Help! Car up and died

[flashlight]

Help! My car up and died when I was coming home from work. It was going along fine and then I just lost all power. No matter how hard I stepped on the gas my car wouldn't go it just lost the will to continue. I had to replace the battery earlier so that is new only about a week old or so. Is there something I can check or that I need to replace. I have a 94 geo metro 3 cyc manual with about 169021 miles on it. Is it common for cars of this age to have this problem?

[91Caprice9c1]

The most likely cause is a broken timing belt.
Here's what you do:
a) Remove the distributor cap [(2x)8mm hex bolts] and;
b) have an assistance crank the engine.

A dist. rotor that does not turn = broken timing belt.

-MechanicMatt

[flashlight]

It's not a broken timing belt because then the car wouldn't go anywhere. I took the alternator into schuck's and they said everything was fine but that I should check the voltage regulator which sometimes gives a faulty connection. Depending on if you have the Japanese or Canadian model the price is different but it's still cheaper to go and get a whole new alternator then it is for the regulator. It's a difference of about $250.

[91Caprice9c1]

Originally Posted by flashlight

It's not a broken timing belt because then the car wouldn't go anywhere.

Oh. Okay.

-MechanicMatt

[RossT]

From your description, I too would have said timing belt. "Car Died"?

Ok, so the car starts and runs fine but just doesn't go when you put the gas down?



If this is the case, you should check fuel pressure. It could be week. After that the TPS and MAP should be looked at. Make sure all of your vacuum hoses are attached as per the underhood sticker. Try putting into reverse or 1st gear, does it go then?

If the car won't start, go back and check the timing belt first berfore you do anything else. Is the check engine light on?

Give us a more detailed description and we will figure it out.

Also note that mr. 91carprice has a fleet of 22 metros. He is very good at finding problems and fixing them.

[flashlight]

Yeah, I'm up and running again. All I had to do was replace the alternator.

[GM Line Rat]

Originally Posted by flashlight

I took the alternator into schuck's and they said everything was fine but that I should check the voltage regulator which sometimes gives a faulty connection.

Originally Posted by flashlight

Yeah, I'm up and running again. All I had to do was replace the alternator.

So, your old battery (That you replaced) was probably still good, but the car wouldn't start. So you replaced the Battery, Instead of having the auto store "Load Test" the battery 1ST to see if it was bad.......Correct? Then someone at Schucks tested your Alternator and said it passed......Only to find out that you had a Bad alternator anyways?........Schucks (Or the individual that did the test)........OFF the autostore list! If you bought the new battery from Schucks (Or wherever you bought it), they should have suggested you load test the old one anyways 1st, because you turn it in as a core battery if it IS bad. This whole senario is called "Throwing parts at the car until you find out the real problem.......An expensive way to fix a car!

[frets14]

Just in case the problem persists... I once had a similar situation where I too went through battery replacement and alternator replacement and still drained my electrical power from my car. It turned out to be a burned connection at the battery power supply fuse located in the main fuse block directly behind the battery. The charging voltage is supplied from the alternator, through this fuse and into the battery. I came across a second Metro with this same problem a couple years later and was able to quickly repair it and resell it for a substantial profit. I figure it must be a common problem. Hope that is useful for you.