Car finally left me stranded

[Mr Paul]

I was driving around the city last night and after 181,000 miles my car has finally left me stranded. I was going about 20 mph with almost no load on the engine and there was a big stutter or hiccup. It almost felt like the car died while moving and then quickly refired. 20 seconds later it did it again. And then it would do it every few seconds until I pulled over and shut it down. Every stutter was accompanied by a very fast 500 rpm drop of the tachometer, a very fast flash of the battery light and then right back to normal for a few seconds. When I pulled over it idled for a few seconds and died. When it is running between stutters it runs and feels perfectly normal. Also this is not just a single misfire, it is much more pronounced then that. The car really bucks hard when it happens.

Any thoughts on what is going on? Currently the car is parked on the side of the road in a safe place, but I have family visiting this weekend so I don't have any real time to dig into anything else. Anybody experience these symptoms before?

Thanks.

[az3579]

You haven't yet replaced your fuel pump, have you? If not, it's probably due.

[san]

You haven't yet replaced your fuel pump, have you? If not, it's probably due.

+1
Could be a clogged fuel filter too I think... if the pump and filter haven't been replaced yet, it's a good time to replace both irrespective of which one caused the issue now...


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[danewilson77]

You haven't yet replaced your fuel pump, have you? If not, it's probably due.
This is what popped in my head.

MWL come on?

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[KTS317]

Battery light has me thinking its either battery or alternator related


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[danewilson77]

Battery light has me thinking its either battery or alternator related


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Perhaps. Belts all look good?

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[az3579]

Battery light has me thinking its either battery or alternator related


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It only came on for a brief moment. It seems unlikely it's battery related. The car did stall - the battery light comes on at that time.

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[Mr Paul]

It's on the original pump.


You haven't yet replaced your fuel pump, have you? If not, it's probably due.

[Mr Paul]

No MWL. Not yet anyway.

[Mr Paul]

Haven't seen the car since I left it on the side of the road on Thursday. Will go back today and do a little investigating.


Perhaps. Belts all look good?

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[holyc0w]

It's on the original pump.

Good chance that might be the problem

[Mr Paul]

Went back to the car and it started up and ran fine so I was able to get it home. So the problem is intermittent. I'm going to buy a new pump and filter.


Good chance that might be the problem

[dpark]

The behavior you mentioned is what happened to me as well. Dying fuel pump.

[Mr Paul]

I replaced the battery (it was 7 years old) and the fuel pump. Now on the way to work after driving for about 30 minutes it did it again. Here is a video when I am idling. I have my foot on the gas just enough to keep it from dying at every sputter. Still no check engine light. See video below.

https://youtu.be/ZtO22eHSpm0


The behavior you mentioned is what happened to me as well. Dying fuel pump.




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[Mr Paul]

Will investigate the fuel pump relay tonight.



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[KTS317]

Alternator


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[anandoc]

OP, did you replace the fuel filter as well? That is also a PM item if it has never been changed.

[Mr Paul]

I ordered the filter and will change it this weekend.



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[san]

Just to make sure it's not the alternator, could you check the battery voltage? Since its brand new it shouldn't drop... just in case you didn't know, you can check the battery voltage on the console, by following a sequence of steps which I don't remember but you can find it easily if you google it...


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[Mr Paul]

Yeah I did that 3 years ago when my alternator died. I can check it again to rule that out.


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[KTS317]

You can check if you are getting fuel by pressing the pin in the fuel rail valve. Maybe after it dies, hop out, remove the cap, press the pin and see if it squirts. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170125/3787e4230dab62ac7ed33bdd4b64dde4.jpg


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[ELCID86]

You can check if you are getting fuel by pressing the pin in the fuel rail valve. Maybe after it dies, hop out, remove the cap, press the pin and see if it squirts. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170125/3787e4230dab62ac7ed33bdd4b64dde4.jpg


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Yikes. Didn't know that did that!

[Pilot05]

Any update?


I ordered the filter and will change it this weekend.


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[Mr Paul]

Any update?

It was the MAF. And then the crank sensor died too. Replaced both and it was good to go.


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[holyc0w]

Thanks for the update. At least you won't have to think about the fuel pump for a long while.

[ELCID86]

It was the MAF. And then the crank sensor died too. Replaced both and it was good to go.


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So the MAF just died?

[johnrando]

Weird, but good it's done

[Pilot05]

May I ask how you diagnosed it? Were there any codes?



It was the MAF. And then the crank sensor died too. Replaced both and it was good to go.


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[az3579]

So the MAF just died?

The car will still run with a failed MAF.
The failed crank sensor is what was causing his problem.

[ELCID86]

The car will still run with a failed MAF.
The failed crank sensor is what was causing his problem.

That makes more sense and why I asked.