1994 regal 3.8 problems starting and stalling

[richerd76]

My regal clicks once when I try to start it. The battery gauge reads about 10 volts during this process. If I keep trying the car will eventually start, but the once running it will randomly shut off. I commute about 1.5 hours one way and it seems like the stalling goes away after about 30-45 mins in. I also noticed that the battery gauge will sometimes read 10-11 volts and then some times the gauge will read 13-13.5 volts. These problems all started right after I ran the car out of gas, mabye related, mabye not. The car has 220,000 kms on it and it hasn't gave me any trouble. I welcome any comments or questions that could help me on my quest.

[GTP Dad]

Welcome to AF!!

The first thing to do is to check the wiring to the battery and the grounds. Start at the battery and clean the terminals. This sounds like you have an intemittant contact somewhere and you will need to track it down. The fact that it charges sometimes and not at other times indicates a wiring issue. It is possible that this is also causing the stalling problem. If you ignition loses power from the battery it will shut the car off usually due to voltage to the fuel pump dropping out. Give it a try and let us know what happens.

[richerd76]

by checking the grounds you mean chassis grounds or the ground cable from the battery, probably both i guess...do you know how many possible ground connections there are? locations? is there certain circuits that I should be concentrating on?

[GTP Dad]

The main ground connects to the engine and would be the first place to start. I don't know exactly how many grounds your car actually has but this is the most important one. I suspect either the grounding point is rusted or the wire itself is bad. The other issue is the connections to the battery. They too can get corroded and cause issues. They are easy to clean. Try these and if it doesn't help post again and we'll see what we can do to help you out.

[richerd76]

I replaced the starter, and discovered that the terminal was loose....(the nut on the inside). The car seems to start fine now but it still shuts off randomly. could it be the fuel filter perhaps?

[stripe]

Originally Posted by richerd76

I replaced the starter, and discovered that the terminal was loose....(the nut on the inside). The car seems to start fine now but it still shuts off randomly. could it be the fuel filter perhaps?

when it shuts off. Do you mean all power? or just stall?

Cheers
Stripe

[richerd76]

it just stalls, and then i can restart it; every time

[stripe]

Originally Posted by richerd76

it just stalls, and then i can restart it; every time

are all your wires good as well as the plugs?(do you have to use a bit more gas etcetra)

Cheers
Stripe

[richerd76]

actually late last night I discovered that i have a small gas leak. it was discovered when I went to change the fuel filter. so,i will fix the leak and then try it again.thanks

[richerd76]

changed the filter and fixed the leak and the car is still stalling intermittently.

[GTP Dad]

Change the Crank Position Sensor, this is a common issue and can cause intermittant stalling.

[richerd76]

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

Change the Crank Position Sensor, this is a common issue and can cause intermittant stalling.

where would I locate that on my car? I had another friend tell me that it could be a faulty starter relay, that looses contact randomly, is this possible.

[richerd76]

thank you for all your help, I replaced the crankshaft sensor and it hasn't stalled since.