samclemmons

I am confused. My 96 Classic had a stall problem when I got it. I cleaned throttle body and IAC. Seemed to help. Changed plugs last month. Runs and sounds clean and quiet 95% of time since I got it 2+ years ago except this pesky problem. Hadn't stalled in about a year, maybe less, then out of the blue today it stalled out when I came off gas going around curve then got back on gas as normal, not punching it or anything. Dead. No sputter. Then had to floor it to get to crank and rev it from neutral to drive once running since it died going from park to drive. On way home had to nudge it between Neutral and Drive when I went too slow. Smells rich. Looked like oil out of tail pipe but I think I've ruled that as just condensation and soot. Idle jumps high during this too at times (@2,000). Vacuum leak, maybe?
I'm a beginner at this so I am now kinda at a loss. ANY suggestions/advice would be appreciated no matter if it comes out of left field...lol. Thanks.
PS...a left field thought...I did put little over half tank of gas from station I've been to before but could it be gas quality related?

dac612

unfortunately could be quite a few things.

One of the most common stalling issues if all simple checks pass is the CPS. May as well put one on order because if it isn't the problem NOW it will be.

My next suggestion would be to check the voltage at your TPS. very easy to do with a standard voltmeter and you'll know pretty quickly if it is out of spec. Another item that will eventually fail anyway and is worth replacing.

Of course checking for vac leaks is good not sure if it would cause stalling in that manner.

samclemmons

Thanks. A few places to check. I believe I put new TPS when I worked on throttle body cleaning. I'll double check. I'll check CPS and probably change out since it could be it. Thanks for the hints.

cruiser54

Did you know it should get new distributor cap, rotor and plug wires every 30,000 miles?

samclemmons

I thought about that being problem because I just remembered that every once in a blue moon when it's real humid in morning it won't crank and sputters and kicks. Thinking moisture getting in somewhere.
I'll change all that and see where it gets me.
Thanks

cruiser54

Good plan.

samclemmons

FINALLY got a check engine light. Pulled a P0118- engine coolant temp sensor circuit high voltage. I'll look it up but I thought getting any advice here would help add to me reading technical explanations and fixes.
Thanks guys

jordan96xj

Yes, the engine coolant temperature sensor is like when you get that monopoly card that says "bank error in your favor, collect $60". It is probably the cheapest, most widely available sensor on your vehicle. That code is likely telling you that the voltage reading is higher than the sensor should be allowing, indicating that either something is wrong with the circuit that it lives on, or the sensor's thermal resistance is no longer within the range that it should be.

It is the one located on the thermostat housing.

It can be diagnosed with a thermometer and a multi-meter (It will produce different resistance readings at various temperatures). However, it can be had for about $15, so many people just replace it and see.

OH! Just noticed you have a 96. Make sure to check the connector type on your sensor before getting the new one. The 96 is a year that borrowed many parts from the 95-97 lines. So it could have the more oval cornered connector (which the service manual specifies), or it could be the 97+ connector with the slightly more rectangular connector (corners are less rounded). Use your phone to snap a pic if need be. (I have a 96, and it has the more rectangular one).