Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Engine shuts off for 1/2 second intermittently while driving

[Steve St.Laurent]

Just today I started having a major stumble where it's like the engine is shut off for 1/2 second or so. Happened probably 30 or 40 times in 200 miles. When it happens the wait to start light (and only the WTS) comes on and it goes off as soon as the engine comes back to life. It never happened longer than a 1/2 second. I tried turning the ignition off while driving to see what happens with the dash lights and all of the lights go through the self test just like normal. Anyone seen anything like this?

 

[JLandry]

Steve,



I think I've read about someone else experiencing this type of problem here in the forum, and I think it turned out to be the ECM. I'll try to do some searching to see if I can find the thread.



Regards,



John L.

 

[JLandry]

Well I guess I was mistaken about reading a thread where this was caused by an ECM.

Have you checked for stored trouble codes using a good code scanner?

I did find a lengthy thread where someone described experiencing an occasional brief stumble while driving which proved to be difficult to eliminate... until he noticed it went away for a time after disconnecting his battery cables. He ultimately was able to fix it, and the most likely cause was a grounding issue with the battery cables. You can read the entire thread HERE.

I found other references to similar problems being caused by intermittent signals from the crank angle sensor or vehicle speed sensor. In those cases, a DTC was set and stored.

A faulty or failing APPS has been known to cause similar behavior, but that's probably a long short or I would think it would happen more consistently.

So to start with, it may be worth attacking this from a grounding perspective. Try cleaning/protecting the battery, engine, and chassis grounds.

Good luck,

John L.