93 Lumina APV 3.1 Stalling Problem

[SlamminMOfo]

My Girlfriend has a 93 Lumina APV and it randomly stalls when she is coming to a stop sign or stop light. The car will restart but as soon as she puts it in drive, it stalls again untill it cools down. It sounds like a thermostat/overheating problem but has anybody else experienced this and what did you do to correct it? She's too paranoid to drive the van now when it does that with the the kids in the van.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

[droptop94]

take the car to auto zone and let them hook it up to a codes reader. it will proubly be the aic. had the same problem on a 92. replaced the aic and it works fine now. aic stands for air ideal control. if i remember right it was about $20 to $35 held in by 2 screws.

[SlamminMOfo]

Well, I took the Van to autozone last night.... the guy must have been cranky as he told me, "Sorry, if the check engine light is not one, we will not even look at it".... a little later I questioned again and he said "What year is it... we can only check 96 and up"... I'm thinking about contact autozone customer serrvice to see if in fact this was legitimate information that he gave me. His boyfriend prolly held out on him the previous night.. who knows....

[droptop94]

I had a 92 Chevy Lumina checked their.well ask them if they have a codes reader for rent. they some times rent them. you get all your money back when you return the tool. if not see if they have one for sale that will fit the van. I think the one I bought was about $40. try talking to some one different at auto zone. some of the people are just learning. and some really know their stuff.
how is the temp gage? or does it have the dummy light?
if you do get a codes reader. plug it in. you should get code 12 three times.this lets you know the computer is talking. then it will flash the other codes three times each.

[SlamminMOfo]

I tool the car out today and its still stalling.. I changed thrmostat, wires, plugs...

I used a paperclip to get the codes after it stalled... all 12's

If I remember correctly, the car did this about 2 years ago and I changed the thrmal sensor switch and I believe that corrected the problem. I am going to change that tomorrow (again) and see what happens.

Does anybody else have input on this??

It stalled after getting well heated up... I let it sit for a while anddid some shopping and went back and it ran fine all the way home.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously but when it stalls, it starts right back up with no problem but as soon as you put it in gear, it conks out.

[droptop94]

my girl friends 92 Lumina was doing that and I replaced the (aic) air intake control this fixed it.
it would run fine most of the time but like you said it would die when wormed some times and would start right back up.
it should be on top of the engine couple of screws not to bad to change.
when you read the code after it flashed 12 three times did you leave it hooked up to see if any more codes came up?
first time I ever did that I seen 12 three times so I unhooked it thinking their were no codes.
then a friend of mine did it and it read 12 three times then the other codes came up three times each before it went back to code 12 and started over.
seams I unhooked it to soon.

[SlamminMOfo]

Thanks drop top... do you have a link so that I can see exactly where that particualr part is located?? And what is the avg cost of that part??

I just went out now to check the codes again... all 12's

[droptop94]

well usually the aic will show a code but I think I would replace it anyway
if that does not fix it clean it up really good put it back in the box and tell them I never installed it.
sorry I do not have a link to show you where it is.
it should be right around or on the carburetor or throttle body.
should be two screws and one electrical connection.
go get a new one first so you will know exactly what it looks like.
if I remember right it was under 35 or 40 dollars varies per vehicle.
important!!!!!! when you pull out the old one compare the new one with it and make sure they are the same length.
if not push or pull the new one till its the same length as the old one.
the couple I have replaced on different cars were all ready set where they needed to be when I bought them.
they are pretty easy to change some of them use a star screw so you may need to pick up some bits if you don't already have some.
some use small bolts.
I do not remember what was on her car

[SlamminMOfo]

OK.. I just may do that... (get one and use it for a day or so) andif it doesnt work, take it back (in new condition). Would the AIC allow the motor to get really hot if it was shot??

Like I said... It will start back up but as soon as I put it in drive or reverse, it stalls until I let it cool down

[droptop94]

well her car did over heat a couple times but I can not honestly say that it was because of the aic.
it would not over heat every time.
as you probably know cars are funny and with out a code its kind of like hit and miss. finding a needle in a hay stack.
are you losing any coolant?
you can rent a coolant pressure tester from auto zone.
check the pressure on the system
. this should tell you if you have a bad head gasket.
all so if the radiator cap is bad the system will not act right.
I'm just trying to through some more ideas out their.
also the newer vehicles have a bleeder screw for the coolant system. let me know if you need more info on that
and of course make sure you do not mix green and orange antifreeze.
also make sure you have a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water.

[SlamminMOfo]

I'm gonna try the new radiator cap today... the one on it looks kinds old and beat.

There is no bleer point for the coolant.. I will let it run for a while with the cap off to allow escess air to escape.

If this doesnt work, I'll try the aic and o2 sensor.

[droptop94]

it will not hurt to replace the o2 sensor may even improve gas milage but I do not think that is the problem.
my girl friends car had a code for the aic and the o2 sensor.
I replaced the aic and bought a o2 sensor but have not had time to replace the o2.
the aic fixed her problem.
the o2 deals with the exhaust gases and the aic deals with the air idle control.
if you do decide to replace the o2 get a o2 socket. it will make your job a lot easier.

[SlamminMOfo]

Ya... I believe Autozone has the O2 socket as a 'loaner'.

[SlamminMOfo]

Well, I removed the TCC wire on the Tranny and so far so good... didnt test it enough to givre a 100% yet but I think it normally wouldve stalled based on the amount of driving I did today.

[danielthechskid]

I don't know why every body was saying IAC when as soon as I read that it stalled when put into gear I knew instantly that the Torque converter clutch solenoid was sticking