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Mystery engine cutting off while driving

R

rugergp100

Full Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
12
Location
Atlanta, GA
I own a 2005 AV.  Bought it as a Chevy Certified pre-owned in 2008.  Few months into ownership the engine would just cut off while at a traffic light.  This being after having driven it for about 20 minutes in traffic on the highway.  Did it twice over two weeks time.  Brought to dealership (they had it for 3 weeks!) and the problem never appeared again.  That was until last month.

 December 23, drove from work to mall for last minute shopping (about 12 miles, 10 being on interstate) and the AV started acting weird.  Looked at gauges and noticed the battery was going down.  Was able to turn into parking lot when the power steering just went out and the engine cut off.  When to start it back up, no problem.  Didn't last long though.  Was able to get it in a parking spot and it died again.  Checked all obvious things (battery is only 1 year old, checked cables etc...) nothing was wrong.  Did shopping and back out within a half hour.  Started up and went the two miles home without a problem again.  So here it is... a month later and it did it again yesterday!  Same situation.  Drove 10 miles on interstate at about 70 mph.  Get off exit, go to gas station.  As pulling in battery level drops, power steering gone, engine dies.  Only difference after restating and keeping it running is that on the two mile drive home the batter level was much higher then should be.

 Took it to dealership today.  Ran everything looking for a code, checked battery, alter. all the obvious things and nothing showed up.  Said everything is fine.  They tried, at least they didn't charge me for anything since they didn't find anything wrong.  Could only suggest that problem could be ignition switch.  Also the cylinder where the key goes in is a little loose and want to replace that as well.  Of course Dealership wants $600 to do this work and 4 hours of time.  But even the tech wasn't convinced that this would solve the problem of the engine just cutting off.  Any suggestions?  Has this ever happened to anyone else out there?  Are we missing something?  Please I'm at wit's end here!   :E:
 
Good Morning,
I had the same issue on my 2002 2500. I had either the crank or cam sensor replaced and that resolved the issue. I don't know if this is what is going on with yours, especially if you have a 1500, but it worked for me. On the 8.1L, the sensor is at the rear of the engine.

There should be numerous threads on this site about it.
Durwin
 
My AV is a 5.3L with the 4x4 package.  I have a call into Customer Service at GM directly.  If that goes no where I am going to talk with the area rep at their office.  I strongly feel that this is a safety issue and for them only to be able to give me an expensive "if" and "could be the problem" fix.  Not good enough for a loyal Chevy owner.

Also, another thought, have spoken with several other owners and mechanics and they mentioned about the instrument cluster panel.  With those going out, without warning, that could be a solution also.  However, again we are at an expensive fix on a "could be, maybe".  Hopefully, will get some other answers that will be grounded on fact.
 
I'm thinking your alternator is bad. Yes the cluster will start flashing if the power is low. On a computer controlled car when the power drops low all sorts of things happen
 
x2 on the alt being the culprit.
some of our trucks not all have a very sensitive computer and if the volts are off by even a few volts the engine becomes erratic..
my truck is one of those and it lets me know when my batt was going bad. i have changed to oddysey batts. the fact that this is happening while driving would mean the alt is prob over heating at times and that is when its failing. the truck would be running off the batt at that time and the volts drop, truck wants to dye. when it does there is still enough juice to run but as the volts have dropped the trucks comp gets confused (sensitive comp) as soon as the alt cools some u are running ok.. hope this makes sense

goto the scrapper and pickup a replacement. also have the batt checked. if its a wet cell and has been over charged or undercharged for awhile it could be on its way out too. this is the cheaper way to see if it is this. having the alt checked does not alway show it to be bad when it is. especially if its an overheat prob and one thats not always present all the time

also one other thing to look at. i cant remember if the comp controls the voltage output of the alt on the 09. if it does that could be the prob too.

let us know

Dan
 
Your battery may be going also. If a cell is going bad it could be intermittent. Your problem sounds electrical.

Avalon
 
If I recall correctly I had a problem where it died in a parking lot and wouldn't start back up.  I had it towed home, and believe I put in a new alternator.  That was about 4 years ago.  Come to think of it my dash lights were acting goofy last week, might need to remember this if I have another problem.
 
If you didn't read the whole first post, the dealership checked everything...battery, alternator, cables, connections and NOTHING WAS WRONG!!!!!  I already checked the battery and alt. in December when it did it the first time with the same results, nothing! 

Any other suggestions?
 
OK lets go in a different direction did they check the fuel pressure.

