97 Lesabre stalls while driving

my 97 Lesabre stalled on me twice while driving yesterday. Funny because the tempurture outside was around 60 degrees. The Last time she stalled on me was also on a warm day. After I let her cool down she started right back up. This morning she started fine also. Copuld it be a sensor or ECM not acting right this only happens in warm weather. 97 Buick Lesabre 3.8 liter Custom

You will need to check for spark and injector pulse when the no start condition occurs, several issues could cause this.

after thinking about it this happens every time i switch from one gas station to another. Would this cause something like stalling to happen? I bought some fuel injector cleaner and it has not stalled since.

Rarely would that be an issue, especially if it will not start for some period of time after the stall.

You will need to check for spark and injector pulse when the no start condition occurs, several issues could cause this.

ok, that I got. But when I take it to a repair shop, it starts up and they say there is nothing wrong with it. Would the on board computer yield a problem number so we can get this fixed instead of continuing to be stranded.

Fuel pump, Ignition Control Module, Crank Sensor & even corroded battery cables can all cause that problem. As Max said you need to narrow this down to a fuel or ignition problem. Checking for spark or fuel pressure while it's not starting will help us to help you.

A fuel pressure gauge costs about $40 & is easy to check.

Crank sensor is probably the #1 cause of your problem & some have carried a squirt bottle of water to cool the sensor down after it stalls. If the car restarts immediatlely after squirting the sensor then you know it's bad.

:grinyes: I should have looked at the name before I posted. :screwy:

Let me know what the mechanic finds.

i'd say maf sensor or fuel pump wearing out..you need to see what pressure the pump is running at.

> Fm Max Wedge <

> check for spark and injector pulse when the no start condition occurs <


Would that then suggest a failing crank sensor ??

I believe that 'without a pulse' signal, the sensor is out.

:grinyes: I should have looked at the name before I posted. :screwy:

Let me know what the mechanic finds.

Mickey.....got the car back from the shop yesterday afternoon. Car started rightup for them after sitting for a few days. My machanic told me he did the fuel pressure test. Fuel pressure stayed at 42psi . Ran it for 30 mins. car did not stall on them. ( ofcourse ). I ask them to pull out the crack sensor and test it. They said it was fine. He did not charge me for that, cool of him.

This morning i went to the store and back no problem about 4 miles all together , no stall. The last few times it stalled it the weather was hot like today. I read a few posts on here and some people were carrying water squit bottles in the car so when the crank sensor fails during hot weather, they would squit some water on the sensor to cool it down. I am doing that also. just in case.
now i am thinking either the fuel pump quits when its hot, fuel filter, PCM, ESC or MAF sensor.
To my knowledge, those are the main reasons these Buicks stall while driving.
If you can think of anything else let me know.
Dave

yes your on what go's on with buicks you left one thing out tps.but that shoudn't make it stall it might high idle and low idle but not stall....
good luck......

Dave - I'll be gone most of this weekend, if it's still giving you trouble we can get together next week.

Just in case it's still giving you trouble & you want to work on it. The first couple things to check are the battery cable connections & driver's side ground buss. Checking both is good preventive maintenance anyway.

Dave - I'll be gone most of this weekend, if it's still giving you trouble we can get together next week.

Just in case it's still giving you trouble & you want to work on it. The first couple things to check are the battery cable connections & driver's side ground buss. Checking both is good preventive maintenance anyway.

I checked the battery cables and ground bus over the weekend. Cables to battery look like they have been replaced, look brand new. Positive was a little loose some I tightened that up.
Ground bus look perfect also
Going to replace fuel filter with a better one today. The one that on now is a cheap one from auto zone so I got an upgrade fron NAPA that cost a little more but the guy behind the counter says it has a better filter than the one I have on there now.
Going by process by elimination on this car. If this fails to work ill take it back to the shop where I had the fuel pump replaced. I should do it anyway cause they didnt do it right the first time, my fuel gauge hasnt worked since the fuel pump was installed. I took it the way it was because it was winter. Still under 1yr coverage on the fuel pump

