Engine stall

Tiny
BRYAN23111
  • MEMBER
  • CHEVROLET SILVERADO
2002 HD 4x4 8.1 Allison with ~77,000 miles on it. Within the past 3 weeks my engine has stalled and then restarted by itself (once at a light I had to put it in park and re-start it).
I have noted that the first two times were in the same location, coming up to speed (~60 mph) merging on to highway. Engine stalled, battery light came on. Dash lights did not flicker they stayed illuminated. After ~3 seconds the engine came back to life and off I went. The next time was on a back country road, ~35 mph slighlty bumpy road. Same symptoms. 4th time was at a stop light, idling fine and the the light went green, stepped on the gas and it died! Threw it in park and started right up with no hesitations. Getting worried that something is about to give out and leave me stranded!
One note, the DIC just turned on to change the oil (after the third event, for the first 2 events the light was not on). Soon after the oil change light came on, another message com on telling me to check the oil level. So I am thinking that maybe I have a smart truck and it will shut the engine down when there is a loss of adequate oil pressure / volume. So I added oil to the appropriate level and it happened again this morning. Same back roads around 35 - 40 mph.
Not sure if I need an code scanner to see if there are any fault codes or not. But each time the engine shuts down while showing the battery toruble light and all interior / dash lights remain on with no flickering.

Any ideas or checks I can do without buying a code scanner? Or paying the dealer?
Saturday, April 14th, 2007 AT 10:26 AM

4 Replies

Tiny
LEDFTCHVY
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  • 4 POSTS
Hey Bryan,
Just a thought, I had a '96 GMC K1500 that was doing this, so this is only from my own personal experience with a similar issue :) . What it turned out to be, with my truck, was a loose battery cable. Maybe start there, if you haven't already?
Good luck. Hope it turns out to be an easy fix!

LedFt
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Monday, April 16th, 2007 AT 2:08 AM
Tiny
CVETTE69
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I have a 2002 2500 HD with a 8.1L and I am having a very similar issue. No matter the RPM the engine just dies and comes back to life. It has come to the point where I now at times can not restart. I keep turning the key off all the way and then try to restart and it eventually will start and I can travel for a bit and then the stall happens again. I have checked my battery connections and they are tight. I have checked my main ground and it is very tight. I used a code scanner and it stated a MAF sensor however changing the sensor has not resolved the issue. The chiltons book suggest a vacum leak but I cannot fine one. I have cleared the codes and after many stalls the system is not generating codes for review. If I find the issue I will let you know and I hope you will do the same. Frustrated.
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Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 AT 3:53 PM
Tiny
BRYAN23111
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Ok, so its been a few weeks and I can comfortably say that the problem was fixed and has not reared its ugly head in the past 4 weeks!
It finally got so bad that I had a check engine light come on and stay on! That meant that I had a code to work off of.
Before the check engine light was not on so I had nothing to point me in a direction.
Come to find out it was the crankshaft position sensor! After a few days of headaches with NAPA I finally paid the additional $40 bucks ($106 total) and got it from the dealer. Took longer to figure out where it was than it did to replace. The Haynes manual says on the V8 engines its located behind the starter. Its not on an 8.1! It was on the driver side up above the exhaust half way between the top and bottom of the engine where the tranny mates up.
I finally got the 1 little bolt out and had a heck of a time pulling this thing out. I knew it was approx 8" long so I had to really work it back and forth to get it all the way out. NOTE the manual states that if you install the new one it has to be approx.050" or you could get more position sensor errors and the truck wouldn't run. I crossed my fingers and went for it! Runs perfect! No problems since.
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Wednesday, July 4th, 2007 AT 5:48 AM
Tiny
CVETTE69
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Your reply reads identical of my situation from the incorrect NAPA sensor to going to the dealer. I also went to the starter first and thought it suspecious that there were no wires leading to the rear of the starter. I'm glad I didnt take it off. The good part is that I put my new CPS in last night and the truck is running great. Lets hope it lasts.
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Thursday, July 12th, 2007 AT 8:20 AM

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