Hello all,

I have a van with 129000 miles, its been running weird, it will stall while driving ,loss of all power, then it will just start back up and drive normally.

If it did stall and not start up, I will have to put it in neutral and crank it, usually it will start first try but, I would have a serious decrease in power. If I hit the accelerator the car will bog down and buck (thinking catalytic converter). I will have to turn the car off completely to fix that issue.

Now the major issue (to me at least), with all the issues above, now when it stalls, I can not get it to start with out smashing the gas pedal to the floor then, when I do get it started it runs like crap and black soot comes from the tail pipe, (excess fuel I'm thinking). It also happens when I start the car. Every time.

Now the question, I know its gas or the wrong fuel mixtures, but what causes this and what can I do fix the issue of black soot, Fuel pump? Catalytic converter? O2 Sensors? Throw the car away?

Any answers greatly appreciated.

 

Sounds like good places to start would be air filter, oxygen sensor(s) and MAP/MAF sensor.

Any check engine light or codes?

 

Hello, and yes. The Engine light only comes on when the car is running, but not in the "ON' position. I will check the sensors as well. It does seem like a sensor issue. I will let you know.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this. The CEL always comes on when you first start the engine and turns off after a few seconds as a bulb check. Usually it also stays on if the key is in the "on" position but the engine is not running. But if the CEL is on steady while the engine is running then you have a fault code stored in the system. If that is the case and if it is safe to do so take the car to your nearest major chain auto parts store and have them read the code. This should be done before replacing any parts.

 

When the van is running and driving the CEL is on, always on, when the car is in the on position but not running, the light goes off. I have taken the van to advance auto parts, and they can not read any codes because the CEL will not come on. Their scanner only works when the car is not running but in the ON position. Next topic.

I failed to mention that the temp gauge had stopped working as well. When the temp gauge stopped working, the van also started to act up. i.e spitting soot from tail pipe, and rough start. Today before work I checked the air filter, which was good, and the van still ran like crap all the way to work. Leaving work on the other hand was a completely different story. It started just fine, no soot from tail pipe and the temp gauge is working again? Note, it did rain today. Not sure if the rain had anything to do with it, but still.

Why would the temp gauge not work, making the van run like garbage? I did change the temp sensor and thermostat, before making this post, neither had any effect.

 

The PCM uses the engine coolant temperature to determine when it should go into closed loop mode. So if your ECT sensor was bad it would cause driveability issues but I don't think it would cause what you are describing. Also how do you know the temp gauge is broken and the car isn't overheating? Does the needle stick on one side or the other?

Without a code it's hard to tell where your problem is so it might be time to throw parts at it starting with oxygen sensor(s).

 

Yes it was stuck in the cold setting, all the way down on the left. It would not budge no matter what. Then one evening, it started working again like nothing was wrong with it.

I still have stalling issues though, again I think maybe the o2 sensors, but not sure. They are kinda pricey. So I am going to have to hold out for a couple more days before I buy them.

The van starts and runs, but sometimes it will stall while driving (or sitting in park), just shut off completely, sometimes it will start back up, sometimes it will not start and I will have to manually turn the key to start it. Kinda weird really.

 

Well back to the drawing board. Before I could get the o2 sensors in, the van just shutdown and will not start. I have power to everything except the temp gauge again, and the starter.

When I turn the key, it does nothing. I hear clicking from the fuses, but nothing from the starter. I have lights, radio, gas gauge, but nothing from the pump or starter.

Kind of at an impasse here, I know nothing of electrical which is what this boils down too.

Any help would be great.