1995 LeSabre Custom Unpredictably Shuts Off While Driving

[suaveben86]

My 1995 LeSabre Custom just started suddenly shutting off/instantaneously losing power (all panel lights coming on) while driving. It fires right back up every time after pulling off and putting it in park. The "Check Engine" light has been consistently on. About the only thing predictable about the shutting down is that it will continue happening (about seven times in a 6 mile drive back from the mechanic). Needless to say this is more dangerous than it is frustrating.

The car has been driven less and less over the last six months and has stood for extended periods of time (3-4 weeks). The mechanic friend I took it too said this (1995) is a strange year as far as diagnostic tools go, essentially saying that one needs a specific GM diagnostic tool to tap into the computer. He was not able to get a read, and I don't want to be charged $100 an hour for a 2-3 hour diagnosis before we even get at the problem; it's not worth it for me at this point. Any ideas would be appreciated or if anyone's experienced such a problem to leave a comment.

Additional notes: Car engine idle, despite being very smooth and consistant sounds rough, like an ascending/receding metallic grumbling. When punching the gas, the response seems less than thrilling but there's not a gap or dead spot in the fuel delivery. Car fires up with no hesitation everytime. When there's 1/8 or less of a tank sometimes it has not started up until at least 1-2 gallons of gas were added. 122,000 miles, not much internal maintenance over the last five years other than changing oil and coolant.

Thanks in advance!

ERik

[Loekee75]

Welcome to the forums! In case you don't know, you can take your vehicle to most auto parts stores (Advanced, O'Reilly auto and AutoZone) and get the ECM scanned free of charge. Take your car in and make sure to jot down whatever trouble codes you may get, and then post them on here. We'll do what we can to give you some pointers to get your LeSabre up and going again.

[suaveben86]

Thanks, I'll look into an ECM scan. I was just confused because the mechanic couldn't tap into this specific model (1995). He says it was a transitional year for the technology and GM specific diagnostic tools were required. I'll be making some calls, and thanks for your response!

[HotZ28]

If you call around to some shops, ask them if they have a SnapOn MT2400 with GM key #7 or, Matco Tools CP-9150, or Actron CP-9150. These are some of the more common scanners used for the 94-95 OBD 1.5 PCM/ECM.

[suaveben86]

Thanks for the specifics, very helpful arsenal for when I conduct my search. I'll keep ya updated.

[Little Nicky]

I had a similar problem with my '95 Custom. It turned out it was the Crank Angle Sensor. I think it was fairly inexpensive to fix if I remember correctly.