Last night my engine died suddenly. That's never happened before. Afterwards it ran like crap and I almost had to have it towed.

I was leaving a parking lot that had a steep (downward) driveway. At the bottom of the driveway I hit the brakes a little hard. The engine stumbled and died. Got it started again. I think it died again before I pulled out.

I was a little low on gas, but I probably still had an 1/8 of a tank. I figured with the incline and inertia of stopping hard, I might have made the fuel slosh away from the pump. Drove a 1/4 mile or so to a gas station, running fine. The engine died again in the gas station parking lot.

Filled it up w/ gas. Started it up, put it in gear, engine died. Did it again. About that time the check engine light came on. Also noticed it was smoking from the tailpipe quite a bit (which has happened before; I'm about to replace the crankcase vent box).

Engine was not overheating. Checked under the hood for anything obvious.... didn't see any loose vacuum lines or electrical connectors.

I called for a tow. I tried it again after about a 20-minute wait, and it started and ran smoothly. Still a little smoke, engine light still on. Drove it around in the parking lot a bit, and it seemed OK, so I drove it home.

I'm going to have the codes read later today. Any ideas on what might have caused this?

 

How many miles on the car?
Has the fuel pump or fuel pump relay ever been replaced?

 

97,000 miles. I've owned it since about 85K.

As far as I know, the fuel pump and relay have not been replaced.

 

could be defective fuel level sensor-you think there is gas, but there is nothing, Did the needle move up after you filled it up?

 

Pull the codes First then take it from there.

 

Yeah, the gas gauge needle went to full.

It's still running like crap. I barely made it back and forth to Autozone to have the codes read yesterday. The scanner indicated the following:

MAF or VAF (the guy at Autozone said these are the same thing; I'd never heard it called VAF before)
Ignition system
Cylinder 5 misfire

So that narrows it down a LITTLE..... I'd say that it at least means the low fuel thing was a red herring.

If possible, I'd like to test stuff before throwing parts at it. My Chilton's manual has instructions for testing the MAF, but it refers you to the wiring schematic to figure out which wire does what. Unfortunately, the schematic does not include this info. Does anyone know which wires are which on the MAF?

I pulled the dist. cap, and it's probably time for a new cap and rotor, so that could be part of it. Also, I bought some new plugs but haven't installed them yet.

Any thoughts?

 

Unplug the Mass Flow and start the car and see if it runs better. If it does the Mass Flow is bad.

Also look at the ignition wires if they are OEM they will have a date stamped on them. If they are over 5 years old I would replace them as well.

Starting the car with the Mass Flow unplugged will set a code though.

 

OK, I'll try that.

The check engine light is already on, so if it sets a code, that's fine.

And I'm pretty sure the wires are original, so I'll probably replace them too.

 

I tried this and it made no apparent difference. Is it still possible that the MAF is bad?

I also replaced the plugs, cap, rotor, and wires. No difference.

It will start but it runs rough and won't idle.

 

Did you clear the codes after you changed the parts? What are the current codes?

 

No, I just put it back together and started it. Can you clear the codes without a scanner?

Prior to replacing the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor, the codes were:

MAF
Ignition system
Cylinder 5 misfire

 

Usually if the mass flow is bad it will idle good.
Have the codes cleared and see if it helps.

 

You can clear and read codes if car is 1995 or prior.

 

It's a 1996.

Can you clear the codes using a scanner, or do you have to have some other special tool?

It's running bad enough that I would have to tow it somewhere. For what that would cost, I'd rather throw a little more money at it and have a scanner to show for it.

 

Most scanners will allow you to clear codes, but I'm sure a blue light special exists that won't clear them so just check before you toss some money out.

 

OK, I bought a scanner and did the following:

1. Checked codes, which were still the same as what it read at Autozone (MAF high, ignition sys., cyl 5 misfire)
2. Erased codes.
3. Started engine. Idle was somewhat rough and the engine died after about 2 minutes.
4. Unplugged MAF and started. Idle was better, but the engine stumbled hard when I tapped on the gas. Engine died when I put it in gear.
5. Read codes again - MAF low (due, presumably, to the sensor being unplugged).

Think it's time to spring for a new MAF?

 

With MAF unplugged, you will definately get a code. Plug MAF back in, clear computer, and drive around to see which code(s) comes back.

If it is indeed the MAF, you have nothing to lose by trying to clean it.

 

I did take the MAF out to try and clean it, and there was no dirt to be removed. It was clean as a whistle.

I ordered a new MAF from O'reilly's. I'll try it tonight and post results.

 

Well, put in the new MAF, and, bada bing.... it's fixed.

Of course, the battery may be taking a dump on me now because I had to jump it this morning. Oh well, we'll see....

Thanks for the help!

Brian