Any check engine lights.
 
The fuel pump doesn't always go out all at once...

Mine was acting up off and on for a good 6  months.  Sometimes it would sputter while driving. Sometimes stall out and die.  This may be the beginning of the end for the fuel pump.
 
the fact that ur volts are dropping off is a sure sign of an alt, batt condition.
having said what i did before, let me add. most dealers do not have the equipment to do a full stress test on the alt. they do an in vehicle test that does not always show a prob. also a load test on a batt does not always show a bad batt... to do a proper stress test on an alt requires that it be removed from the vehicle and put on a test bench and run for awhile. this is the only true way to see what happens when the alt heats up.
you could keep a good true rms volt meter in the vehicle and when this happens again connect it to the alt to see what is going on there. this may be hard to do if she wants to dye on u though, but worth a shot. another alternative is to take the truck to an auto electric shop and have the alt properly tested. if u carry the alt in most places will test it for free. be sure to tell them what probs u are having and that u want a full stress test performed.

as stated im still leaning to a bad alt. if u have more to add to the condition please do so. maybe with more info we could be of more help to u.

keep us informed

Dan
 
I appreciate the other ideas.  I thought about the fuel system as the culprit.  The engine doesn't chug or sputter like it is not getting fuel.  I may have failed to mention that when this engine has just turned off, it was when I was turning into a parking lot so I was probably going about 10 to 15 mph... it was also up hill so I was not on the brakes as I was turning in.

When I restarted the truck, I did rev the engine and held it at about 3000 rpms for about a minute or so to watch the response on the battery gauge and to possibly clear a clog if there was one.

I also am using my spare key which is not as worn out, as it was suggested that a tired key may not be making the full connection for some reason.  

It has been about 2 weeks now and it has not happened again and the battery gauge is reading fine.  If anything it is sometimes a little too high at first then levels out to 14.  Is it possible with the amount of instrument panels going bad that it would be responsible for this bizarre event?  If the gauge reads wrong, it sends a signal to the computer to save itself?  But then why would the power steering go out?  
Would love to continue the search to solve the problem. I love it when real mechanics put on their thinking caps!

I think I will take the alt. to get a through check out though next week.  How do I find out if I just have a bad cell in the battery?

FYI- the dealership said that it is still the switch and that if it not the answer then I don't have to pay the $600 for it.  Like I would get a refund if the engine dies again.  With it being so intermittent, knowing my luck it would happen just when the "warranty' ran out on that option.
 
MS03 2500 said:
OK lets go in a different direction did they check the fuel pressure.

Any check engine lights.
Click to expand...

Don't know if they went that far since they were just looking for codes and at the obvious variables of the battery and alt.  No check engine lights have come on when it events happen or when I just start it up for the day.
 
Another idea when was the last time you had a tuneup wires and plugs.

Maybe clean the MAF
 
rugergp100 said:
I think I will take the alt. to get a through check out though next week.  How do I find out if I just have a bad cell in the battery?

FYI- the dealership said that it is still the switch and that if it not the answer then I don't have to pay the $600 for it.  Like I would get a refund if the engine dies again.  With it being so intermittent, knowing my luck it would happen just when the "warranty' ran out on that option.
Click to expand...

the prob would be more pronounced if it was merely a bad cell. examine the batt. if its a wet cell open the ports and check fluid levels, also look for swelling of the case. if the case is not flat and square on the sides (bulging) u have a bad batt that will fail very soon..

do u mean the ignition switch?
if so i believe the symptoms of failure are different. the most common being the truck hard to get moving from a stop but once moving is fine.. the comp gets confused as to what gear the truck is in and to protect the drive line defaults to 3rd gear. also a shut down and restart would clear it most times till the switch completely failed.
btw u can change the switch ur self and save a ton of money. do a search there are a few how to for the ignition switch


let us know how the tests go

Dan
 
MS03 2500 said:
Another idea when was the last time you had a tuneup wires and plugs.

Maybe clean the MAF
Click to expand...

The engine is at 106,000 + and I have not changed the plugs or wires yet.  Is probably past time for that huh? 

Is there a brand that you like better than the other?  I sometimes wonder if the really expensive ones are necessary or not. 

Thanks for the idea.
 
Something else odd happened today (Feb 6).  While in regular traffic today on surface streets, the temp gauge started creeping over the 210 degree reading.  Had to put the heat on 80 and the fan on high just to get the temp to go down.  Haven't had the low coolant reading come on yet.  Another odd happening or  a separate issue?  FYI- mileage is at 104,000 and Dex Cool is to be good until 150,000 I've read. 

