HELP - stalling problems

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 7:26 pm

Hey peeps

I've got an intermittent stalling problem with my GR. This has happened 4 times over the last month and it's driving me up the f**king wall, especially since mechanics / electricians all say there's nothing wrong with the car.

Every one of those 4 times has been at low speed, like 20km/h. Heat may have been a factor too as each time it was like 35 degrees outside. It will just cut out as though I turned the ignition off. When I try to start it back up it clicks over and nothing happens. Eventually it will start up again if I leave it for a while, but the amount of time it takes seems to be getting longer - from 10 mins the first time to 90 mins last night. By the time NRMA gets there, the car is running fine and he can't diagnose it.

I don't even know if it's a fuel problem or an ignition problem. One thing - right before this started happening, I ran the tank nearly dry - ie it was sputtering when i rolled into the gas station. Could it be that the fuel injectors got clogged up? Other than that, suggestions I've heard were fuel pump, ignition control module, oxygen/temperature/crank position sensors.

Oh yeah, the most recent time it happened, for the first minute it was completely dead - it didn't even click over when I tried to restart it. After a minute it would click over, but not start.

Please help before I start replacing parts randomly!

scracy · Post by **scracy** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 8:16 pm

Fuel vapourises on hot days. What it could be is a fuel vapour lock problem associated with the anti pollution charcoal canister. This isnt a problem unique to ftos as any post polution car car suffer from the same problem, get your mechanic to check your entire anti polution system as i suspect thats where the problem lies.

Daz_FTO · Post by **Daz_FTO** » Sat Dec 27, 2003 12:40 am

have you tried to download the problem from the car?

http://www.ftowa.com/html/workshop/workshopart07.html

Earth problem even? Done any wiring jobs recently?

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Sat Dec 27, 2003 1:42 am

It doesn't raise any codes. Just goes dead... I WISH it recorded what was wrong with it!

TimmyD · Post by **TimmyD** » Sat Dec 27, 2003 8:16 am

Radium wrote:It doesn't raise any codes. Just goes dead... I WISH it recorded what was wrong with it!

LoL! that would be like a chick coming straight and telling you what she wants.

fuhrer · Post by **fuhrer** » Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:16 am

hey... i asume your car is tip??

Post by **kazbah** » Tue Dec 30, 2003 9:37 am

Probably stating the bleeding obvious here and you have probably already checked this, but if you ran your tank dry it would mean that some of the crap at the bottom of the tank may have been sucked up through your fuel system. Check your fuel filter cos it sounds like there could be a blockage and before you start ripping out the injectors to have them cleaned throw a bottle of injector cleaner into the tank and see if that helps.

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:59 am

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Stalled again a couple of days ago. This time the NRMA guy got there before it restarted and put some fuel into the manifold. Still wouldn't start - so it's not a fuel problem.

I also noticed that when it stalls, the dash lights (ie. battery / oil lights) don't come on when I try to start it... So am I right in assuming that it's not a problem with the sensors/ignition module etc, because that wouldn't affect the dash lights? Could it be a bettery-related problem, ie. something as simple as the terminals being dirty?..

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 11:22 am

does it still crank over

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 11:32 am

have you got an alarm/imobiliser

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 12:31 am

Yeah it still cranks over...

I have an alarm and an immobiliser... Tried turning it on / off while when it doesn't start with no effect.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:43 am

sounds to me like a sensor might be faulty and is shutting the engine down

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 1:52 am

That's what I thought until I noticed the dash lights not coming on. I thought that the sensor wouldn't affect the dash lights - when the engine is off.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:40 am

you have no dash warning lights but it still cranks over while there is no dash warning lights?

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 12:29 pm

Exactly... In fact that's how I know when it will start again; I put the key in, turn it to II, and check if the battery/oil lights come on. If they do, means the car will start normally. If they don't, it will just crank over with nothing happening.

Any ideas?

GPXXX · Post by **GPXXX** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 3:43 pm

well judging by the symptoms you have described, here's my 2c on this issue (and i'm merely suggesting possible faults)

1. loose connection to the battery terminals / weak battery
2. faulty ignition / alternator / wiring

I'd get the auto electrician to do an overhaul inspection on the electrical aspects of your car.

Best of luck champ!

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 5:52 pm

it sounds electrical

it is unlikely it is your battery or terminals as it cuts out while your driving and your alternator should be supplying enough power to run the engine whilst driving , sounds more like a relay or sensor overheating then when it cools down it resets, this could be triggered by a fault sonewhere. It could also be a short somewhere which triggers the relay to protect your wiring to stop it burning out.

I agree with mikey you need a auto spark to look at it, and next time it happens make note of what systems are on ( air con, stereo, lights etc ) also try to think back to everytime it has happened because maybe it could be related to your aircon as you said it has always been very hot when it happens, and every thing you can tell them so it helps them trace the fault

let us know what it is

PS dont rule out the ignition module I used a differant one in my conversion but found that once it heated up it would cut out, and when it cooled down it would start again OK, but i think we still had dash lights.

but mine is not good to compare against as it was completely rewired with aftermarket computer.

TimmyD · Post by **TimmyD** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 9:14 pm

if u take it to an auto elec, most, should have a little hand held thing that plugs straight into your car, underneath the steering wheel and a little to the left theres the plug.
it runs checks on everything in the car and can determine your faults in a matter of seconds.

but ya, your best option is to take it to the auto elec and it should only take a few min to find your fault....

Cheers
Tim

Radium · Post by **Radium** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 1:37 pm

Hey guys

Took it to an elec who ran diagnostics on it - again said that there's nothing wrong with it. He thought the alarm / immobiliser was causing it, so he disconnected it. Said he drove around for an hour or so with no problem. I picked it up the next morning and drove it for a whole day in heat with no problem, so I HOPE that it was indeed the alarm.

Thanks for your suggestions on this!