6 Mechanics are stumped and cant fix my car

I own a 5 spd - 96 Cavalier and for the past 6 months it stalls while driving for no apparent reason. Sometimes it will not start after sitting overnight. It doesnt matter if I am gearing down, speeding up or driving at a constant speed. I have been keeping a log to see if anything is making it happen and it seems to be random. After the car stalls the gauges will blink and flash, the speedometer will jump up to 80km and back down dozens of times while the car isnt running. Sometimes it can take 5 mins or 1 hour before the car will restart. The car runs great besides this stupid problem. Occasionally when the car does restart the ABS light remains. Last week the theft light stayed on until I turned it off.
The mechanics are getting no codes and of course it starts up right away when it gets towed to the garage.

The car has a new battery. It seems to be electrical but without codes I am lost and so are they. Please help me with some serious suggestions only. Thank you so much. It is getting cold and I would hate to be in subzero temperatures stuck on a highway somewhere freezing to death waiting for the damn thing to restart!

Sounds like a computer prob or an anti theft system prob

sounds like ground wire/strap. maybe loose connections at computer,loose wire on starter,or when someone put the battery in they cracked the terminal by over tightening.deffinently sound electrical. keep us posted

This problem was occurring before I had the new battery installed. Thank you for your input.
Found out today that there is no spark when this is occuring.
I read somewhere that this might be caused by the ignition module or crank sensor. Anyone?

This problem was occurring before I had the new battery installed. Thank you for your input.
Found out today that there is no spark when this is occuring.
I read somewhere that this might be caused by the ignition module or crank sensor. Anyone?


Sounds like the same thing that happened to me 88 olds.
First the ignition module went out so I changed it, was good for about a year now its bogging and stalling alot like yours.
Im debating whether or not to change the crank sensor ($65 Canadian)
I'll keep watching this thread to see if anybody has anymore input on your problem.

If it was the module it wouldn't start back up until it was replaced, I know, my cavy did the same thing. Sound more like a crank sensor wigging out, or a loose wire to the sensor.

same problem with my old cavailer. it's the ignition module. when your car heats up it will seperate the malfunctioning connectors on the board and stall out your car giving no spark signal. after the car cools down to make the connection again (5-60 minutes) it will start again. part is $150 from autozone. it can't be diagnosed on the checker cause it doesn't get hot enough unless it's run in the actual engine compartment.

My 2000 Cav. w/100k sounds like all the above. Here's my history.
June: AC Compress replaced; July: Start Stalling @ 65-70 (That's FUN in rush hr); July: crank sensor; Aug: Alternator shot and Batt.; Aug: Ignition recall( now no cruse control; Sept: Idler Arm. kept gas above 1/4 tank all okay. Out of the blue today Cav. stalled would not start (DOA) and it was 9 degrees not including chill factor...

first thing i would do is find a ECU outa car in the salvage yard that has less than 150k on it snatch the ECU an tell the salvage yard that u didnt find what u were lookin for if they seem to ask but prob. wont - cause they will prob. want like 75-150 for the ecu - see if that solves the prob. if not then u know its not the ecu.
let us know how it goes - or if u have a friend ask him if u can borrow his/her ecu for a few to try an fix ur problem.
that way is cheaper than starting to replace everything even though the things u are replacing might not be the problem.
just a idea that i have seen work with 2 other cars with the same problems. one was a 2.2 cavy an the other was a crx with a 1.6 vtec both were solved by that problem. might as well give it a whirl :)
GOOD LUCK!

Had this problem it was a ground wire one the starter that cuts power to the ignition. It may be worth just taking these off and cleaning up the bolt and the connectors with some failry abraisive sand paper until they're shiny-ish this cost nothing and can fiw the problem if not 93 R/T TT stealth's advice is great except I'm sure he doesn't condone fooling wreckers yard and this was merely a thought.

yeah, ill second that.. make sure all your connections are good.. does the power to your whole car turn off? (radio and everything) if so, check to ensure the connections on your battery are snug

Changed the ignition switch and yippie its fixed. There were also some old wires left behind attached from an old remote starter removed. It could have been either one.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

PSX

The clue here was the blinking dash lights. That is NOT from a module. That means a loose connection somewhere, even if it is in the Ignition switch.

Well so u guys/girls know 2000 cavys had a recall on the ignition module

Well so u guys/girls know 2000 cavys had a recall on the ignition module

Hopefully this issue will be address soon, or we will be getting another question when it goes bad.

Just for the record, my 89 Tempest/Corsica did this exact same thing to me... it turned out to be a loose main ground (my fault for not tightening it properly when I disconnected it to clean out the corrosion)

Mike

clue? so its like a game?? sweet!

I aim to please, and hope to entertain. :grinyes:

Which way to the bar?

Er' JAYSON716? Where did that come from it was a 96 cav.

Oh by the way 95-99 Neons had a problem with the head gasket but DaimlerChrysler decided this wasn't a recall issue!

Was it professor plum in the bathroom with the pull-cord for the rollerblind?

.....? uh... im confuseded! :banghead:

I think this thread has gone ways away from its intended purpose...

haha ya it has - i been gone a long time - ya if you dont think i have gone in a wrecker yard an stolen anything your wrong -but not to start a newbie fight or anything but do u realize how many people steal shit from salvage yards? even if u steal plastic dash screw plug its still stealing -

Well so u guys/girls know 2000 cavys had a recall on the ignition module



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http://www.alldata.com/TSB/10/001041GK.html 2.4

http://www.alldata.com/TSB/10/001041F7.html 2.2


theres the recall page

Sounds like a computer prob or an anti theft system prob

Just to let you know, it's not a anti-theft problem. I've had that problem and it basically comes down to an expensive piece of plastic not lining up straight in the steering column. After driving for a bit, when coming to a stop, the car would start shuddering and then stall in-gear. Another contributing factor to that actually, was the TCC solenoid which needed to be unplugged/replaced.

sadly enough its a common problem

I'm glad to see that your stalling issue was fixed. I'm surprised though that 6 mechanics couldn't figure out what was wrong. I had a similar problem with my brand new Cavalier, and the dealership could not find any codes, and wouldn't fix it even though the car was under warranty.

The best they would do was change the fuel pump as a "good will gesture". LOL!!!

Maybe I should have come to these forums when my brand new Cavalier was stalling. Better yet, maybe I should have told the service department at the dealership to come to these forums.

I'm still amazed that modern day mechanics are useless without damned computer codes.