96 pontiac sunfire engine just stopped at stop light then turned over on restart

[chris_friday]

I just bought a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire Convertible with 31k miles on it. I just bought this car. The prior owner did not drive the car that often, hence the low miles.

Recently, i was at a stop light and the car just froze/stalled. i restarted the car and the engine turned...but boy, i am concerned. does anyone know what is going on here? Thanks.

[lksbarb]

Next time it happens, watch for the gage needles on the dash - if they start flickering - it could be the PCM module. This is a recall for the '96. Mine was replaced before purchasing it, however after several trips to the dealer, multiple times the car died while driving, a 3rd party mechanic explained what the problem was. Replaced the module and have had no problems since.

[dizel326]

my car did the same thing computer was to blame

[matt09524]

Do you have a high power sound system? I had something similar happen to me once. Playing my sound real loud one time, turned on the heater, turned on the window defogger and at the next big bass hit, it shut down... and restarted fine. I replaced the battery with a gel cell, added an extra ground line to the batter to increase current and put a cap inline with the amp to help reduce spikes to the battery.