My car died

1064rg

Registered User
93 SC, I was driving home from work and the tach briefly fell to 0 then went back to normal. A few miles later it did the same thing, but it died. I was finally able to get it restarted, and drove it 5 miles home. I had no tach, and the engine temp was way higher than normal. I just left it in 3rd gear (5sp), and drove 50-55 to keep temp down. I made it home, and parked it.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what went wrong, where to start looking for problems?
 
not certain that your overheating is in any way related, but the run issue/tach is probably the the cam sensor losing signal. If not, the dis module may be going bad.
 
The dis module was replaced by the dealer earlier this year.
How do I test the cam sensor?
 
Sounds like a balancer failure. Check to see if the balancer and crank pulley are wobbling. Sometimes the hub that goes over the crank shears and the portion of the balancer that has the reluctor wheel for the crank sensor, ends up still attached but out of phase, which will make it run like crap and could also account for the overheating because of the change in ignition timing.

David
 
I don't remember if the check engine light came on or not, but I think it did. All this happened a few weeks ago, and I got busy with other things, and parked the car, and drove my truck. I hopefully will get a chance to look at it this weekend.
 
sounds like the same thing that happen to me. and it was the hb and it took out the crank sensor. you need to have someone watch the hb when you try and and crank it to see if it turns and watch for the upshift light if it stays on while cranking then start there good luck
 
I've never even seen the upshift light light up, maybe upon start up, but never while driving.
Can I check the hb by hand wiggling, or do i have to have someone crank, while I watch?
 
The upshift light will stay on as your cranking it over when the ballancer has come loose or come apart. it wont start as long as the upshift light is on. check to see if your belt are lined up on the crank pulley. If the pulley snout is broke you may be able to wiggle or turn the crank pulley by hand. You could quickly take the belts off and then try to move the crank pulley by hand.
 
I would first determine if the upshift light stays on while cranking it over.If it does,turn the ignition off... feel inside the pulley balancer for a crank bolt. If it's not there pull out your wallet and be prepared to spend some loot.
 
hopefully I'll get a chance to check it this weekend. If it is the HB, is there a DIY write-up somewhere?
 
I pulled the belts off, everything seems fine, all the bolts are there. The car won't start-dead battery. I've got it on the charger now. I'll keep testing once the battery is charged up.
 
I charged up the battery, and it started and ran fine. No lights, no problems.
Thanks everybody, if I have any more problems, I'll post.
 
I drove it less than 50 miles and the the tach fell to 0, and the CEL light came on and stayed on, but there was no performance loss. Then the light went out, and the tach started working again. Then this morning I drove to work, and the tach worked, and no light.
I hate diagnosing intermittent problems. Any suggestions?
 
DIS module did the same thing to me. Kept happening more often and then finally wouldn't start. Took about a 3 year process, but I only drove the car about 600 miles a year at most.

I know you said it was a new one, but sometimes the mounting isn't done properly and they get a touch too hot and stop working properly. Have you pulled the DIS and looked at the heat compound used on it? Is it getting good ground?
 
In the last few days it has given me a few hard start probs, then the next time it starts fine.
'Have you pulled the DIS and looked at the heat compound used on it? Is it getting good ground? '
I just assumed the dealership would install a part correctly. How would I know if he did it correctly?
When the tach/light prob occurred, I had just left the store, and the car had been running less than 2 min when it happened, then within 5 min the prob went away. I drove the rest of the way home and shut it off. An hour later I went to start it and it wouldn't start. I may have started had I kept at it, but I just got in my truck and drove it. This morning it started and drove fine. No probs whatsoever.
 
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Sounds like a bad cam position sensor or a loose wiring connection going to the sensor. It would really help to know what codes it's throwing.

David
 
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