Car just dies losses power

[helicopter23]

97 grand prix gt 145k.... This never happened before tonight and the funny thing was I just got gas like 5 miles earlier.... Basically I was driving like 50mph and my car randomly lost all power including steering wheel locked like I lost power sterring. Only lights I seen come on quickly was the battery light and the oil light. THis happened one more time and I then made it home 3 miles down the road. Also note that the car made no noises when I tried starting it up again, it started up smooth.

[Tech II]

Could be any number of things........you had a stall, and you lost all power....

Maybe a code set that might help in diagnosis.....

Could be a crank sensor......

Could be a fuel pump......

MAF.....

IAC.......

PCM......

bad harness/connection/ground.....

[helicopter23]

Originally Posted by Tech II

Could be any number of things........you had a stall, and you lost all power....

Maybe a code set that might help in diagnosis.....

Could be a crank sensor......

Could be a fuel pump......

MAF.....

IAC.......

PCM......

bad harness/connection/ground.....

Ok I will take it to my guy tommorrow and have him start with battery and connection terminals... The last couple of weeks especially with the cold weather the car almost didn't start, so I will start with the 5 year old battery.

[helicopter23]

Well took my car to my mechanic today and he looked over it for 10 minutes for now and couldn't find a problem. He tested battery and wiggled certain connections and found nothing. For now Im thinking I got bad gas since my car only loss power 2 times 5 mins after I got the gas. He told me to get the Lucas fuel additive. If it loses power again hes gonna go over it.

[helicopter23]

Update:

Drove car into town and no problems. Got car up to 75 and it was fine. Car acted like it was 100% normal.... Would the car just lose all power if I had bad gas or would it sputter ??

[helicopter23]

Well it's been about 35 days since and car hasn't done above again! (knock on wood)

[helicopter23]

Lost power again. The Oil pressure warning came on just as it did last time, also pretty sure I still had electrical. Car started right up again like last time......... So is the oil pressure light the problem here ??

[Tech II]

No, the oil pressure light is not the problem.....it is coming on because the engine stalled...... when it stalls and the key is in the on position, the oil pressure drops, this makes the contacts to the oil pressure switch to close(this happens below 4 psi), turning the light on.....

This is a tough one to diagnose, because it is so infrequent.....all a tech can do is check for PCM, BCM, and communication codes, to get a clue as to what might be happening.....also as has been previously done, is to move wire harnesses and tug on all the harness connectors to try to recreate the problem......fact that it restarts right away, makes it harder to diagnose.....

[helicopter23]

Originally Posted by Tech II

No, the oil pressure light is not the problem.....it is coming on because the engine stalled...... when it stalls and the key is in the on position, the oil pressure drops, this makes the contacts to the oil pressure switch to close(this happens below 4 psi), turning the light on.....

This is a tough one to diagnose, because it is so infrequent.....all a tech can do is check for PCM, BCM, and communication codes, to get a clue as to what might be happening.....also as has been previously done, is to move wire harnesses and tug on all the harness connectors to try to recreate the problem......fact that it restarts right away, makes it harder to diagnose.....

Ok I will start with him trying to get a code from my car..... Yeah he already tried on tugging on the harness, etc.....

[helicopter23]

Took it to my mechanic and he said a couple of the ground wiring looked bad or something so he cleaned or fixed problem. Now hopefully car won't just lose power again.... Will keep posted

[helicopter23]

Yup mechanic said battery connectors were very loose and he cleaned them too.

[helicopter23]

Damn Car lost power again at a blinking red light and started up 10 secs later...... It seems to be doing it when the car is about to stop or just after stopping always going slow (under 30). Any suggestions again ???

[Tech II]

With the car at normal operating temp, tap the MAF to see if it stumbles....

Pull IAC and see if pintle is crudded up.......clean if necessary.....clean edges of throttle plate and bore......

Checked for ALL codes?

[helicopter23]

Originally Posted by Tech II

With the car at normal operating temp, tap the MAF to see if it stumbles....

Pull IAC and see if pintle is crudded up.......clean if necessary.....clean edges of throttle plate and bore......

Checked for ALL codes?

Damn Tech II your only like 400 miles from me if u live in worchester, can I drop my car off and I will go gamble somewhere for a few days ??? Just Kidding


No really though the guy that has been looking at my car for a few years now is basically like theres no more that he can do because its random and intermittent...Its funny u said pull the iac because when car is warmed up and sitting the rpm's dip to .4 and it use to stay higher when idleing warm around 1.0. Car almost has stalled as of late because idle rpm's got low and like I prev stated car loses power when going slowing and/ or when not accelatering/coasting at low speeds... F I will try to check out the IAC tommorrow.

[Tech II]

When they closed the GM school here in Massachusetts, I had to go to Tarrytown, NY for school....what a pain in the ass drive.....one day classes sucked.....if it was a multi-day school, I stayed overnight there.....several times, Rt. 95 came to a complete stop going home....

There is a special tool to check the IAC.....it can manually command the pintle in and out.....should move smoothly in both directions....also check the harness to the IAC.....make sure those female connectors in the harness are tight.....

I would definitely clean that throttle plate and it's mating bore......easiest way is to remove the throttle body(you will need a new throttle body gasket)...just relieve system pressure by removing the radiator cap....you will lose a little coolant when removing the throttle body....

Now you can easily clean the plate and bore, and also blow out the passageway for the IAC....clean the mating surface of the IAC passageway....

One way to check IAC operation....at idle, turn AC on, and rpm's should increase.....or turn the steering wheel briefly all the way left or right, and again the rpm's should increase....

It was always tough, working on vehicles, that were intermittent like yours.....about all you could do as a tech, if you could not recreate the problem, was try every known solution, and check all possibilities, while you had it in your bay, and hope for the best.....