Car stalls while driving down the road?

Tiny
SHICKS
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 OLDSMOBILE CIERA
  • 85,000 MILES
My 96 Ciera
While driving the car died. The spark plugs have been replaced and sensor. However, the car shakes really bad and backfires. The next step is to replace the mass air flow sensor.
PLEASE ADVISE! On what I should do
Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 6:39 PM

51 Replies

Tiny
MADMIKE1735
  • MECHANIC
  • 951 POSTS
I would ohm test the injectors..... they break down with age.... each injector should be around 14ohms.... anything less than 10 ohms should be replaced.... check this with a multimeter.... when you replaced the plugs, are you sure you havnt crossed any spark plug wires??? did it run ok before you changed anything? i only suggest testing injectors due to lack of info, and they commonly fail... also, do you smell unburnt fuel from your exhaust? if so, you may have an injector stuck open.... what size engine? im guessing a 3.3l... we need any extra information to further help you with this. Try going over this guide as well

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-stalls

Please run down this guide and report back.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 6:57 PM
Tiny
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The car died before anything was changed. Yes I have smelt gas a few times.
The Prior to the car breaking down it was choking. The engine is a 3.1. The spark plugs and a sensor was just done. Now it starts and its shaking and backfiring.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 7:23 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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What sensor do you keep referring to? If you smell fuel, its a possibility 1- an injector is stuck open, or 2- your losing spark to that cylinder. If you shut the car off. Let it sit for a little while, does it take a while to crank? If so, im going with stuck open injector, and the long crank is due to loss of fuel pressure due to the open injector.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 7:45 PM
Tiny
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I had it wrong. It was the coil associated wl the spark plug (there are three and one was replaced).
Per your last post could that be the reason behind the car breaking down?
I will have those injector checked.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 8:09 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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Each coil fires 2 cylinders. A bad coil could certainly cause your symptoms. Pull a spark plug wire off the coils, one at a time. Check for a healthy spark. (Do this with a pair of pliers, and wear a pair of heavy leather gloves) you will want to see a nice snapping blue/orange spark that can jump about an inch from the coil to the wire you pulled. You also want to see if the engine starts idling rough when you pulled a wire. If there is no change in idle, then that is mostlikely what cylinder your problem lies in.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 8:15 PM
Tiny
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Ok I will have that done within the next few days. Should I still have the ohm tested?
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 8:22 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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I would. They are known to break down, and it only takes about 10 minutes to ohm test all 6.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 8:33 PM
Tiny
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Okay, I will keep you posted. Thank you so much. Hopefully, once all that is done everything is ok.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 9:46 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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How did you make out with this problem?
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Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 AT 5:03 PM
Tiny
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Not to good. New spark plugs, spark plug wiring, new coil piece. Car still backfiring really bad, also the oil light is now on and the car doesn't stay on.
He thinks it may be the oil pump.
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Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 AT 5:14 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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Has he checked for oil pressure? The oil light may be comming on because the rpms are low, due to the not running right issue. Does the check engine light come on? An oil pump shouldnt cause it to backfire. Are you certain the spark plug wires are in the correct firing order? It sounds to me like they are not, or the engine may have jumped time.
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Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 AT 7:18 PM
Tiny
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Not too sure if he did that. I'm truly considering having it towed somewhere. It's just so hard to trust anyone. He said when he hooked the car to the device that reads the code. It keeps saying misfire.
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Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 AT 7:42 PM
Tiny
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Before all this the service engine light was on
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Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 AT 7:44 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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Do you remember the codes?
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Wednesday, October 16th, 2013 AT 2:31 PM
Tiny
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Hi. Unfortunately I do not. Let me start at the beginning. 1)The service engine light was on. 2)The car had that choking effect to it. It still drove but you could feel the hesitation. 3) I had it checked. He said quite a few codes came up. One being the mass air flow sensor. When he would disconnect it the car sound smoth. When he would reconnect it. That choking sound came back. 4) He said the was still drivable, so after a week I drove it and it broke down on me w/ no warning. All the lights flashed allowing me enough time to pull off the rode. After that it would not start. I had to get it towed. 5). To speed up he had me new spark plugs, fhe wiring and a coil. The car now starts but it still backfires and choking.
I just found out that he did not replace the air flow sensor yet. And now the oil light is on and he says I probably need an oil pump.
I am at my wits end.I do not have money for experimenting.
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Wednesday, October 16th, 2013 AT 4:00 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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Sounds like the MAF sensor is def. Bad. As far as the oil pump being bad, unless he checked oil pressure, there is no way to say for sure. This new info would have been a bit more helpful from the start.
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Thursday, October 17th, 2013 AT 3:49 PM
Tiny
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Hi. Yes and you are correct. Which is why I shared everything. This is my first time doing sonething like this. Never in my wildest dreams did I think there would be someone nice as you educating me. I will definitely have that MF sensor replaced. Ince that is done I do not know what direction to go in
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Thursday, October 17th, 2013 AT 4:22 PM
Tiny
MADMIKE1735
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Thank you for the compliment! As far as the mass air flow goes, once you replace it, you will notice a difference in driveability. For the better. This is a very important sensor for your engine. As far as the oil pump goes, it is possible its bad. Have the pressure checked to verify. If he is going of what the oil sender is reading, its possible its inaccurate. Pumps rarely go bad, but it happens. Keep me updated.
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Friday, October 18th, 2013 AT 4:37 PM
Tiny
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Hi. This is Stacy w/ the Oldsmobile. Well I finally got the car to the shop. The mechanic said the car needs an engine. The cost would be $1,800. Undecided on what to do.
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Wednesday, November 6th, 2013 AT 1:32 PM
Tiny
STONEYST1
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  • 2 POSTS
  • 1996 OLDSMOBILE CIERA
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 90,000 MILES
For a week the engine would run for 30 min and then quit. It would restart right away. Now it starts and quits. I have replaced iac, crank sensor, computer, coil packs and module, now i'm lost. It seems to have prewssure in the fuel line at the schrader valve. I'm wondering if the fuel pump relay or ignition switch could be the problem.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 10:22 AM (Merged)

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