Car stalls sporadically

Tiny
JIMCAT1215
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 CADILLAC DEVILLE
  • 4.8L
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 86,000 MILES
Fuel lines a few months old, fuel pump works fine, not purge valve or solenoid canister. Fuel injectors are clean and working fine. Alternator is fine. The car just stalls sporadically and after it cuts off it restarts again and is fine until it happens again. My mechanic at a loss as well as no codes come up on the computer and it otherwise drives perfectly. I'm thinking possibly the computer itself is faulty or that a ground wire is bad. I'm at my wit's end and and am eager for guidance. Which grounds should be checked first? If the computer is bad would there not be a code that would show up on scanner? Opinions? Thank you fellas.
Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 3:56 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Is there any time that this typically happens? Coming to a stop or sitting still? Or driving down the road?

Here is a guide that covers the common things that cause this. Let's review this and tell me if there is anything that has not be covered and we can go from there.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-stalls
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Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 4:23 PM
Tiny
JIMCAT1215
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  • 4 POSTS
Today it happened twice once while coasting and once as I pulled away from a stop sign. No check engine light at all prior or since. Once I restart it is fine until it happens again.
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Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 4:34 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,002 POSTS
Does it seem to sputter as it stops like it was low on fuel or is it just shutting off, like you were turning off the switch? You say it restarts okay, does it need to crank longer than normal? Does it seem to matter what the fuel level is?
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Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 7:54 PM
Tiny
JIMCAT1215
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  • 4 POSTS
Fuel level irrelevant it has happened at all different levels. It doesn't sputter at all my man, it just shuts off. It starts up usually on 3rd try. First 2 attempts it wants to kick over but doesn't do so.
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Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 8:43 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,002 POSTS
Okay, so it takes 3 tries turning it over to start. Try this if you can get it to shut down. Turn the key on, but not to start, just to on. Do that two or three times. Now try to start it. If it now starts up the issue is likely a bad oil pressure switch or intermittent connection to it. The reason I say that is that the system on that car works a bit different than modern cars. The pump relay on it only works to prime the fuel system, then shuts off. You crank the engine over and it primes the system, the engine starts, the oil pressure triggers the switch which then powers the pump on. A quick way to verify that as being the problem is to try the key test to start it, then find the red fuel pump prime connector under the hood. Now use a 20 amp fused jumper lead to jump power from a keyed battery feed like fuse 6 to that fuel pump prime circuit. That will bypass the relay and the oil pressure switch. If the car now runs fine the pressure switch or the connector on it is likely the problem. This is a common thing on them as the pump power goes through that switch and they have a bad habit of leaking inside the switch. It was one of the reasons why the later vehicles used a different safety system to shut off the fuel in an accident. The idea behind that switch was if the engine was shut off or if it lost oil pressure like the car flipped over, it shut off the fuel pump.
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Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 9:17 PM
Tiny
JIMCAT1215
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Thank you. When it happens again I will try that and let you know what happens. I appreciate it.
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Friday, September 25th, 2020 AT 9:28 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,002 POSTS
Please let us know what happens.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 7:02 AM

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