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Forum:Technical Questions & Answers
Topic:engine quit running
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T O P I C     R E V I E W
georgieboyI had just left the house driving my Prowler. The engine had been running about 5 minutes. Going about 25mph all of a sudden the engine quit running. I stopped the car, hit the starter and the engine started right up and no problems. This could have been dangerous if I was on a curve. I had put a new Tom Mills fuel pump on it last year. Has this happened to any of you guys? Any ideas what could have caused it?
garysssFirst thing to check is make sure battery terminals are tight. I have had this happen before and battery terminal was loose. it will also not start sometimes if they are loose.
BeWareThese discussions might help
http://www.prowleronline.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/022669.html

http://www.prowleronline.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/002229.html

http://www.prowleronline.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/004046.html

http://www.prowleronline.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/003080.html

This message has been edited by BeWare on 05-10-2017 at 10:14 AM

Dave HaggasI'd personally change the crank sensor. It took me three hard years to get mine sorted out. It first started with a very small 'dip' when driving. As though you turned the key off and on again. It got progressively worse to the point the car would just quit whilst driving along. You had to be careful as when in fast traffic it got scary, especially when there was a truck next to you or behind you.
I'd first take the easy route as others suggest, battery terminals or look for cable rubbing on the frame.
We hooked mine to the diagnostics and no codes showed but a lambda sensor wasn't showing the correct values. We changed the lambda sensors and re hooked up. Hey ho a code came up, it was a faulty crank sensor. One bolt and an electrical connector to change. Car runs sweet as now.
Good luck. When mine was at its worst I wanted to torch the damn thing. Happy I didn't though!
georgieboyBeware. Thanks for all those old posts. I read them all and I will check stuff out. Thanks Gary and Dave.
georgieboyI have been checking everything I can think of but can find no answer to the engine quitting. In one of the Posts I received regarding this problem it suggested starting the engine in the dark with the hood open to see if there was any electrical sparking that might indicate a problem. So I decided to do it. I went out to the garage at night and started the engine in the dark. Looking straight down over the engine I could see an intermitent glowing coming from below each ignition coil. These engines have a seperate ignition coil for each spark plug. The coil is mounted on top of a tube that goes down past the plenum and snaps on to the spark plug. My question is this: is this glowing a normal thing with these engines or do I have an electrical short at each spark plug? I dont really think this glowing could have caused the engine to quit although I think the quitting is an electrical problem. Should I persue this glowing problem?
Tomcal
Coil pack/spark plug glowing will not cause engine to shut down completely. May cause misfire. I would deal with this later after you find the root cause.

When you say "I've checked everything I can think of", What have you check thus far? Any parts replaced yet? Have you checked for error codes?

How many times has this happened? How many miles on car?

When engine quits, what dashboard lights come on? Does radio still play?

Do you have an electrical tester, voltmeter or code reader for further testing?

Don't mean to ask so many questions, but information is vital to help guide you.

quincyAny update on your issue?

quote:
Originally posted by georgieboy:
I have been checking everything I can think of but can find no answer to the engine quitting. In one of the Posts I received regarding this problem it suggested starting the engine in the dark with the hood open to see if there was any electrical sparking that might indicate a problem. So I decided to do it. I went out to the garage at night and started the engine in the dark. Looking straight down over the engine I could see an intermitent glowing coming from below each ignition coil. These engines have a seperate ignition coil for each spark plug. The coil is mounted on top of a tube that goes down past the plenum and snaps on to the spark plug. My question is this: is this glowing a normal thing with these engines or do I have an electrical short at each spark plug? I dont really think this glowing could have caused the engine to quit although I think the quitting is an electrical problem. Should I persue this glowing problem?

georgieboyWhen the engine quit running and we restarted it the 'Check gauges" light was on. Checking all gauges they were OK but the voltmeter read only 12 volts, should have been 13.8 with engine running. As advised by someone here I checked the battery cables. They were tight but I did get half of a revolution on the negative cable bolt attaching to frame. I drove the car recently for about an hour and all was OK. There was an odd thing that happened just before the engine quit: a helper and I had just finished putting new radiator hoses on Prowler. When finished I asked helper if he wanted to go for a ride and I let him drive car. Immediately after getting on street he began driving car very agressively. Flooring the accelerator on takeoff then putting it in passing gear. (I have never driven car like that) Right when he tromped it into passing gear is when it quit. I'm wondering if this type driving caused the quit. The engine had been running maybe 3 minutes. I have read here on Prowler Online that when you have the battery disconnected then reconnect it the computer reprograms itself when you start driving. It sounds far fetched that this could happen but I read it right here. I dont have a code reader to check stuff out but I visually looked around engine compartment for something that looked wrong. The "check gauges" light is not on and I am calling the incident done. I just hope it doesnt happen again when I am driving a California winding road.
robinFire the HELPER...lol
robin
BeWareYes after having the battery disconnected for a period of time the computer will re-program itself. It will adjust to your driving style. People have been known to disconnect the battery just before drag racing at the track to get the best performance possible. But I have never heard of it shutting the car off. It may have been your ground cable being loose. If you haven't already you may also want to check the cables where they run under the radiator. They are supposed to be wrapped with protection of some kind but sometime it comes loose or wears down and the cable rubs bare and gets exposed to metal. That said I can't believe the guy drove your car like that without asking your permission first.
georgieboyYes, I had checked the positive cable going under radiator. It is protected and in good shape. A half turn on neg cable bolt does not seem like it would be loose. But maybe it was dirty between bolt and frame. It seemed to correct the 12 volt reading. Yes, I could not believe this guy drove my car like that. But he did not seem to be concerned by his actions. He wont drive my cars again. Riding with him in his car he was rough on it too. He's just not a car guy
mslc10In the old days before electronic ignition, electric fans , etc a car engine would run on just the alternator with the battery disconnected. That's a simple test of the alternator to see if it is supplying charging current. Today's high-current needing electrics I found the voltage regulator/alternator could not react fast enough if the fan came on or some other high current device when the battery is not connected to absorb and supply the extra current needed , and the engine just died. This was experienced in an 87 Cherokee 4.0 , an efi computerized engine with electric fan.
Dave HaggasCrank sensor is very cheap to replace. Why not try it? It kept on making my engine just quit whilst running. It does make sense when you understand what it should do and what happens when it fails. Like I said, surely it's worth the dollars to try?

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