my lumina stalls every time i come to a stop what icould the problem be

Asked by yorgie Jan 07, 2007 at 03:53 PM about the 1992 Chevrolet Lumina

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

my lumina has a 3.1 engine nad it stalls every time i come to a stop what is the problem

30 Answers

Hi yorgie. You probably need to get this looked at by a mechanic but I'll bet that if this occurs after a highway run or speeds in excess of 40 mph it has something to do with your torque convertor clutch sticking. Just a hunch, but if you have a mechanic disconnect the TCC solenoid wire (in front of the transmission) it may solve your problem. If that's it your mechanic can give you an idea of how big a job it will be to fix. If that's not it your mechanic may be able to pinpoint one of 100 other things it could be. Good luck

16 people found this helpful.
95

your alternator may not be keeping up with the needs of the motor, your MAP sensor could be goin out, check for a "service engine" light and run a diag. and see if its tripping any sensors

6 people found this helpful.

sounds like your throttle position senser is bad,also change your fuel filter.

8 people found this helpful.
85

It might be the egr valve, I had the same problem with my car, we switched it out and it's running like it should now.

7 people found this helpful.
2,515

Do you have a check engine light on at all? There are several different things that could cause this issue. What speed are you going before it happens? Will it sit and continue to run if it is parked? Does it do it when it is cold or warm out? Is the battery and alternator good? Let it sit and run, if it doesn't stall running for over a half hour, your battery and alternator are fine. A throttle position sensor may cause this, but you would also get erratic shifting while accelerating. It would feel like the car is jerking.

14 people found this helpful.
90

i have a 1995 van and it has the 3.8 mine does the same thing im pulling my hair out only mine stalls going 70 down the highway!

9 people found this helpful.
250

I have 1992 euro lumina and the mechanic and I are going nuts!!, it stalls suddenly for no reason.... we changed the IAC (placed a generic one). The harness is fine. The IAC wiring ws changed. What is the throttle position sensor?, where is it?

25 people found this helpful.
8,295

throttle position sensor tells the ECM how much the throttle is opened, whether part or full throttle or closed the sensor is located on the throttle body where the cable end for accelearator and/or cruise control is attached. the sensor is typically installed by two torx bolts

10 people found this helpful.
60

i have a 97 lumina that had a similar problem and I found that the wires to the starter were loose, so I replaced the starter and it works fine

3 people found this helpful.
680

I just purchased a 1992 Chevy Lumina car has the same problem that everybody else seems to have it keeps stalling while idling, or at a stop sign. Runs great going down the road only happens when setting still. I has a new map sensor, egr valve, and has been tested with a code 51. ECM promp. Can someone help me with this part location. Phil

68 people found this helpful.
595

I am having the same ish here...um it does fine, yesterday it stalled at stops and when going down the highway the engine light came on nd the speedomiter went wacky but did not stall on highway just when I wanted to stop at gas station it died...it is getting worse now...so it can be my Torque and or throttle it does often start high idle and then it goes down to normal...and no knocks and no ticks and I can hear the pump good another person said to remove wires to the trans TCC to test this if it stops dying...but for how long a few miles or til it warms up and or a day??? not sure. The car is running smooth but just dies! HELP!? lol

25 people found this helpful.
595

Sorry I have a 91 multiport 3.1...It does fine cruising just the random dying or engine light comes on and that is indicator right there...u just know it gonna die...not only that it has a kick back when you accell and then decell...for some reason...I am keying in on the Torque...what you guys think???

15 people found this helpful.
595

I will hope some one answers this soon...I will check back today...Thanks!

3 people found this helpful.
595

I found a solution...I changed the Crank sensor it was cracked in 6 places and the 42 code went away with new one in...on the code 14 it was the Coolant Temp Sensor...this is the problems you will have: Hard engine starting Rich or lean air/fuel ratio Improper operation of emissions devices Reduced fuel economy Improper converter clutch lockup Hesitation on acceleration Engine stalling http://www.autozone.com/autozone/repairinfo/common/repairInfoMain.j sp? leftNavPage=productsHowTo&partCode=0996b43f80a01354&title=Cool ant+Temperature+Sensor&targetPage=productInformation

10 people found this helpful.
80

I have a 1994 chevy lumina. It was losing power while driving down the street, and would ocassionally die while driving, and took awhile to start it again (all the while my check engine light coming on and then back off). It eventually got to the point where the car died on me and refused to start. It was towed to the shop, and we found out the crankshaft wiring harness was bad, as well as the starter pulling too much power. A week later, the car did the same thing, and it was a loose starter cable. Hope some of that helps. Also, my car seems to be "sputtering now". Could that just mean it needs a tune up?