I checked the battery cables and ground bus over the weekend. Cables to battery look like they have been replaced, look brand new. Positive was a little loose some I tightened that up.
Ground bus look perfect also
Going to replace fuel filter with a better one today. The one that on now is a cheap one from auto zone so I got an upgrade fron NAPA that cost a little more but the guy behind the counter says it has a better filter than the one I have on there now.
Going by process by elimination on this car. If this fails to work ill take it back to the shop where I had the fuel pump replaced. I should do it anyway cause they didnt do it right the first time, my fuel gauge hasnt worked since the fuel pump was installed. I took it the way it was because it was winter. Still under 1yr coverage on the fuel pump
Update
I changed the fuel filter last week Tuesday. I have had no problems since. The one that was on the car was really clogged up. I could tell just by the stuff that was coming out of it when i took it off. Ill give it some more time to see if that was really the problem or not.
Ill update this if anything else happens

Well it was sure hot today, glad to hear your not having any more trouble.

Well it was sure hot today, glad to hear your not having any more trouble.

I spoke too soon, She stalled on me yesterday but she started right back up back up. Went about 2 blocks she stalled again. Pulled over , waited about 5 mins. popped the hood sprayed some cool water on the crack sensor. , started right up. Then i drove it home parked it in the garage to cool it down. This morning she started right up.

My problem is the crank sensor. The sensor doesnt cost all that much. Problem is getting to it. I plan on changing it myself. Is there anything or should i say is there any special tools i might need to change it out? Thanks

update
My lesabre stalled on me again last week
So far i have replaced fuel pump(last Nov)....
fuel filter last month
spark plugs and wires (they were way over due for change).. today
Found out i got ripped off from one repair shop, never did replace ICM like they said. I am going to have a serious talk with them when they open up next week, might be drama :cwm27:
This time I took it to the a Buick dealership, had it hooked up and they found no codes (ofcourse) They told me my spark plugs were real bad . So since they needed to go so I did the da-m thing. After test drive they said the car ran much better. I ask then was the crank sensor was bad. They took it out and tested it. ( I saw the test) It was good to my surprise. Told them the car tends to stall more when the weather is really hot. Like temps in the 90's. They told me that I might have got a bad fuel pump or it it failing early. Or it may have been installed incorrectly.
over 300 bucks for all of this which did not surprise me. But at least i know its not the crank sensor. they pressure tested the fuel system for leaks also. That was good also.
Now if it stalls again, and i bet it will when it gets hot again here, i am leaning the ICM or the coils. That i think i can change out myself. or it doesnt look like a hard job.
any more thoughts please reply.

I can't believe they didn't just replace the crank sensor while it was out. :screwy:
I just got a great deal on 4 junkyard ignition modules with coils. I'll let you have one for $20.00. If it doesn't help you can keep it for a spare or return it & I'll refund the $20. We can also check fuel pressure & replace the crank sensor if the ignition module doesn't help.

I can't believe they didn't just replace the crank sensor while it was out. :screwy:
I just got a great deal on 4 junkyard ignition modules with coils. I'll let you have one for $20.00. If it doesn't help you can keep it for a spare or return it & I'll refund the $20. We can also check fuel pressure & replace the crank sensor if the ignition module doesn't help.
Yea i am interested in the coils and the igntion module. Just in case. How can i contact you.?
Dave

I sent you a private message with my phone number.

Mike

FWIW!

I just had a stalling problem with suspicion that the EGR was either stuck open or had dirt in the valve seat area. Replaced the EGR and so far OK. It would seem a good possible cause of the engine quitting at idle!

Regards,
Jack C.

i had the spark plugs and wires replaced last week. So far so good, ill post again if it stalls on me again. But she ran good for last five days, have my fingers crossed.
BTW...every shop i took it to said it was getting bad spark so hopefully the full tuneup was the fix

i had the spark plugs and wires replaced last week. So far so good, ill post again if it stalls on me again. But she ran good for last five days, have my fingers crossed.
BTW...every shop i took it to said it was getting bad spark so hopefully the full tuneup was the fix
Last night she cut off on me come home from work after standing at a stop light
Usually my Buick doesnt start right back up after stalling but this time it did and I was able to get back home.
This morning I started it up, ran it for about 10 mins, no problem but I did notice a couple of things......
1. the engine did not sound good while i was reviving the engine up. seemed like it has a bad piston or something
2. The exhast was really hot, could not hold my hand back there for very long.
If anybody could guess what might cause these 2 thing please reply.