96 taurus shut off while driving

[pitdog_619]

While driving my car, I began to lose power while going up a hill. Soon after the car made a beeping sound, shut off and began smoking. I got off the highway and let the car sit. After an hour I started up the car and everything went fine for about 2 minutes then the same thing happened as before: lost power, car made a beeping sound and just shut off (none of the warning lights came on when car shut off). The lights and radio work but when I try to crank the engine nothing happens. Starter just clicks. The car has also been vibrating when idle. Is my car dead?

[shorod]

What did the temperature gauge read when this happened? Was the "smoke" coming from under the hood or from the exhaust? Were the cooling fans behind the radiator running?

Did the vibrations while idling start before or after the car started acting up? Did you check for vacuum leaks? When was the last time a tune up was performed on the car?

-Rod

[pitdog_619]

smoke came from under the hood. Tune up was last year march. The idle problem was before the car started acting up. have not checked for leaks yet.

[shorod]

I'd suggest you start by investigating the vacuum hoses for leaks. Maybe you have a misfire which is causing your rough idle and, ultimately, causing some extreme exhaust heat from the misfire. You may also want to swing by a local chain auto parts store and have the car scanned for diagnotic codes. Most auto parts stores will scan the OBD-II system at no charge. Since the car beeped before stalling, the PCM may have stored a diagnostic code.

If you do find it has a code, post the full code number on the forum.

-Rod