1996 Buick Regal ENGINE SHUTS DOWN AT IDLE BUT RESTARTS AND

DRRAPPOLD

MEMBER
1996 BUICK REGAL
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
110,999 MILES

Engine shuts down at idle speed when driving. I restart
and it runs fine for a couple of weeks. Taken to mechanic within 3 days of event and nothing is found,
computer code shows no problem. All dash warning
lights always show normal operation. This problem has
happened about 5 times in the past 8 months.

In the past year, I've noticed that my gas mileage
has decreased some what and that the car does not idle
smoothly when cold. This car has a tachometer and on
some occasions when I put the car in neutral or park,
The tach. Will move between 750 rpm and 1100 rpm
back and forth for about 5 seconds until it settles at
750rpm. I am not sure what the problem is and
the mechanics don"t know either.
The engine is tuned once a year and all services are
performed every year.

Since I have health problems and don't drive that
much, I need the car to run when I need it. And
since this problem has been going on for over a
year I would like to get it fixed so that I feel
safe driving it

1 Reply

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

Check the ect(engine coolan temp) sensor, it acts like the choke on EFI engines. Use a ohmmeter, cold it should have a high reading, 100,000 or more, hot it should be 177 ohms at operating temp, also clean the throttlebody with tbi cleaner. And check for vacuum leaks. You may have a vacuum leak, get a can of spray gumout, spray the vac lines and maniflod area, when the idle changes, youve found the leak! You want the engine running and spray on the outside but do direct the stream onto the hoses, if it is a vacuum leak, the engine idle will change speed, then you have detected a leak, repair the vacuum leak and see how it runs! If that doesnt do it, you may need a new idle air control valve, it's bolted to the throttlebody