96 Grand Am GT 4cyl Stalling
firebird8
02-13-2008, 04:56 PM
Hello,
I am at a loss what to do with my car. It is a 96 Pontiac Grand Am GT, 4 cylinder engine, manual transmission. I have only had it since November 2007, and it had 118,000 miles on it when I bought it (I have put 6,500 on it since). I do drive a lot, and I live in Missouri so it is cold and wet but not much ice or snow and "cold" means 30-40 most of the time.
Shortly after I bought the car, it began stalling frequently, up to 1 time per day. Most of the time it would stall while I was slowing down, when I had it neutral and/or had my foot on the clutch. However, one time it memorably stalled on the highway going downhill at 70 miles per hour! That only happened once and, unusually, it started right back up when I turned the key.
Normally, though it stalls when I am stopping to park or at a light, or while going moderate speeds down a street (30-40 miles per hour). It does not make any noises or funny smells to warn me it is going to stall. Pushing the gas does not seem to help. When it first began doing this I had to turn the key off, set the brake, take the key out of the ignition, and then start it back up just like normal. I had the car 'tuned up' by my mechanic which helped for about a week, and it started doing it again.
At this point however it now will usually not start up again right away. Also, it has started just refusing to start sometimes after sitting for some time. Invariably, if I go away and let it sit for a while, it will start again when I get back. The shortest time I have left it sit was 23 minutes, just today. I tried 10 minutes sitting in the car, and it didn't help, but getting out and walking away for over 20 minutes, then it did start and drive home.
The mechanic looked at codes and saw where it says 'failed ignition' many times but he says there are no codes whatsoever about why it is doing this. He even showed me on his computer screen where it said that because I was doubting what he was saying. He told me how to check if it was the theftlock system and that didn't work. The only thing that seems to work is getting out and leaving it to sit. I have tried jumping it too, but that doesn't help. When it won't start, it will make a 'chugging' noise - like the sound it makes just before starting on a normal start. But it just keeps going on. Giving it gas or pumping gas before starting doesn't help.
There is no rhyme or reason to when it stalls or won't start. Cold or warm engine, cold or warm outside, day or night - sometimes more than once a day, most recently not for a week and a half - nothing makes any sense to me about it. Can anyone help? The mechanic says he could start fixing things and guess what might be wrong with it and risk fixing things that aren't broke. Anyone have a better idea?
Thanks,
Firebird
I am at a loss what to do with my car. It is a 96 Pontiac Grand Am GT, 4 cylinder engine, manual transmission. I have only had it since November 2007, and it had 118,000 miles on it when I bought it (I have put 6,500 on it since). I do drive a lot, and I live in Missouri so it is cold and wet but not much ice or snow and "cold" means 30-40 most of the time.
Shortly after I bought the car, it began stalling frequently, up to 1 time per day. Most of the time it would stall while I was slowing down, when I had it neutral and/or had my foot on the clutch. However, one time it memorably stalled on the highway going downhill at 70 miles per hour! That only happened once and, unusually, it started right back up when I turned the key.
Normally, though it stalls when I am stopping to park or at a light, or while going moderate speeds down a street (30-40 miles per hour). It does not make any noises or funny smells to warn me it is going to stall. Pushing the gas does not seem to help. When it first began doing this I had to turn the key off, set the brake, take the key out of the ignition, and then start it back up just like normal. I had the car 'tuned up' by my mechanic which helped for about a week, and it started doing it again.
At this point however it now will usually not start up again right away. Also, it has started just refusing to start sometimes after sitting for some time. Invariably, if I go away and let it sit for a while, it will start again when I get back. The shortest time I have left it sit was 23 minutes, just today. I tried 10 minutes sitting in the car, and it didn't help, but getting out and walking away for over 20 minutes, then it did start and drive home.
The mechanic looked at codes and saw where it says 'failed ignition' many times but he says there are no codes whatsoever about why it is doing this. He even showed me on his computer screen where it said that because I was doubting what he was saying. He told me how to check if it was the theftlock system and that didn't work. The only thing that seems to work is getting out and leaving it to sit. I have tried jumping it too, but that doesn't help. When it won't start, it will make a 'chugging' noise - like the sound it makes just before starting on a normal start. But it just keeps going on. Giving it gas or pumping gas before starting doesn't help.
There is no rhyme or reason to when it stalls or won't start. Cold or warm engine, cold or warm outside, day or night - sometimes more than once a day, most recently not for a week and a half - nothing makes any sense to me about it. Can anyone help? The mechanic says he could start fixing things and guess what might be wrong with it and risk fixing things that aren't broke. Anyone have a better idea?
Thanks,
Firebird
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