8 people found this helpful.
280

I have a 99 lumina chevy. It stalks in stop lights or sonetimes while running. Is it pissible that the gas tank and fuel line is dirty that it blocks the fuel injection pump? At 1st a friend told me to repkace the fuel filter which i did and it wored goid for 4 months. But now it starts stalling again. Any suggestion guys? Thanks

16 people found this helpful.
280

I have a 99 lumina chevy. It stalls in stop lights or sometimes while running. Is it possible that the gas tank and fuel line is dirty that it blocks the fuel injection pump? At 1st a friend told me to replace the fuel filter which i did and it worked good for 4 months. But now it starts stalling again. Any suggestion guys? Thanks

12 people found this helpful.
10

put a new starter in now battery not charging lights dim

1 people found this helpful.
180

These cars seem to be NOTORIOUS for this problem. The solutions I have found include pulling the ECM out and bathing the contacts / plugs / etc in WD-40. The vacuum system on top of the throttle valve is also very temperamental - the only solution seems to be brand new parts which are no longer available anywhere. Scavenger hunt at Pull- A-Part for less used parts was my eventual solution. The rubber block needs to be intact and firm. Tried several solutions with this, but apparently the rubber block has to leak a certain amount or the car will not work, but a vac line leak upstream from that rubber block sends which ever sensor it is connected to nuts, as well as most of the others. Always check the EGR valve on GM cars: If it starts leaking it can mimic ever failure known to man - my experience anyway. All of the parts related to the MAP/TPS/IAC seem to be rather fragile. Avoid rubber vacuum lines - they leak too much. Some success with gel tubing. Only real solution seems to be avoid GM cars like the plague. In my opinion these cars should have been recalled years ago because of this problem. It can be an extremely serious safety issue.

9 people found this helpful.
180

Continuation: Make sure you check the screws that hold valve plate to throttle shaft. We have had one of these cars for ten years. I have replaced MAP, IAC, TPS, Vac Lines, Rubber Block on top of the throttle valve, O2 sensor, Fuel Pump, and fuel filter. Some of these several times. The only thing left to replace is the ECM and the fuel pressure regulator. I have found that you can fix the problem for a while but it never stays fixed for more than a couple or three months. To drive the car safely you have to always be anticipating that it will cut off when you stop, or press the accelerator, because even when it has worked nominally for awhile you never know when the problem will recur. And it always seems to show up at the wrong times.

9 people found this helpful.
100

Put a holly 4 barrel on it and remove sensors and emissions.. register in state that has no emissions laws and your set... oh and get rid of all those vacuum lines too. They make really bad spaghetti dinner !

3 people found this helpful.
100

Continued: Did I mention a lobotomy? This will bring you back to a bare 60's model engine and carb system..... we don't need all this crap people.... I hope the one that designed this mess lost the shirt off of his back!

7 people found this helpful.
190

I have a 92 Lumina Euro 3.1 non od and the car idles fine starts fine as soon as you touch the gas in any gear it try's to stall and I've replaced iac tps tune up but no check engine light just tired and need help

19 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 90 Lumina.....idling rough and sometimes shuts off. Prior to this starting, it seemed to have some kind of vacuum issue. Replaced the water pump and new wires and plugs. I know it's an older car, but other that the idling issue, has been doing ok.

