# 1998 Sunfire Dies when hot

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** pontiac, sunfire\
**Created:** [September 1, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951 "2009-09-01T16:39:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jmood\_us](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ba0ec/32.png) [@jmood\_us](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jmood_us)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951/1 "2009-09-01T16:39:30Z")

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My son’s 1998 Pontiac Sunfire(200K miles) will die in the road after the motor warms up. Any ideas.

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**Author:** ![researcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/edb3f5/32.png) [@researcher](https://community.cartalk.com/u/researcher)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951/2 "2009-09-01T17:16:27Z")

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We will need a little more information. Does the engine restart immediately? If it doesn’t, is there spark at a substituted plug? If spark is available, will the engine catch with a shot of starting fluid into the throttle body?

We need this information to differentiate between a fuel pump problem and an ignition problem. Come back to us.

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**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951/3 "2009-09-01T17:18:38Z")

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The first two suspects with a GM that displays this problem are the ignition module or the crankshaft position sensor. Either of these components can fail when they get hot causing the engine to shut down.

Tester

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**Author:** ![jmood\_us](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ba0ec/32.png) [@jmood\_us](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jmood_us)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951/4 "2009-09-01T20:32:51Z")

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It does restart after it cools down.

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**Author:** ![jmood\_us](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ba0ec/32.png) [@jmood\_us](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jmood_us)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-sunfire-dies-when-hot/35951/5 "2009-09-01T20:34:26Z")

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thanks, how do I test for this?