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

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

Check the fuel filter .

--
Snag
"90 FLHTCU "Strider"
'39 WLDD "PopCycle"
BS 132/SENS/DOF

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:17:09 -0600, "Snag"
wrote:

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

Check the fuel filter .

????....!!!!!!! Ill do that first thing in the morning! A very good
first start!!!

Many many thanks! Id absolutely not considered that at all. Indeed!

Crom but I hate that car....

Gunner

"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:17:09 -0600, "Snag"
wrote:

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

Check the fuel filter .

????....!!!!!!! Ill do that first thing in the morning! A very good
first start!!!

Many many thanks! Id absolutely not considered that at all. Indeed!

Crom but I hate that car....

Gunner


I had a Ford Falcon (Ford Taurus to you?) that did the same thing. I had a
thick film ignition module on the side of the distributor. Would run, heat
up, fail, cool down, run again....

Don't know if your vehicle has the same - maybe some spray freeze (or
compressed air) could aid diagnosis. Fault finding engine electronics can be
a game of elimination even for the pros.

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.

Also try asking over at, and searching through:

news:rec.autos.makers.saturn

Erik

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:17:09 -0600, "Snag" wrote:

Gunner Asch wrote:

Any suggestions?

Gunner

Check the fuel filter .

And the fuel tank vent!

Mark Rand
RTFM

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:34:40 -0800, Erik wrote:

Also try asking over at, and searching through:

news:rec.autos.makers.saturn

Erik


Saved for later in the day. Thanks!

Gunner

On Nov 24, 6:03*am, 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

Another easy one is the oil-pressure switch that keeps the fuel pump
running after the car starts.


Dave

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:03:54 -0800, 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.

It's okay, you have Tools and know how to use them...

Eric is right, get a fuel pressure gauge and see if the in-tank pump
is dying. They will drive you nuts going intermittent and you are
checking the wrong end of the car. The pressure regulator can fail
open and loop all the fuel back to the tank, too.

When it dies, follow the signal from the crank sensor through to the
coil pack. The crank sensor tells the computer where the engine is,
and the ECU sends the firing pulse out to the CDI module and then the
coil pack.

Not a lot to go wrong there - unless it's losing an input, or the
output devices have problems. And you can watch the signal lines to
see whether it's an input failure or an output failure.

The ECU computer is rarely the problem, the I/O lines are protected
nine ways from sunday. And it's expensive even from a junkyard. It
gets changed last, and only after you are absolutely sure it really is
the problem, and you've proved it a dozen ways.

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

Its a 1998 Saturn SC, 1.9 engine.

Gee, Mom's is a 95 SL2 twin-cam 5-speed. Energizer Bunny car, it just
keeps going, and going, and going...

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.

Pay attention to /how/ it dies - if it was one bad coil you'd lose one
or two holes and it would sputter and *try* to keep running, but fade
away as it dies.

If it's a total signal loss from a bad crank sensor or a CDI Module
(coil driver) problem common to both coils it would die Now. Boom!
Switch Off.

Same for the fuel pump, pressure drops off fast and the squirt stops.

Oh, and don't discount a mass airflow sensor problem - that could also
cause the computer to throw up it's virtual hands and go "I Quit!"

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?

Yeah: Grin and Bear It, and drive it like it's supposed to be driven.

I always have to get the smile pried off my face when I totally stuff
a Beemer or Ricer trying to guttersnipe me, they see "Little car,
(Dad's) DP license plates, Easy mark!" WRONG. Eat Bus, Sucker.

Makes it worth squeezing into that little car.

-- Bruce --

Gunner Asch wrote:
Gunner

Check your Email...

--
Steve W.

fuel filter and a plugged vapor line to fuel tank will both cause this
effect

When dead; spray starting fluid into the throat.

If ignition, it will not run; if it fires and then dies, fuel.

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:45:39 -0800 (PST), XR650L_Dave
wrote:

On Nov 24, 6:03*am, 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

Another easy one is the oil-pressure switch that keeps the fuel pump
running after the car starts.


Dave


Your ****ting me. They use an oil pressure switch as a safety on that
car?

Ill check!

Gunner

Your ****ting me. They use an oil pressure switch as a safety on that
car?

Ill check!

Gunner

Not sure about the pressure switch.... But that engine is notorious for
having a stuck ring problem if I remember correctly. My old Saturn would
"eat" a quart every 500-1000 miles depending on traffic conditions.
--


Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022
01.908.542.0244
Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: http://www.AutoDrill.com
Multiple Spindle Drills: http://www.Multi-Drill.com
Production Tapping: http://Production-Tapping-Equipment.com/
Flagship Site: http://www.Drill-N-Tap.com
VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/user/AutoDrill

V8013-R

On Nov 24, 4:06*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:45:39 -0800 (PST), XR650L_Dave



wrote:
On Nov 24, 6:03*am, 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

Another easy one is the oil-pressure switch that keeps the fuel pump
running after the car starts.

Dave

Your ****ting me. *They use an oil pressure switch as a safety on that
car?

Ill check!

Gunner

Not sure if that engine does, but it is commonly done. Our 92 minivan
had that setup.

Now if it was a ford pickup, I'd say check the fuel cutoff impact
switch under the dashboard on the passenger side. They would get flaky
on those models.


Dave

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:09:51 -0500, "Steve W." wrote:

Gunner Asch wrote:
Gunner

Check your Email...


Darn it, email problems causing the engine to cut out! I knew things had gone
too far when they started putting computers in cars ;-)



Mark Rand
RTFM

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.


Not sure if it is the ignition but if it is a case of no spark:

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=110475

Yup. Thats me with the problem, I document the good and the bad.

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller