SHO stalls while driving won't start for 15minutes?

[shodan524]

Its happened 3 times now, diving down the road and suddenly the car shuts off. the first time it happened at a red light, came to a stop and the car stalled. me and my buddy push it off the road and try to start it, a couple cranks every minute or so.
About fifteen minutes later starts up and runs fine, no problems for 4 months, Next time I'm driving down a mountain, ocasionally hitting the brakes to maintain safe speed. I see the check engine light flash and and the brakes get stiff, the car stalled, so I drive down the mountain with no power brakes or steering and pull off the road.
Try and try and try the car won't start it turns over fine, but won't start.. and I notice I can't here the fuel pump priming so I turn the key forward and backward, no sound at all from fuel pump.(slowly I'm getting experience in being stranded by my SHO)
fifteen minutes or so later fires right up and drives fine..
3rd time it happened was today about a month since the last time.. I'm turning in to a store at a very blind a dangerous intersection, the car dies. I barely get the rear end off the road..
so my cheeks get flushed with embarrassment as the cars line up a quarter mile down the road waiting to turn in where I'm sitting... 2 guys come up and offer a push and ask whats wrong I say stalled it will start in fifteen minutes..
Now about fifteen minutes later I remember my last to experiences, and the only thing I did right before it would start was get out and then back in..So I opened my door and slammed it.. turned the key and it started right up?
What is going on with this car??

I put a cinder block and 2 bungee cords in the trunk.. The next time it lets me sit, I'm going to tie the steering wheel straight and throw the brick on the pedal and let God fix the ******
lol just kidding..

 

[SilverSHO]

Sounds like the crank position sensor. Do a search; there's lots of information about it here. There's a replacement procedure on SHOtimes.com, too.

 

[K-Dawg]

Before doing anything, get the codes read or read them yourself. As said already, it does sound like a CPS failure.

 

[SHO_Driver]

Since your fuel pump didn't prime when you turned the key you should check your fuel electrical system. I think that includes the ICRM relay that controls the pump.

 

[shodan524]

well i certainly hope its not the CPS... Thats just a fancy way of saying you need a new car in my book..
I could imagine the garage bill for that one..
when your in that far you might as well replace the timing belt, water pump, and surpentines. Not to mention the 10 hours of labor....
I'm sure it would cost more than the car is worth, and I believe insurance companies call that, TOTALED...
as far as the fuel pump control unit, **** I could just bypass it with a hot wire to a toggle switch and turn the pump on when I need too, thats about $2.43...
The Codes are a complete waste of time they always lie and send you on a wild goose chase. I had another ford that would stall while drivng and hooked it up to a $50 an hour diagnostic computer.
It ran like a charm for an entire hour when I left the mechanic said accourding to the computer your car is fine.. I had to walk half way home when it left me sit...

I certainly apreciate the replies, and thank you . I'm going to park the money sponge and get my 88 dodge dynasty fixed, its got a carberated 318, needs head gaskets...I can fix that...

My best bet is to probably chop up the SHO and sell it piece by piece. My pride in owning an SHO was short lived and is now replaced with a feeling of being such a sucker to have ever bought it in the first place.. what a waste of money!!!

 

[IT-Purrrs]

my car has had the same problem where it would stall suddenly at random times while driving. i can hear the fuel pump not starting after it sits and "cools down." i certinly hope its the fuel pump because after installing my cat-less y-pipe and having it up on jacks for about two weeks it would not start and the fuel pump would not turn on. the stalling has happened a bunch of times and i figured the fuel pump was wearing down. Personally id replace that first because its not that hard to put one in, and then drive it and see how it is. shrug

 

[SHOoff89]

Dude, don't park the SHO!! This exact same thing happened to me, and it was just the fuel pump, but it did have me sleeping far fewer hours at night. But, if you do want to just let the car go, PM me and lets see if we can make a deal.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

shodan524:
well i certainly hope its not the CPS... Thats just a fancy way of saying you need a new car in my book..
I could imagine the garage bill for that one..
when your in that far you might as well replace the timing belt, water pump, and surpentines. Not to mention the 10 hours of labor....
I'm sure it would cost more than the car is worth, and I believe insurance companies call that, TOTALED...
as far as the fuel pump control unit, **** I could just bypass it with a hot wire to a toggle switch and turn the pump on when I need too, thats about $2.43...
The Codes are a complete waste of time they always lie and send you on a wild goose chase. I had another ford that would stall while drivng and hooked it up to a $50 an hour diagnostic computer.
It ran like a charm for an entire hour when I left the mechanic said accourding to the computer your car is fine.. I had to walk half way home when it left me sit...