Can Dex cool be mixed with water or just with Dex coolant itself? 

Have not had the alt. checked yet on a bench test.  Spark plugs and wires...I figure that I would know if the plugs were miss firing and the tech at the shop would have figured that one out!

 
Okay folks, finally got some answers today!  This morning (about 48 degrees) the engine was showing that it reached 210 degrees before I even got 3 miles down the road going about 45 to 55 mph.  Little too quick to get that hot.  Decided to take the AV to an independent mechanic that I trust.  Left work about 5 hours into the work day to get this settled. Mechanic's shop is well over 35 miles away, and the AV did not even look like it wanted to move over 210 degrees without the heaters blowing full blast to keep it cool.  Went to mechanic anyway just to get it all checked out.  Here are the results:  The coolant level, fine, thermostat-fine, did pressure test- all good.  Since it did not overheat on the long trip up there.  Left it alone for now.  Went on to mystery of engine cutting out- checked alt on his Snap On tester- no problem with alt.  At last minute checked the battery- guess what...It Failed on his tester!  Could be a culprit of crazy electrical issues or something else.  Had him install a new AC Delco and Pep Boys took back their Bosche and gave me a full refund on the 16 month old battery.

Also got call from Customer Service manager from Chevy Dealership- he admitted that there was apparently a history of the VCM code having gone off before.  This means that there was a loss of signal, that the truck thought it  was off when it wasn't.  THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I AM HEARING OF THIS!!!!    Why did they not tell me this had happened when I took it to them? 

I am also seeing the dash lights going on, stay on then go off.  So I am thinking that the cluster panel is also shot.  May also explain why the temp gauge was crazy all of a sudden.  Chevy replaced water pump under warranty, so hopefully that included the thermostat since it is in the same housing.  Can get cluster rebuilt by a Speedometer company for about $250. 

So it may be the cluster, the ignition switch indeed since I now know about the VCM code, or it was just a bad battery.  So I guess the next repair will be the switch, my husband will do the repair.  Anyone know if the 2005 has one or two ignition switches and which one to replace?

Thanks for all the suggestions! LOVE TRUE MECHANICS THAT USE THEIR HEADS!  KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK EVERYONE!

Can't wait to shout...Victory at last! ...when the problems are figured out.
 
rugergp100 said:
I own a 2005 AV. Bought it as a Chevy Certified pre-owned in 2008. Few months into ownership the engine would just cut off while at a traffic light. This being after having driven it for about 20 minutes in traffic on the highway. Did it twice over two weeks time. Brought to dealership (they had it for 3 weeks!) and the problem never appeared again. That was until last month.

December 23, drove from work to mall for last minute shopping (about 12 miles, 10 being on interstate) and the AV started acting weird. Looked at gauges and noticed the battery was going down. Was able to turn into parking lot when the power steering just went out and the engine cut off. When to start it back up, no problem. Didn't last long though. Was able to get it in a parking spot and it died again. Checked all obvious things (battery is only 1 year old, checked cables etc...) nothing was wrong. Did shopping and back out within a half hour. Started up and went the two miles home without a problem again. So here it is... a month later and it did it again yesterday! Same situation. Drove 10 miles on interstate at about 70 mph. Get off exit, go to gas station. As pulling in battery level drops, power steering gone, engine dies. Only difference after restating and keeping it running is that on the two mile drive home the batter level was much higher then should be.

Took it to dealership today. Ran everything looking for a code, checked battery, alter. all the obvious things and nothing showed up. Said everything is fine. They tried, at least they didn't charge me for anything since they didn't find anything wrong. Could only suggest that problem could be ignition switch. Also the cylinder where the key goes in is a little loose and want to replace that as well. Of course Dealership wants $600 to do this work and 4 hours of time. But even the tech wasn't convinced that this would solve the problem of the engine just cutting off. Any suggestions? Has this ever happened to anyone else out there? Are we missing something? Please I'm at wit's end here! :E:
Click to expand...
Hello, mine has been parked for months now due to fear of causing an accident when it poops off while driving... this last time it started to idle strange, surging like until it went too low and died...... no dash lights nothing. Started up a little more sluggish than the last times it's did a sudden death... scheduled it with a guy I've been told is an auto electrical genius... I'll report any findings because this could be potentially life ending... why isn't GM responsible for the fix??????
 
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