Engine Quit, Won't Start

Are you still sitting there at the traffic light. Wow. By now I would have called a tow truck to bring it to a mechanic. They will have the most important things that you will need to get your vehicle going again. First, they'll have a tow truck so that you will no longer be blocking traffic. Second, they will have tools so that failed components can be removed. Third, they will have access to the Chevy documentation and service bulletins that will inform the mechanics what might be causing the brakes to seize on your vehicle, if it is the brakes. Fourth and lastly, they will have mechanics that can do hands on testing, inspecting and removal of whatever has failed on your vehicle.

Now if you wish to discuss the advantages of disc brakes over drum brakes, why anti-lock brake systems can cause accidents from over confidence, why a sound suspension system is important in good braking functions or any other engineering aspects of your vehicle, we will be glad to discuss them here. We will even be happy to hear how your vehicle actually failed once it is fixed. But no smart phone interface is going to allow us to pry open seized calipers, release hydraulic pressure, or disable the security system from this vehicle that thinks it is stolen.

Get real.

Check your owners manual. On my daughter's Taurus, there is a "fuel safety cutout switch" located in the trunk (similar to the locking mechanism for your seat belt). It's purpose is to stop the fuel in the event of an accident. Generally this should not be triggered by even hard braking, but you may have a faulty sensor/electronics.

If your S-10 does not sport a blue oval on the grill, it does not have that fuel rollover switch. It was a design that was just a little too good. It was common to have someone bump your car during parallel parking maneuvers, and trip the sensor. It would not have been so bad, if they had wired in a light to the normally open set of contacts that they left out.

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I think I would check the battery connections as a start. The side terminals are prone to developing corrosion over time, and the rubber cable ends will hide it from view. Try and see if the cables will move when you rotate them around the bolt. If you send me a PM with your e-mail address, or phone # I will try to help you.

Thank you for the suggestion!! the terminals are clean and the battery is two weeks old. This is a computer cluster issue as i have been researching and spoke with Chevy. of course they said bring it in!!?? I appreciate all your suggestions but as of now I'm informed by chevy that the only way to determin or fix this issue is to interface with scan modual unfortunatley. Any one else out there still have this truck??

I have a 93 version. Do you want to swap?

If you look in the fuse box, there should be a fuse that is powering the ECM at all times. If you were to remove that fuse and wait for 30-60 seconds and then replace that fuse, it should reset the ECM without any codes. There may be 2 fuses there that are doing that job. You might have to reset both (at same time) or just one if you can determine which one. Good luck.

But I thought the OP mentioned that he disconnected the battery already. Why didn't this work to reset the ECM.

OP mentioned in second post that he replaced the battery 2 weeks ago. I interpreted that as having happened before the truck died in the road. I wonder if it is still there. Big back up on I95 today.

Thankyou for your advice!! I found that one of the ECM fuse was blown!! Believe it or not after replaceing it with a spare fuse boom started right up backed it out of drive way went about fifteen feet and died again same thing. It's all good though got it shopped now. Thankyou and no no trade!!

Are you interested in trading up to a classic Renault Fuego?

Wow. My initial post was nearly an hour and a half after the initial post, but nobody at all has caught on to the absurdity that the OP's question was from the perspective of somebody sitting in traffic, unable to move. With smart cell phones capability today this is possible but hardly likely when one thinks a little.

check the little box on the right

it would appear you have the least reliable car in the world

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Now now Peter. We all know that a Cavalier is much more unreliable than anything else.