cpickering

My 2001 Carrera / automatic stalled at idle after running very well for 45 minutes at freeway speed (20,000 miles). Motor turned over for several seconds before finally starting (seemed like no gas). After parked for about 1 hour it started right up without a miss and seems to continue doing so. Is there anything specific I should look for? I am thinking of buying the iCarsoft POR II OBD scanner. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

DBJoe996

Anomaly? Slight vapor lock? Weak fuel pump? Faulty or dirty MAF sensor? Hard to say. How many miles on car and recent maintenance? Maybe a good idea to get a scanner or Durametric and check some run time values. I assume no CEL?

cpickering

DBJoe996, Sorry for the slow response as I was out of town for the week-end,but thanks for your input. My car is a 2001 Carrera Cabriolet / automatic and has been extremely well cared for. First to answer your questions: (1) car currently has 20,137 original miles. (2) 30,000 mile service completed 4,900 miles ago. (3) CEL has come on twice since new, each time shortly after fueling up (last time about 2 weeks ago) and had it re-set immediately. Oil and filters have been changed about every 2,500 miles and the IMS changed 9,500 miles ago. I have had no issues with the car and drove it 6 days ago at highway speeds (75-80 mph) for about 45 minutes with no issues. Drove it again 2 days ago at highway speeds for about 1 hour and then when pulling into a parking spot it stuttered and died. It started right back up but died again 15 minutes later at an idle into my driveway. I started it up and it idled for a few minutes, sounded like it loaded up and then died. After sitting over night it starts right up, idles as always and ran very good out on the road for 25 minutes. Through all of this the oil pressure shows as normal, water temperature warms up to 180 - 185 (as usual) and the battery shows normal charging (12 - 14v). Should I be concerned about anything? Any feed-back is appreciated.

Ahsai

Best is to scan for any codes using a Durametric or at least an OBDII scanner.

When it happens again next time, watch the tach needle carefully and see if it bounces for about 1/8" when you're cranking the engine. If it's not, it's likely you have a flaky crank position sensor.

DBJoe996

Wow...that's very low mileage for a 16 year old car! Good maintenance record. Doesn't sound like anything concerning, however, "(3) CEL has come on twice since new, each time shortly after fueling up (last time about 2 weeks ago) and had it re-set immediately". When the CEL light comes on and sets a code, the code(s) are very specific and will tell you where the problem lies. It could be a weak fuel pump or something in the evap system. Next time the CEL comes on, get the underlying code. Almost every auto parts store will read the OBDII code that has set the CEL. Have you checked the O-ring on the gas cap for cracks?

cpickering

Thanks to both of you for your quick response and suggestions. I plan to immediately buy an OBDII scanner, as I prefer to be able to monitor something like this using the same equipment to compare apples to apples. Good idea on the gas cap gasket, as I was considering buying a new one but would like to keep all original as possible. As for the mileage, originally from Calif. and have a tendency to be **** about my cars. Now in the mid-west, however this one has not yet been in the rain or snow and is covered while in the garage. You both have trick cars and I admire them, but plan to keep this one as original as possible. I direct my racing tendencies to my boat (2005 Baja 36' Outlaw off-shore racer with twin 700hp supercharged Merc racing motors which are tricked out). I'll take your suggestions and check the codes if any pop up and change out the gas cap gasket for now. I'll do an updated post later on to say how things worked out.

5CHN3LL

When my fuel pump was on the way out, it would occasionally behave as you describe.