Complete and utter loss of power while on the highway

the vehicle we will be discussing below is a 2001 Chevrolet S10, 2.2L I4, 5speed manual transmission, 2wd, with 86k miles.

last night i was making my weekly commute back to the college i attend after a weekend of work. it's about a 100mi trip in one direction. i was on the interstate, cruise control engaged, travelling at about 75mph when suddenly i noticed i was losing speed. i made my way to the shoulder and sat there wondering why my truck had stalled on the highway. while waiting for AAA, i tried a few things (checked the fuel pump relay in the fuse block, checked the pump fuse) but all the electrical crap looked good. one of the only true symptoms i can describe is when i try to start it, the motor kicks over - it doesn't start - and after holding the key in the start position for more than 3-5 seconds it starts to buck like a mule. help.

PS - I recently had the airbox (resonator) off as I was fixing a pinched harness for the AC compressor... i'm pretty sure this doesnt have anything do do with it, but you never know.

the vehicle we will be discussing below is a 2001 Chevrolet S10, 2.2L I4, 5speed manual transmission, 2wd, with 86k miles.

last night i was making my weekly commute back to the college i attend after a weekend of work. it's about a 100mi trip in one direction. i was on the interstate, cruise control engaged, travelling at about 75mph when suddenly i noticed i was losing speed. i made my way to the shoulder and sat there wondering why my truck had stalled on the highway. while waiting for AAA, i tried a few things (checked the fuel pump relay in the fuse block, checked the pump fuse) but all the electrical crap looked good. one of the only true symptoms i can describe is when i try to start it, the motor kicks over - it doesn't start - and after holding the key in the start position for more than 3-5 seconds it starts to buck like a mule. help.

PS - I recently had the airbox (resonator) off as I was fixing a pinched harness for the AC compressor... i'm pretty sure this doesnt have anything do do with it, but you never know.

This may sound silly, but check your alternator. Did your lights start dimming as it was dying?

nope... the motor just quit. alternator is good... the electrical still worked fine for the 3 hours i was stranded in a mobil parking lot... i got to listen to about 3 hours of pink floyd... i guess one good thing came out of the strandedness.

Hmmm, have you checked for fuel or spark?

mine does the same shit does ur insturment lights come on when you turn the key on? mine kinda did the same thing before and huffed and puffed it was either the fuel filter or the distributor cap and rotar i changed both worked fine now i just cant get the insturment lights to come on when i turn the key to start the damn thing

i agree check for spark and fuel. a good tune up would be a good idea anyway. check for vacuum leaks and check electrical connections too.

mine does the same shit does ur insturment lights come on when you turn the key on? mine kinda did the same thing before and huffed and puffed it was either the fuel filter or the distributor cap and rotar i changed both worked fine now i just cant get the insturment lights to come on when i turn the key to start the damn thing


there's no cap on my truck. it's a crank trigger. vaccuum crap is all perfect. tune up is all done. new plugs, wires, egr, pcv, filters, sensors... i replaced about 600 bucks worth of simple, piddle shit - and it probably didnt even need it.

however, i left it back home (i'm a college student) when i moved back to school. my money is on fuel filter / pump. i hope to christ it isnt timing.

I'm running into the same thing with my daughters 2000 s10 v6. She has had it stall out once and not restart till later, now it's more of an occasional no start. It appears to be fuel pump related. When you turn the key to ign. on position, you should hear the fuel pump faintly for 1-2 sec. When her s10 is in the no start mode, the pump doesn't cycle when you turn the key, thus no start. The pump can also quit while running, which will give you a stall situation. I still haven't nailed the cause, but I'll post it when I find it. Odds are, it's the pump, but I don't want to replace it till I know. Any s10 experts out there? Pump? Relay(it clicks when key turned to ign on, but haven't checked to see if it's outputting to pump)? Fuel press. reg? I just replaced the fuel filter, noticed black residue in fuel filter...anyone???

I have a 91 chevy s-10 2.8L V6 with the model 220 TBI. So I can see if the injectors are spraying. Well I just had the same problem I was crusin at about 80 when BAM. engine cuts out. The when I try to start it it will crank and not start. Injectors won't spray unless I let the truck sit for a while. Well I check the filters on the injectors their fine. Next rebuilt the fuel pressure regulator and its not the problem. Then I dig up my haynes book and it says "To test the fuel pump relay, start the engine and let it idle at normal temp, then disconnect the fuel pump relay. If engine stops, the oil pressure switch is faulty." page 4-38 section 17 Now I heard through a friend that this switch is next to the distributor. So I think HEAT is a factor for the fault. Does any one know about the oil pressure switch?

yeah, if the oil switch is faulty it will cut things off. if it cant detect oil pressure it will shut you down.

I am having the same problem with my 2001 s-10 it just cut off while driving down the road. The fuel pump is working and it has spark. A new alternator and still wont start. Any suggestions of what could be the problem

I am thinking either oil pressure switch or inerta switch (Fuel shut off for accidents) might be faulty. Or something stupid like a wire shorting out.

I am having the same problem with my 2001 s-10 it just cut off while driving down the road. The fuel pump is working and it has spark. A new alternator and still wont start. Any suggestions of what could be the problem

Check your fuel pressure. Just because you hear the pump doesn't mean it's good. Could also be the crank sensor.