I’ve had my silverado probably 3-4 months now. my parents bought it for me used cause my other car was an even worse POS. ever since i got it, i’ve had this specific issue where it’ll just die while driving. it stops accelerating and kind of just unwillingly chugs along, the steering wheel will lock up and it’ll die on the spot. about half the time, i’m able to turn it off and the back on but it’ll die pretty soon again afterwards. we’ve already replaced the fuel pump and some sensors, i’m at a loss and really just can’t afford to keep taking guesses at what the issue is. any ideas?
A faulty crankshaft position sensor can cause this.
If the sensor fails when it gets hot, and doesn’t send a signal to the computer, the computer see’s no reason to operate the fuel and ignition systems, and the engine shuts off.
Then if you wait for the engine to cool back down, along with the sensor, the engine starts and runs.
Tester
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cool, thank you! that’s what i was thinking but i have no vehicle knowledge so i wanted to see if anyone else agreed. hopefully that’s the issue. do you think my battery could at all be causing this?
No.
The crankshaft position sensor.
Tester
When the engine stops turning, the power steering pump stops working, so it’s a lot harder to turn the steering wheel. But don’t confuse that with the steering wheel locking up. When it gets hard to steer, you have to steer with much more force, but don’t give up.
If the engine quits AND the steering wheel locks up, it would be a really odd problem with the ignition switch. CPS far more likely, as Tester said.
it’s not the power steering pump. the steering pump was broken when we got it and i still drove it then, the steering wheel flat out WONT move
i hope that’s it but i’m not sure. i got to work at 8:45 this morning and when i tried to leave at 6, it wouldn’t start at all. i had to get it towed and now i don’t have a car
That’s actually good news. It will be easier for the shop to figure out what’s wrong since it won’t start at all. the first step in the process – if you go about it scientifically – is to determine if the problem is lack of spark, or lack of gasoline. Spark can be checked using a spare spark plug visually during cranking, and fuel can be checked by spraying starter fluid into the air intake. If it starts and runs briefly using starter fluid, you know you got spark and the problem is gas. Best of luck. Silverado’s are nice trucks in my opinion btw, you are lucky to have one, definitely not a pos.
If the shop works on this for several days and hasn’t determined if it is spark or fuel, tow it to another shop.
i didn’t say it’s going to a shop. it’s getting towed to my parents house. my step dad is a mechanic but he’s also the one that’s “fixed” this problem several times before so my patience is wearing extremely thin. i can’t afford a mechanic
It’s not unusual for even a professional shop to have to work on a problem several times before they finally get it fixed. Once in a while they can never fix it at all, no matter what they do (and that the customer is willing to pay for) that comes with the complications of modern cars. Determining spark vs fuel problem is the first step towards your solution imo.
Sounds to me like you can’t afford NOT to tow it to a mechanic.
Even if your stepdad is a great guy and a good mechanic overall, a better diagnostician with the proper diagnostic equipment at hand may be necessary for this one. Tester may well be right about the CPS, but if that doesn’t fix it you may have to “bite the bullet” and take it to a reputable shop.
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A compromise, take it to a shop for a proper diagnosis then your dad fixes what the shop says in the problem.
i have $50 in my bank account. if you know a mechanic that will diagnose my car for that much in the dallas area, please send them my way. it’s not that i don’t want to spend the money, i literally DO NOT HAVE the money
as much as i would love to do that, i don’t have any money to get it diagnosed since i assume most, if not all, mechanics charge for any service
George,
The vehicle is dead on the road.
So you’re saying pay to have it towed to a shop, pay a diagnostic fee to find the problem, and then have it towed so the dad can replace the part?
That sounds economical.
Tester
1 Like
I believe the OP said the truck is now at home. Since the dad is a mechanic, he may have an inexpensive way to tow the truck between the home and the pro shop and back. Just an idea, not a command. If replacing the sensor you mentioned above doesn’t fix the problem, that’s not particularly economical either. With modern engine, easy to run out of money before running out of guesses.
I’m truly sorry, but there is absolutely no fix we can suggest that will cost less that $50.
I hate to say it, but you’re stuck until you can manage to scratch together some cash. Your major problem here isn’t technical, it’s lack of cash.
George has made some good suggestions, and he’s right that if you try to “shotgun” the repair you’ll likely run out of money long before you run out of guesses.
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^ basically exactly this. my mom used to work for a tow company so she gets free tows. my step dad has a car shop on the property of their house so it’s there now.
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