I certainly apreciate the replies, and thank you . I'm going to park the money sponge and get my 88 dodge dynasty fixed, its got a carberated 318, needs head gaskets...I can fix that...

My best bet is to probably chop up the SHO and sell it piece by piece. My pride in owning an SHO was short lived and is now replaced with a feeling of being such a sucker to have ever bought it in the first place.. what a waste of money!!!

Those are some of the most ignorant things I've ever seen said in one individual post... jpshakeh

Besides not even having taken the time (the whole 10-30 minutes) to diagnose what problems your SHO may have, which anybody who says he can replace headgaskets on any car should be able to do without engaging the services of a mechanic, your statements concerning hot-wiring the 'fuel pump control unit' (as you call it), the codes being a complete waste of time, and thinking that head gasket replacement on any car is less work than a CPS on a SHO are just plain wrong.

Good luck to you whatever you do. From how you describe your experience with your SHO I suspect you'll have an interesting life...

 

[FEARNONE30]

I live in the next town (Newport). I have 4 SHO's (2-91,1-90, and 1-89). If you would like any advice or me to come over let me know. I e-mailed you with my home phone number and e-mail address. Get in touch with me.

 

[shodan524]

Well I certainly am sorry if you were offended SHOooo... Why you would take it personally I don't know.. Its called expressing my fellings , in this case anger, frustration, and depression..
Last I checked I lived in America where freedom of expression is encouraged... The above mentioned feelings come after a long battle with this car me ,and my wallet, wich isn't usually that fat..
when i through several hundred dollars into a car I expect results... I have a right to be angry and I didn't personally offend or verbally abuse a soul. If you don't like my posts then please ignore them, and the problem will be solved...

 

[91 Plus]

I also agree that was one of the dumbest post i have read!If you can replace the headgaskets I am sure you can do this..I priced the parts the other day for waterpump,cps,and timing belt..The total cost was $126!Get your hands dirty and get some pride in fixing your car!

 

[sdpatt]

SHO_Driver:
Since your fuel pump didn't prime when you turned the key you should check your fuel electrical system. I think that includes the ICRM relay that controls the pump.

My thoughts too. It DOES NOT sound like the CPS if the fuel pump is not running. After the car has stalled and before it will restart, when you turn the igition key, do you hear the click from the relay module above the radiator? Try having someone turn the key as you slap the top of teh ICRM with your hand. Without that click, the pump does not get power. If you hear the click and the pump still doesn't run, then the pump is suspect.

If the pump does run and the tach drops to zero at the engine cuts out like you turned off the ignition key, then that would point to the CPS. If there is a loss of power before the engine dies, that is not indicative of the CPS. When that sensor fails, the engine immediately shuts off.

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

Try running premium fuel too. Are you pumping in "GO-GO GAS 89 octane" or some other related "Franks Fuel" crap? The SHO is pretty particular in what octane it likes to drink. My car has had the same problem (from what I gather). It kind of sputters to a stall in the middle of the road, usually at a stop and particularly during hot and humid weather. I found that if I run premium octane, it doesn't happen hardly at all. Try this before you start selling parts off the thing. It could be as simple as spending a few more cents a gallon at the Mobil/Exxon/Citgo station. Go with at least 89 Octane, I know fuel prices are high right now, but it really does run better with 93.

Good luck to you. Try ROCKAUTO.COM for some prices on the afforementioned replacement parts. They seem pretty fair.

Guys... Chill out about the posts. Like everything else in life, you have to take it with a grain of salt. He was obviously frusterated.

 

[91 SHOplus]

shodan524:
well i certainly hope its not the CPS... Thats just a fancy way of saying you need a new car in my book..

shrug
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The Codes are a complete waste of time they always lie and send you on a wild goose chase. I had another ford that would stall while drivng and hooked it up to a $50 an hour diagnostic computer.

AutoZone checks 'em for free.
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My best bet is to probably chop up the SHO and sell it piece by piece. My pride in owning an SHO was short lived and is now replaced with a feeling of being such a sucker to have ever bought it in the first place.. what a waste of money!!!

Everyone hates their SHO once in a while. If you want to sell it, that's cool, But you do have to remember, these cars average age are 8-10 years old. They're also at the age where **** starts to happen to them. They're also a 'sport sedan' so they were driven hard and usually the previous owners didn't take of them right.

 

[shodan524]

Again thanks to everyone for your posts...
I am a very avid do it myselfer mechanic and after installing a waterpump and timing belt on a 88 dodge dynasty, I know exactly whats involved with replacing the same parts on my sho...

