[speedymmx]

Hi, guys:


I have a 1999 intrepid with the 3.2l engine, the car was running fine but the last couple days, the engine is shutting off while driving, when I stop at a traffic light, stop sign or turning into a driveway it dies, I had to coast and pull over several times, the oil light comes on and if I turn the key is dead, just the oil light lights up when I turn the key.

If I wait 2 or 3 minutes the car starts and it runs fine for another 10 minutes and then it happens again if I slow down or stop, I checked the oil level and it's fine, a couple days before all this started happening, I was driving and the ABS, TRAC and battery lights came on, I got to work and I shut it off, I tried to started and it wouldn't crank or anything, after 5 minutes it started fine but the clock time was off the trip computer was wrong just like a complete reset or if you disconnect the battery for several hours, it worked fine for about a week and now I'm having this huge issue.

I have no idea what to check any ideas????


Thanks

[quietzephyr]

Check the battery terminal connections, maybe one worked itself loose. I recently had a problem like this where it would shut off on me and it turned out to be a loose positive battery terminal. Swapped them both out and so far so good.

[yiranhu]

Wait so it dies only during really slow driving? I wonder if you have a bad accessory pulley or a stuck IAC valve.

[speedymmx]

The battery seems to be fine I checked both terminals and everything is in place, the only thing that I found is that there's a braided grounding strap that seems to be broken, it's located about 5 inches below the negative battery terminal ( the one used to jump start the car) there's two braided grounding straps, one drops down to another ground screw next to the cat converter and the one that is broken goes to the middle of the engine below the cylinder # 3, I'm not sure if this was broken before or not, any chance that this is what's wrong with the car???????

[TrepCruzin]

If the battery is ok...take a look at your connections on the starter....possible ignition switch problem....something loose....

[speedymmx]

I just narrowed it down to the following:

The car runs fine as long as I don't get up to fourth gear / over 70 to 80km/h, as soon as 4th gear is engaged the car runs fine until I have to stop or brake, that's when the engine dies, but if I keep it on 2 and 3 gear the engine runs fine even at the traffic and stop lights, the car will start right back after it but it's just frustrating.
even if use the autostick it will shut off after 4th gear

Anymore ideas??????????

Thanks

[peva]

He doesn't have any starter problems that I see.

[TrepCruzin]

This is starting to possibly sound more like a transmission problem more then an engine problem.......The fact that this occurrs only in 4th gear and no other gear.....i'm thinking that the TC lockup is not disengaging when slowing down out of 4th gear bogging the car down til it cuts out.

When your driving the car and your in 4th gear....have you tried to floor it to see if it will kick down into 3rd...or does it continue to stay in 4th when you floor it???

[GrimReaper]

Just a newbie here, mine kept shutting off everytime I was braking......... I found out it was my EGR sensor that need replacing. Consider it. I unplugged mine and no problems 300 miles later of hard braking and stopping. Just need it to last until I can buy its replacement. Still consider what everyone else has stated though.

[Statussymbol]

If I would fathom a guess........I'd say it's the Torque Converter.......I had a 92 Lumina that did that...a lot....Like the previeous post said.....floor it and see if it downshifts into 3rd. Watch your rpms coming up to a stop sign if they drop a lot put in into "N"... That should disengage the TC so you don't stall out. I'm also guessing that if you have the 3.2 you also have Auto Stick.....use that to downshift coming up to a stop. I guessing here, but if you use the auto stick for driving maybe the linkage is siezing, work the Auto stick for a while maybe it will work the TC loose and solve the problem on its own. I'm guessing though, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try.

[bigdan10181]

One thing to try, flip your ignition key back and fourth three times and watch your odometer, if you have any trouble codes stored they will appear as Pxxxx, if you see P0320, you may need a crankshaft position sensor or camshaft position sensor, this code will not cause the check engine light to stay lit.

[SlyvesterSpecial]

i had a similar problem revolving around the 'over 70k' thing... if i went past 70k on the accell then slowed down past 70, the transmission would shift to 'limp mode' and lock it self in untill a engine re-start happened. after a TFC diagnostic, he figured out the 3rd gear shift solenoid was faulty.... in my case it was a better idea (and about $300 cheaper) to replace my higher mileage trans with a used piece.... something to think about too...

[atlas000]

You may need to replace the Crank Shaft Position sensor. My car would drive ok below 40 miles an hour, over that it would shut down. A later symptom was that the Cruise Control light would come on by itself when it shut down while driving at freeway speeds. The oil lamp is lighting because the engine has been shut down.

The ABS, TRAC and battery lights will come on if one of your battery cables has come loose from the terminals or disconnected while driving. You won't be able to start the car, but can jump start/drive it, until you re-attach the cable. If you measure the voltage at the jump start points under the hood you'll read less than 12V (~5V), but if you measure at the terminals you'll get your 12V reading (battery is good.)