2003 Pontiac Grand Am 4 cyl Auto Engine Dies on Road

Tiny
PETER903
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 113,000 MILES
In past, engine died in the front of traffic lights 2-5 times yearly, could immediately be restarted. This year it died also on road suddenly, usually afer 30 miles of driving, need to wait around 2 min for restaring, everything looks ok after restarting. Code checked and nothing wrong. Fuel pump replaced at 80000 miles. Coolant flushed at 85000 and performance improved. New battery.
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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 AT 1:12 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,395 POSTS
Coolant flush should have nothing to do with performance. But, if it helped, it helped. Sounds like your problem is two fold. 1- The most common cause for stalling at a light in a GM product is the "idle speed control" ISC. They usually just need to be removed and cleaned. A regular can of spray carb cleaner will usually do the trick.
2- Stalling going down the road could be several things. Clogged fuel filter, ignition module, fuel pump are possible causes.
When was your last tune up?
Do you have, or have you had, a check engine light? If yes, we would need to know the stored codes and their descriptions. Please advise.
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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 AT 6:59 PM
Tiny
PETER903
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  • 3 POSTS
Thanks for your help.

No tune up was served yet. I noticed two lights, battery and service soon, were on when stalling occurred. I read the code two years ago when fuel pump was down and nothing wrong. I'll read it again and let you know.

It looks the stalling has its pattern: after long way driving and when the fuel level is low (no sure for this). Does it mean the fuel pump stops due to overheat?

PS: Since no lights is on during run, there will be no code. Therefore I'll not read the code again.
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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 AT 8:20 AM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,395 POSTS
Fords are prone to fuel pump overheat if the fuel level gets low but not GMs. Going back to the ISC unit. They can be carboned up at the pintel valve where thay enter the intake manifold. The valve actuator works normally so the ECM thinks the valve is working so it doesn't set a code. You may want topull this unit out and have a look see. Another possibility is the EGR valve hanging open. Both of these can cause stalling at low speeds and on decceleration.
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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 AT 7:25 PM
Tiny
PETER903
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What's EGR valve? Where is it? Thanks.
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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 AT 7:39 PM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,395 POSTS
The EGR valve ( exhaust gas recirculation ) valve is located on the intake manifold. It is usually attached to the exhaust system with a heavy metal tube.
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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 AT 10:00 PM

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