Shut off while driving, volts light came on, will not start

1111JEWELZ

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA
3.1L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
2,000,000 MILES

My husband and I were driving on the freeway, the other night, when the car totally shut down and the red volts light on the dash lit up. We were unable to get the vehicle started again. We had it towed home. Now we are unsure what needs to be fixed. We had a friend look at it and were told it was most likely the fuel pump. I don't understand why the volts light would come on if that is the problem. Please help explain.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,741 POSTS

That warning light means the charging system has stopped recharging the battery and supplying the electrical system. You have the chain of events wrong. Once the engine stalled, the generator stopped working, so the warning is supposed to turn on. If the interior and head lights work and the starter cranks the engine normally, it's the failure-to-run problem that needs to be diagnosed.

It is true that unlike on some other car brands, the most common fuel pump failure on GM vehicles is they stop running or they slow down while you're driving. Listen for the hum of the pump for one second when you turn on the ignition switch. If you do hear it, the better place to start is by having the diagnostic fault codes read and recorded. You can go here:

https://www.2carpros.com/trouble_codes/obd2/p0400

to see the definitions, or I can interpret them for you. If you do not hear the fuel pump, check the fuel pressure to verify the pump wasn't running, but also be sure to check for spark. Another common problem on all car brands will cause the loss of spark, fuel pump, and injector pulses, resulting in a crank/no-start.