'99 Intrigue: a couple problems...

[Saydee]

My wife has a '99 Intrigue. Two problems with this car, otherwise it is a GREAT car. By the way - I'm long winded.

The first problem is rather frightening. The car will seemingly at random shut off. It happens when the car is warm or cold. It also will happen, and has happened, at any speed, which is really scary. Try passing a rig on the highway in the left lane with a line of cars behind you then suddenly the car is *OFF*, steering is manual and no power, just coasting, wife next to you, 1 year old in the car seat in back. I took it to a mechanic who specializes in electrical problems, they were not able to retrieve any codes. So they traced through wires and looked for bad grounds. They couldn't find anything and I asked them to go through it a second time, which they did, plus drive the car, which, of course, the problem never occurred. It happens probably once a week, and when it does happen it seems to be in groups of 3's. Meaning it doesn't just happen once, it'll happen usually around three times in a short amount of time (say 5 minutes).

When we try to start the car the ignition doesn't always work. And that is the second problem. Maybe it's related??? Anyways turn the key in the ignition and nothing. No lights, no clicks, nada. Repeat turning over and over again and still nothing. Try tapping the brake, moving the steering column, shaking the transmission shifter, still nothing. Just keep turning the key, then *voom* it starts. This problem happens rather often (30%-50% of the time).

Has anyone seen this before? Any ideas on what may be wrong?

My guess is possibly the crankshaft position sensor for the start up problem, but why would turning the key over and over then it suddenly starts??? Or a defective ignition switch, but would a failure in that switch shut the entire car off?

Thanks.

[maxwedge]

For safety's sake I would replace the ignition switch or at least check the circuits in and out of it when the no start occurs, do the lites and horn work when this no crank happens, is the security lite on? Regarding the stall, how does it restart.

[Saydee]

Is replacing the ignition switch something a guy with some mechanical abilites, the Olds Intrigue Chilton book, and a basic craftsman toolbox with "144 pieces" can fix? Or is this something that requires the "GM Ignition Switch Removal Tool" or whatever? My local repair shop said it's 2 hours of labor to replace it, and if I can do it myself that $170 in labor savings can buy quite a few gallons of $3/gal. gas!

[riverview]

Had the same problems (s).

First time is the crank position sensor --- check engin warning light on and the error code can be downloaded.

No warning light on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th ..... time. Suspected it was ignition switch. Taking it out took patience and needed a small hand and long finger to move things around in a narrow space. The ingnition switch copper contacts were misaligned and the contact area was so small that there was carbon built up. Cleaned it with a razor blade and bended it to make the contact area larger. No problem ever since.

[hazmat2]

Exact same problem. Was cutting driving down the street and had no power to ignition. First time it was Crankshaft positioning sensor. Kept doing it later, check engine came on every now and then, of course not when I would take it to the dealer. They finally found a service bulletin about an aftermarket alarm the the dealer installed. At first they insisted i installed it, which is b/s cause I bought the car brand new. Anyway, the dealer alarm unit, with toggle switch and unit under the dash near the steering column, was shorting out and causing the entire electrical system to cut out. They removed it and no problems after that.

[panzer dragoon]

get that ignition switch replaced. Alldatadiy.com has good diagrams for this ($25 a yr).

Yes, a bad ignition switch can turn off the car. It's just like turning it off or pulling out the key. Sometimes it does alot more funky things. Seems to be alot of problems with the Intrigue ignition switches.

For the part check out rockauto or gmpartsdirect.

[Saydee]

I got the ignition switch replaced. I took it to a shop as I was nervous about messing something up with the airbag. It's been a couple weeks and so far the car has started everytime and hasn't stalled. I won't say it's "cured" until a month has gone by without issue.

[Saydee]

Well it's been a month since we had the ignition switch replaced and my wife says that it has started every single time with the first turn of the key, and it has not stalled. I guess we can draw some conclusions

[boobylortez]

I've just started to get that problem with my '02 gx stalling while going down the road. I had a guy scan it at an auto parts store and he got that 335 code about the "Crankshaft position sensor circuit malfunction." When the car has stalled I've been able to start it alright but the car has begun to take slightly longer to start. I'm having the CKPS replaced, but should I have the ignition looked at also?

[panzer dragoon]

no for you just replacing the CKP sensor should do it. You have the CKP codes. = The sensor is getting bad and will only get worse. If it stalls next time restart it in neutral with the car moving.

[boobylortez]

Well, it looks like I'm going to find out if a bad fuel filter is the problem. The shop I took the car to could never get the CKP sensor code to come up, so I'm not getting the sensor replaced this time. But from your description of the car stalling a quarter warm and since I've gotten the code once, I'm pretty sure the sensor is the culprit. I'll let you know how it goes.

[boobylortez]

Well, the car might have needed a new water pump and maybe a fuel filter, but the thing still stalls. And when it doesn't stall it just overall runs funky. I took over to Advance to have it scanned and the CKP sensor code came back up, so a new CKP sensor is going in soon. Hopefully that solves it.
I don't mean to sound like it's a bad car. Despite this problem, I've been very impressed with it. It's an '02, and I bought it in June with 93000 miles for $5,700. (A steal in my book) I just hope the 3.5 can survive for another 80-100,000 miles. I sure can't afford a $6,000 replacement engine right now.