Trust me the head gasket job on the 87 Fifth Ave.
Is far less work.. Everything is right there easy to get to..So I exaderated the cost a little lol, ok ok..

And for those who thought my post was ignorant and stupid, WELL!!

I havn't been so offended since Kinder Garden... LOL...

Seriously, I could make some real cash by parting out the SHO, and how much I've already spent, or am willing to spend to fix it, is completely my call..

In the future I suppose I'll make my post as boring and emotionless as possible, with mono-tone precision, and striaght to the point acuracy... bs

 

[masho95]

well i certainly hope its not the CPS... Thats just a fancy way of saying you need a new car in my book..
I could imagine the garage bill for that one..
when your in that far you might as well replace the timing belt, water pump, and surpentines. Not to mention the 10 hours of labor....

True if you are in that far you might as well replace those other parts. And as far as 10 hrs of labor, you might want to find a new gargage to do your work if you aren't capable of doing it yourself. I just did a timing belt, CKP sensor, and front main seal on my friend's 89 SHO and it took me maybe 5 hrs at a very very leisurely pace. And I consider myself an average do it yourselfer. I've had experience doing work on SHO's but would consider myself far from an expert. If your shop can't do the work I can do quicker or in the same amount of time you need to find a more qualified shop.

The Codes are a complete waste of time they always lie and send you on a wild goose chase.

The codes stored in the computer don't lie, they just store a code based on what happened with the car. It's your mechanical ability that determines how you interpret what is wrong based on the code. Just because a code is thrown for a sensor doesn't mean it's bad, it could be other things that made the code get thrown.
And as far as what you do with your SHO I wish you the best of luck with whatever you do with it. I know how frustrating these cars can be. They aren't your average car and they tend to break down more frequently than others. Good luck!

 

[LITZ]

i have a good story with the same problem. i picked up my date for them prom them went back to my house for pics and stuf my car woudlnt start not cool. i checked the coads and it was the fule pump.

 

[shojuan]

It took a long time for my problem to get to wear the fuel pump was obviously the cause (sound of fuel pump changing). I had similar problems for a long time with no codes, no audible changes in fuel pump behavior. We are talking YEARS. Then it would go away in cold weather and come back in warm. When the fuel pump really started going out (and cold, warm weather, didn't matter which) where I knew that was the problem I replaced it and problem solved. Nick Chrimes once told me that fuel pumps usually either run or they don't. In my case there WAS a middle ground. I had an easy enough time changing the fuel pump and it was a cheap enough part that I wish I had replaced it years and years earlier. New one is so quiet in comparison too! Stock fuel pump was noisy since about 40,000 miles until I replaced it last March or April or whenever it was.

SHOooo, go easy on the guy. When shit starts to break and a person has reliance on a car then depression can set in pretty easily. It's often easier for a 3rd party to take an objective view of the situation than the person stuck in the middle of it. thumb

 

[Trojan Man]

Replace your fuel pump. Problem solved. What you described has happened to countless SHOs... all you need is a new pump.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

shojuan:
SHOooo, go easy on the guy. When shit starts to break and a person has reliance on a car then depression can set in pretty easily. It's often easier for a 3rd party to take an objective view of the situation than the person stuck in the middle of it. thumb

I try Rick, reeeeeally I try! It's just frustrating to see anyone not take the time to properly diagnose a problem with their car. I firmly believe that better than 90% of problems with any car can be diagnosed in 30 minutes or less by the average Joe or Jane with only a basic understanding of how they work. Even easier for anyone who says they can replace the HG's on any car more easily than say a CPS replacement on the SHO. I see so many people who seem to spend more time posting about their car problems here in the forum than they spend actually trying to figure out and resolve those problems.

It's the same with people who consider these cars a bottomless money pit. They seem to forget that besides it now being over 4 years since the last SHO rolled off the assembly line, the majority of these cars are in the 7-10 year old range and any car that old is going to require increasing maintenance. Naturally, people who drive their cars harder are going to spend more on maintenance, but they always seem to want to blame it on the car! How quickly they forget just how reliable, attractive, and well-performing these cars can be with just a little TLC, often regardless of the age and mileage!

I guess what it comes down to, as one of those who understand these cars from stem-to-stern, is a growing frustration with trying to offer help and advice to folks only to have them decide that it's not worth the effort, especially for the simple things. But, I guess if I look at it as someone always looking for a rediculously good deal on SHO's and SHO parts, I should be grateful for the people who just give up!

Rick's couch is now available for the next patient... hail

<small>[ August 24, 2003, 11:31 PM: Message edited by: SHOooo ]</small>