In article ,
Gunner Asch wrote:

The wifes car has started to run for up to 5 minutes..then simply die
for another 3-4..then start right up and run for another few
minutes..then die again. This happened in Bakersfield and I had to
have her towed 43 miles home. No lights show up on the dash..cranks
fine, just dies.

It has a dual coil..a 4 banger with a pair of replaceable coil packs
on a bottom assembly. Coil packs are $33 each..the bottom assembly is
$113. For a total of $179....

Any suggestions what to look for? Coils seem to have the proper ohms
both to each other in each modual and there appears to be proper
voltage on the pins going to the bottom electronics assembly.

It could be something besides the coils assembly....any ideas? Any
ideas of how to test the coils and bottom unit? Autozone doesnt have
the adapters to test this particular assembly.

Ebay has the parts..for more than what I get em for at
Autozone...geeze....

Its a 1998 Saturn SC, 1.9 engine.

Crom but I hate that car...but its the only ride she has..so..it has
to be kept running.

I can probably go to the wrecking yard in bakersfield and pick up a
used one..but Id like to find out for sure before I blow half a tank
of gas.

When I pulled the coil pack..I did notice one pair of plug wire
terminals were badly corroded with "white stuff" so used a wire brush
on them and put it back together. Ran 5 minutes then shut down.

Crom but I hate Saturns....phut!
Of course..she is 5'2..and Im 6'2....and I have to put it on like
shoes...

Any suggestions?

Gunner

Hmmm.... Does it maintain fuel pressure when one these stall events
occur? Do you have spark if you crank it in a dead period? Do you have a
'for real' shop manual & code scanner? (Be careful checking/messing with
fuel pressure/lines on this car... it's injected and you'll need a
suitable gauge assembly to avoid being 'hosed down'.)

Intermittent issues can sometimes be frustrating to isolate.

I have a hunch it may turn out to be a bum hall effect sensor or some
such... but it's only a hunch. Check the simple stuff first and go from
there.

Also, take a look through these... 'massage' the search terms as you
deem appropriate.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&a...rn+SC&as_oq =
&as_eq=&num=50&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch =&as_qdr=all&as_rights=
&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=off

Let us know how it goes...

Erik

PS, I'm not big on Saturn either. Their only contribution to civilized
society was the spin on transmission filter.