Engine shuts off while driving

Tiny
ERIK LUKEHART
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 193,000 MILES
I have a 1996 chev suburban 1500 4x4 v-8 and I am in Mexico on a long trip. While driving on the freeway the engine stopped running and my check engine came on. I pulled over and turned the key and it started right up. I drove it to a mechanic and he told me that I had a loss of current and replaced my distributor cap and rotor. The truck ran fine for 200 to 300 miles and it happened again. This time I replaced the coil wire and it ran for 500 miles or so before it happened again. I am now in Guatemala and am afraid to go any further. Do you have any suggestions?
Saturday, February 26th, 2011 AT 2:01 AM

9 Replies

Tiny
FIXITMR
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,990 POSTS
So no way top get the codes read?
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Saturday, February 26th, 2011 AT 2:49 AM
Tiny
RAYMOND
  • MEMBER
  • 33 POSTS
I WOULD SUSPECT IGNITION MODULE ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIAL. WITHOUT DTCS IT'S HARD TO DIAGNOSE WITHOUT SEEING THE TRUCK BUT IF IT WERE MY MOM OUT ON THE ROAD I'D TRY THE MODULE NEXT.
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Saturday, February 26th, 2011 AT 3:13 AM
Tiny
ERIK LUKEHART
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
No I do not have access to a code reader in this town. There is rumored to be one in the next town over. I attempted to drive over today with limited success. I found there is a man with such a machine but he wont be back in town until Monday. However while driving the 5 miles the truck was really having a hard time running especially in gear and under load. It would stop running and occasionally back fire. Also the tachometer drops to 0 and then back to normal when I am driving and the engine dies. Shifting to neutral or park seemed to help it keep running. Is it going to damage the engine to try again on Monday? Any other symptoms to look for or look out for? Temp, oil pressure, and alt gauges all look normal.
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Saturday, February 26th, 2011 AT 8:20 PM
Tiny
FIXITMR
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,990 POSTS
Own a laptop? There are some units that hook to a laptop for cheap I saw on amazon. You on a 'mission/job' or is this vacation time?
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Saturday, February 26th, 2011 AT 10:20 PM
Tiny
ERIK LUKEHART
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Yes I do own a lap top. I will look for the unit on amazon. I think my biggest obstacle is going to be delivery. I have been staying in a small village in the north of Guatemala and hope to figure out what is going wrong based on the symptoms and find a used part or if it is something simple, fix it my self. I am driving back to the states(with a little luck) next month. I am on a mission a "mission to get home". The suburban is in great shape and this is the first thing to go wrong besides a few flat tires and broken exhaust pipe, which was welded back together here in Guatemala. Any suggestions where to start? What to check first? I have tools and a lot of drive.
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Saturday, February 26th, 2011 AT 11:58 PM
Tiny
FIXITMR
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,990 POSTS
I dont mean to sound smarty but if it starts right back up 'everytime' and goes a couple hundred miles or more? I mean the things you replaced didn't actually fix it, just your confidence was restored?
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Sunday, February 27th, 2011 AT 7:17 AM
Tiny
FIXITMR
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Oops! Forgot that you said it's not currently running right! Can you test fuel pressure? Most common cause of highway stalls are the cam and crank sensors. You have Di ignition so your cam sensor is the hall effect system in the distributor. With that mileage a lot of components could be up for replacement. Coil, igntion module, TPS, crank sensor, cam sensor, even the computer is suspect on high mileage GM stuff!
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Sunday, February 27th, 2011 AT 7:36 AM
Tiny
ERIK LUKEHART
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
It does start up every time. It only goes for a short while, 1 or 2 miles now, before acting up.(Tachometer dropping to 0 then back to normal RPM, back fire, rough idol, stall) Fuel pressure seems to be fine sense it starts and idols in park without any problems. It seems only to act up when I am driving. You mentioned the TPS, what is this? Also, is DI ignition direct ignition?
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Sunday, February 27th, 2011 AT 1:07 PM
Tiny
FIXITMR
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,990 POSTS
DI is distributor ignition. If you got that then you prob dont have crank sensor. TPS is throttle poition sensor. You didn't actually provide any info on your v8. CI, igniton system, etc. So i'm just going by typical. But the good news is the problem is getting worse. A complete faiure would pin it down?
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Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 AT 4:32 AM

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