 1998 gmc sierra 2500 truck when i start it it runs just fine but after i have driven it awhile when i go to stop as soon as i come to a stop the engine revs up and down and it dies it will not do it if i am in neutral or the engine is cold, what could be causing that....
View 7 Replies My 1998 Ford Explorer XLT v6 with about 233,000 miles on it has a bit of a problem. Infrequently, when I shift into reverse from park or neutral the engine dies. It restarts without issue. There are no strange noises or smells when this happens.
The transmission was rebuilt 10,000 miles ago by a reputable mechanic. Almost all of the 230k+ miles are highway miles. Each trip around 40 miles.
I have a 2000 Mazda Protoge. I recently had the air conditioning fixed and primarily afterwards (although it could have been quiet before), when I accelerate or perhaps when it is thinking about shifting gears, I hear a strange buzzing sound, like a fan is hitting a bit of metal or something. It isn't too severe, but it sounds like it might be getting a little worse. Not louder, just more often. Belt? Two things touching? Should I bring my car, or is this just growing pains?
View 3 RepliesMy 1985 Saab 900 turbo has been dying while being driven. Suddenly, and usually while the car is relatively hot and in traffic, the engine will die while driving. Usually it will die when at a light stopped but not always. This has never happened before the last week or so, but the car has always had trouble with cold starts and will die while idling when the ignition is first turned. This hasn't been diagnosed. At times a lot of smoke will come from the exhaust, and this has not had a trigger (too much oil, hard driving, etc) but the car did pass smog in California (the strictest state!). Just now, a light I've never seen (and I've had 2 80's Saabs) came on the dash which said EXH, which I read could be regarding the o2 sensor?
View 3 RepliesI bought my 2007 Santa Fe with 112,000 miles in April. It ran fine until about a month ago. When I turned the key to aux, the radio and lights came on but when I tried to start it I lost all power. Turning the key off and back on had no effect, it acted like the battery was dead. I opened the hood and noticed the pos cable was loose on the terminal. As soon as I touched it I heard a click, the security light started blinking and it started fine.
A week later as I was driving on the highway the electricity started blinking in and out and the car would shutter as it lost and regained power, then eventually died completely but the radio was still on. I got to the shoulder and tried to turn it back on but even though the radio and lights worked, nothing happened when I tried to start it. I lodged a matchstick between the pos terminal and the cable to make sure the connection was tight and it started. Driving home the power would occasionally stutter when I hit a bump but it never died completely.
I used a battery and alternator tester that plugs into the cigarette lighter and both registered as fine. I've driven it to work, about 2 miles, several times since and the power sometimes cuts out at bumpy parts of the road and it has died completely twice while sitting still at a light. The clock doesn't reset when it dies so, knowing nothing about electrical systems, I would guess that the electricity isn't being entirely lost. Every time it dies the radio and lights still come on but I have to get out and jiggle the pos cable to get it to restart. While driving the battery and seat belt lights flash randomly. A friend told me to try removing the pos cable while it's running and that if it died, it was probably the alternator. Tried it and the engine died immediately. Don't know what this means since the alternator tested fine.
1992 Escort GT 1.8 liter ... It's been a problem for a while, where I'll just be driving (or at a stoplight) and the engine dies. It doesn't sputter or give any signs (that I know of) before it goes. Usually if I let it sit for a while, generally under an hour, it'll start right up again and run for a few days and then happen again. The engine light will sometimes come on, but only after I get it started up again, and it never stays on for long. The other day, it died on my way to work and didn't start up again for a few days, but the engine light was on, and gave a code 23. I think this means I should get the throttle sensor fixed.
View 1 RepliesMy 1989 Honda Civic engine randomly dies usually while driving. When it dies I hear a relay click sound coming from the area of the glove box. The tachometer and speedometer go immidiately to 0. The dashboard indicator lights all go out. The turn signals windshield wipers and electric windows all quit working, but the emergency flashers, radio, and comfort system blower continue to work. I think the transmission goes immediately into neutral too because deceleration is much slower than it would be if the engine were running and I take my foot off the accelerator. So far I have always been able to restart the engine and continue driving, though it often takes many tries before it will successfully restart and keep running.
In an unsuccessful restart the engine will fire and start to rev up but die again as soon as I release the key from the Start position. Occasionally the engine will spontaneously restart while we are coasting to a stop. We took it on a long trip this summer and it would almost always work fine until we stopped for gas, food or restroom break. After the break it would die one to three times in the first 5 miles and then would work fine until the next break. My mechanic says the computer is not storing any failure codes and he is having a hard time troubleshooting it because the problem only randomly occurs. I'm wondering if the problem might be a flaky electrical connector somewhere.
Recently, today in my 87 Ranger suddenly the engine dies and all electronics in the cab fail.
I noticed under the hood that the fusible link connected to the battery and an orange and black wire was smoking. Tracing this line i found that it leads to the ignition switch, as well as some other places.
There is another fusible link and the junction between the yellow ignition wire and the orange and black wire from the battery. This fusible link also was failed.
I'm planning on replacing the fusible links tomorrow but in case that does not fix it, where to look next.
The problem only occurs when the key is in the ON position. I'm thinking maybe I could do some tests with a multimeter on the ignition switch but am not sure of the details of what I should test for.
Summary: Fusible Links C, and E burn out when the ignition is in the ON position.
I have a Mazda MX3 V6 it's a 1994, anyways the cars starts and runs fine, you can rev it up and it don't stall sputter or anything, but as soon as you put it in gear it dies, just seeing what may be going on with it. Also I just put a new IAC vavle on the car. don't think that has anything to do with it, but this is the 1st time I have ever worked on a mazda, and just as a side note, the car ran good for about 2 days after the install of the IAC.
View 2 RepliesYesterday while driving to work the acceleration on my car just died; the engine was running and the car was in drive. I lost power steering and all the dash lights came on. I was driving down the road about 55mph and it just died, but the engine stayed on. What could cause this problem?
2011 Toyota Camry LE ...
I have just inherited my recently deceased father's 1992 Ranger with the 2.3 liter engine. He was a Ford Mechanic but got to ill to worry about fixing the Ranger. So, let me begin, the engine dies randomly, (at idle or in gear driving doesn't matter what gear or speed), turning key to off and then to on will allow vehicle to restart every time. No "Check Engine" light has ever lit, I do have an "Antilock" light that comes and goes. The engine codes I keep getting are: 10, 218 and 222.
Code 10 is a computer check code,
Code 218 is "Loss of Ignition Diagnostic Monitor (IDM) signal/left side, and
Code 222 is "Distributorless Ignition System - Loss of right side ignition diagnostic monitor (IDM) signal.
These codes were from my Innova reader. I have read where other similar problems were fixed with a new Crankshaft Position Sensor, replaced mine, no change. Another symptom I just noticed is my temp gauge stays near the cool end when it should be higher.
What would cause the vechile to die randomly, while driving? have check all ground wires, coolant, spark plugs, air filter, and changed fuel filter. no check engine lights come on.
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