5 people found this helpful.
40

My sister's 1990 Lumina Euro would shut off when she sat at the light, but when she cranked it up it would run fine from the light until she sat still again then it would die. We too it to a shop and everything he suggested we had already changed which he confirmed.... like the crank sensor, map sensor, Idle air control valve, throttle position sensor. Then the mechanic said that he had heard of a car doing this same thing some time ago and it turned out to be the fuel injectors. We took the car home and started checking the fuel injectors. If I remember correctly the good fuel injectors read from 8 to 12 ohms on my multimeter and there were two that read 3.8 ohms and 3.6 ohms I replaced the two but eventually replaced all the fuel injectors due to the fact that the car was 20 years old. Also we installed bosch platinum plugs which made the car run smooth and quieter so I adjusted the throttle idle screw after removing the cap across it at the intake.......Bakerboy

2 people found this helpful.
30

I've battled this problem for far too long. Since I could force my Lumina APV to run, I just didn't have the resolve to fix it. I also made assumptions that the pro mechanics who have worked on it before me took preliminary steps to resolve the problem. They might have, but they may have been doing it incorrectly. It's probably a timing problem. Cheap and easy to check. Takes a small jumper cable, a timing light, a 13mm socket (with 4" extension and swivel adapter) and very little time. It sounds like what has happened to all of the vehicles above is that the timing was set without disabling the MCU. If you don't disable the MCU, you really have no true understanding of where your base timing is set, since the MCU can mostly compensate for a pretty significant deviation from factory spec timing (generally 10 degrees before TDC (Top Dead Center)). Procedure: Loosen the clamp bolt that holds your distributor into the block. Only loosen enough to where you can rotate the distributor with ease. Check the passenger side strut column for a label to see what your timing spec is. As you're facing the engine with the hood up, this will be the column on the left, back by the hood hinge. Also right next to that same column will be a female electrical connector sticking just slightly out of the split loom carrying electrical wiring and a couple of tiny vacuum lines. A 6" test jumper harness: using a male spade lug on one end and an alligator clip on the other is pretty easy to make. Plug in the spade lug and clip the alligator to a nearby ground (the anchor bolt to the radiator overflow reservoir works just fine for me). You have now bypassed/disabled the MCU. The timing on your vehicle is now completely mechanical. You're going to be amazed just how far off it is. If you're experiencing the problems above, it can be well out of spec. Hook up the battery jumpers on your timing light. If you have an inductive pickup clamp on your timing light, clamp it around the ignition wire leading to the spark plug of your #1 cylinder (the spark plug on the back side of the engine, nearest the strut column where you located your test jumper). If you have the alligator clip style timing light probe, just unhook the #1 ignition wire from the distributor cap and clamp your alligator clip onto the exposed terminal. The engine will run a little rougher, but it should still run. Make sure you've painted your slot on the main pulley with white paint or caulk to make it easier to read where your timing is relative to the scale mounted on your engine (reads 0 to 16, going away from you). Start the engine, aim the timing light at the pulley and scale, and squeeze the trigger. I'm willing to bet that your timing could be as much as 50 degrees before TDC (three times the distance of the 16 mark on the scale). This just seems to be the maximum the MCU can compensate for at idle and out of gear. In gear, when warmed up and applying the brakes, or just letting off the accelerator, it's a bridge too far for the electronics to compensate for. Rotate your distributor slowly clockwise and check the timing. It is nearly impossible for one person to do both at the same time. For those working alone, move the distributor in minor increments, and check your progress with the timing light. When you get to the 10 degree mark: shut off the engine, remove the timing light, tighten down the distributor bolt, reconnect your #1 ignition wire (if removed in procedure) and disconnect the MCU override jumper. It will take about five minutes of driving before the MCU dials in the electronic timing. With the pre-detonation that has been occurring over the use of the mis-timed engine, expect a little black smoke at your exhaust for a bit of time. Proper timing and detonation will be burning off the deposits in each cylinder for about an hour of driving time. The hardest part is adapting to not having to work the gas and brake pedals simultaneously whenever you come to a stop. It also has been the first time my 3.1l engine has ever shown its true performance capabilities, and they're pretty amazing. Total duration to set the timing properly is about ten minutes. Good luck! Happy motoring!!

3 people found this helpful.
10

put a live data scan tool and look at all the sensors sound like motor leans out could be broken vacuume hose near the power break booster when you put it in gear the torque moves engine and hose opens up causing issue

1 people found this helpful.
40

I got a 92 chevy euro lumina that has a similar problem. It starts fine and idles good, but when I go to hit the throttle it tries to die. Then itll drive fine and idle fine but when I come to a stop and then try to throttle itll do it again its especially bad when I try to go on a hill. Any ideas?

4 people found this helpful.

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