2002 SLT startup and power loss

[Hoppy1974]

HI

Purchased a 2002 Envoy SLT last August. Great car, perfect for what I need and really enjoy driving it.

However, 2 problems have occured that I can't figure out and I am reluctant to take it to my local dealer where the average IQ is 6! Another story, but i'll politely descsribe them as useless.

1. On start up when she has been stood over night, the revs run higher than normal, but then drop off as choke switches off, however, when I pull away the car drives as though its in low box, making a lot of revs and going nowhere fast. I have to stop wait a minute or so, restart and its usually fine. This is an inconsistant occurrence, but annoying nevertheless. (It also seems to be consistent with large temperature changes too thinking about it 74f in DC yesterday to 45f today!)

2. Complete loss of power. For no apparent reason it completely shut down, no engine, no electronics, dead basically. Thankfull we were stationary when this happened, but could it be linked to the erratic starting?

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated so I can point a technician in the right direction when I take it in.

Thanks, Hoppy

[maxwedge]

Welcome to AF, these type of symptoms can be a complex diagnosis, a full scan is step one, a road test by a tech to try and see what's what is step 2, be sure to accurately describe the symptoms.

[mdchilders]

Does an 02 envoy have a choke? just curious..

[BRD]

It doesn't have a choke (it's fuel injected, mixture controlled by a computer). Your symptoms read like it could be the dreaded OEM fan clutch. I'd urge you to use the search feature and scroll thru the threads here and on the Chevy TB board, see if some of those reported problems aren't very similar to yours. The OEM f/c's were apparently became prone to shorting in the electronics where it connects to the vehicle's electrical system, resulting in disengagement malfunctions and sometimes shutting down the PCM (the computer than runs the engine). Early '05 GM came out with an updated f/c, new part # 152xxxxx, along with a PCM re-flash. Good luck.