1997 Chevy Cavalier Runs Rough and Then Stalls

That sounds like your timing belt slipped a tooth or two. When was that replaced last?

hi, it sounds just like my daughters car, turned out it was a crank position sensor, i found that out after i replaced the ignition module. i pulled out the crank pos. sensor and it was cracked all over, so i spent $20.00 on a new one and it has been running fine ever since, the motor has 185,000 miles. hope this helps.

thanks for the posts. I had been thinking that the timing belt slipped as the problem came on suddenly and when the engine dies it stops abruptly. Ive only had the car for a few months so not sure of the belt condition but I think I should change the belt anyway just in case. I have a friend who is a Chev dealer mechanic that does some work on the side and he is going to check it out tomorrow. Ill mention these two suggestions first and post back with his diagnosis.

G'day,

It also sounds as if it is running too lean. Possibly blocked injectors or an idle by-pass vent pulsing on too much (Pulse Width Modulation to control throttle by-pass for air).

If the worst comes to worst, along this train of thought, check your fuel pressure from the pump.

Any further questions, email me on rrvau@inbox.com

Best of luck.

RRV

your car does not have a timing belt it sounds like the ing control mod went bad or the coolant temp sensor if it was raining i would say coils your mechanic should be able to figure it out quick those cars had very few real problems

"No timing belt"??

Is it not a four stroke engine with valves? If there is no timing belt how are the cam shaft(s) controlled in angular position relative to the crankshaft?

What kind of engine is it?

Since you stated that the check engine light came on, a good place to start would be with pulling the codes and see what pops up. That might give an indication.

mr.wrenches is correct. The 2.4 uses a timing chain. Reliability on these is much better than the rubber belts.

If you have a code reader, try that first. Be fore warned, that that will show results, not the cause. It can lead to much guessing and wasted parts replacement.

Do you have a timing light? That should allow a check of timing while cranking. Another test for a jumped timing chain, or belt would be a compression test. Compression in dependent upon the timing sequences. If the timing chain or belt jumped, the compression will be reduced dramatically. Not likely to get over 80 PSI. Good luck. Test before buying. Most things can be diagnosed without guessing.

GA Bob C,

Good basic diagnostics is always the best place to start, even before reading codes.

Thanks for the ideas. I havent had the car for too long so I wasnt sure if the engine had a timing chain or belt. I moved awhile back and left all my tools there but now have only basic tools(wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers) so I have a mechanic coming hopefully today to look at it. He works for a chev dealer so has all the tools or access to them. Whatever the cause was, it happened suddenly with no warning, and it still runs but not too well. I can keep the car running by raising the idle but when put in gear it loses power. Ill post later as to what the mechanics ideas are.

You mentioned "dash lights started coming on (charge, oil, check engine, ets off)".

I had a GM car with all thoose symptons and it turned ourt to be a failed alternator. As the battery voltage drops all critical control functions (air-fuel ratio, ignition) start to degrade badly. This can cause all sorts of engine malfunctions which sound bad. The key indicator is the charge light on the dashboard.

I suggest you check the charging voltage. It is typically 13.8 volts at idle with a good battery.

change fuel filter, i have the same model chevy caviler. I believe the error code was 171 lean fuel. The car missed and would stall. A new fuel filter was the fix. Only $16 and easy to do yourself. It probly needs one anyway.

I just had the mechanic from the dealer have a look at it in my driveway and I started it a couple times for him. His first impression of it was that the timing was off as the engine was trying to start. He said it sounded like it was grinding a bit so we decided not to try too many starts. I am going to tow it to his house tomorrow as he only lives a few blocks away and he can dig a little deeper there. Thanks for all the replies and Ill post again when there is a definite diagnosis.

If all dash lamps came on before it quit you have an electrical problem .

First ; check all wiring and inline fuses that are close to the battery by pulling the wires to see if any let go from there connections " corrosion ". Second ; disconnect battery , unbolt underhood fusepanel and turn it over to see connectors , check for " green corrosion " on wire connectors and pull on each to determine a solid connection. If you find a inline fuse near the battery open it and ensure its not corroded. Third ; do wire pull test on all other connectors you can find under the hood , and disconnect all to look for water infiltration into the connectors.

If all is ok have your ignition switch checked " high mileage " or do it yourself by playing with the switch , Key in turn to on and check dash lights as you move key slightly back and forth etc. You will see if things are not quite right .

Hope this helps .

Had the same problem just before Christmas myself.

Just one question. When you turn on the ignition just before you start it does the fuel pump have a whine to it.

If so I would recommend replacing it. That was my problem.

Now not that you may be in the same position that I was but I have a 1997 Chevy Cavalier and it has 410,000 miles on it and that was the first pump replacement that I have had to do on it. Exact same symptoms as you are having and did the exact same things you described.

On these engines they are very particular about the amount of fuel pressure and if the pump is having problems you will get exactly what you are getting.

"Just one question. When you turn on the ignition just before you start it does the fuel pump have a whine to it."

No, but the wife does.

Hey, had the car towed to a garage in case it was the timing chain. They ran the codes and only came up with " random misfire" code. They also did a compression test and it came back ok. They did say that the spark plugs were quite dirty. I will call tomorrow and mention the fuel pump. Hopefully thats all it is. Thanks for the ideas.

I also have the 2.4 cavalier. I experienced almost identical symptoms including "random cylinder misfire". Mechanic told me that this code on this engine almost always means that the ignition module has gone bad, a very common problem on these 2.4s. I switched it out and problem solved. Do an ignition test as described in haynes manual to check spark on each cylinder. It is a little involved as the engine has spark plug boot towers instead of spark plug wires but is not difficult. If it is bad, Advance auto stocks these ignition modules. I believe that the suddenness of the problem suggests the ignition module, as that is exactly what happened to mine. It ran fine and than all of a sudden, it went crazy. I managed to sputter into the mechanic garage, barely.

Thanks Ill check that tomorrow.

well, what did it turn out to be?

I am waiting too!

You must not only take, but also give.

sad but true, at 85 bucks an hour the mechanic changed the spark plugs, which were toast anyway, then put a new coil on it. That did nothing. I did mention the items listed here and when someone mentioned the ignition module my mechanic tried one from a part he had in the shop. It worked so he got a new one and by the time he was done the cost was $850. The car wasnt worth keeping so I went and bought an almost new 2005 ford focus wagon w/34,000kms. Now that fool can rally that POS until the thing blows up. Thanks for all the help though everyone.

BTW, I have a 1994 CVPI which I have been driving for 2 years( my car ), no problems at all. If you don't care about gas mileage, which really isnt that bad anyway, get a good specimen with low Miles. You wont be disappointed. Think comfortable cruising car with good gas mileage, built like a truck. I get about 100kms to $10. average at 90 cents a litre. Pay a little extra people and get a good car. My next car will be a 2002-6 Crown vic Police car.

Sorry to hear of your experience with the shop. This is another example of poor diagnosing. The new coil was a fair guess, but the plugs seem wrong to me. They may have been worn, but not the cause of the no run condition. Just my opinion.

buddy you got hammered. it would not have cost that much a my shop.. 4 plugs an ing control mod and 1 coil (by the way the car has 2 coils) + labor about 350 maybe 400 and that's pushing it.what realy sucks is that you had to even mention the module any good mechanic who has been around the block could figure out that problem quick.. you need a new guy

I know , where i used to live I had a friend who worked on cars and was really good. I know the benefits of having a trustworthy mechanic on your side. This was my first and last visit to this place and hopefully Ill find a decent mechanic soon. The sad part of this is that an Older gent who i work with occasionally, and works on his own cars, gave me an ignition module to try, but it was for an older cavalier. Didnt work. My father calls some of the new mechanics "replacement artists' and maybe that holds true in some places where you take your first diagnostic guess and fix that. If that doesnt work you go to the next feasable reason for the problem and fix that. Newer cars cant always be 'jimmied' like older cars but with the OBD system you'd expect some improvement in diagnostics. No regrets anyway, the guy didnt know what was wrong with the car but he kept me updated and besides, the car was $1000, and he took it as payment, and got it out of my hair. Thanks for the comments .

Same thing happened to my 1997 Chevy Cavalier. Thanks to the info in this thread and advice from a mechanic friend, we changed the crank position sensor and the fuel filter. That seemed to fix the problem, the car no longer stalls while I'm driving.

However, now it's hot and it won't start again after I've been driving for a while and then turn the car off. After some research, it seems clear that it's a vapor lock problem. I have the perfect storm of vapor lock causes - hot summer, high altitude, and 10% ethanol in my gas.

Now when we stop, we open the gas cap to let out the vapor, and are sure to leave the car to cool long enough to start again. What a pain in the butt!

Just when do you think an in tank electric fuel pump will see vapor? Vapor lock was only present when mechanical fuel pumps had to suck fuel from the back of the car up to the front engine.

I think you should look for another reason for the engine problem.

When you say it won't start, does that mean it won't turn over, or it turns over, but does not fire and run?

it ended up being the ignition module, it was toast and when the guy replaced it the car ran fine. i told him he was crazy and he could keep the car as payment and he agreed. wont go back there again though.

Yours is the fourth Guest on this thread. Just for the heck of it do you think you could give us a clue as to who the heck you are?