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Engine won't stay running

What's. Wrong. I got a new fuel pump engine starts then cut off distributor I think but don't really know....put to much money in this car to junk it...

 

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Just fired the Chevy up ran for a few then cut off...waitedr for tow truck. Tow truck came . fired back up ran fine. Drove it onto the tow truck...it worked fine....want to drive it to work but 😨 scared it might cut off....

 

[1slow96]

Suspect damaged wiring in engine harness. Start with harness grounds. Gently manipulate harness manually with motor running,and problem area should reveal itself.

 

[angelo]

Dies too soon for it to be the ICM, but i would look into testing that too.
-ALF out....

 

[4DoorSS]

Just fired the Chevy up ran for a few then cut off...waitedr for tow truck. Tow truck came . fired back up ran fine. Drove it onto the tow truck...it worked fine....want to drive it to work but 😨 scared it might cut off....

Without knowing all the details and seeing a HARD Failure, it's all speculative right now. But if I had to guess, as 1slow touched on, pay close attention to the Grounds at the Driver Side Cyl head near the Coil/ICM assembly. Good idea to remove those, clean them up and the head and use some dielectric grease when you reassemble things.

The first thing I may consider is your Fuel Pump or Circuit. If it happens to you again, try to listen for the Fuel Pump Prime when you first "Key On" the ignition. You should hear it prime for a second or 2. If not, then safe bet it's something with the pump and most likely a harness issue in the tank.

Really all I could offer on an intermittent issue but keep driving the car and try to stay close to home until you find/fix the issue. Read up in the stickies for things to look for during a "no Start" issue and see if you can narrow down the culprit for us to offer better help. Just really hard to say based on what we know or dont know.

 

[j cat]

you must use a fuel pressure gauge key on eng off 41-47 psi.. if 38psi and lower then can be pump or the wiring.

distributor usually will create miss fires when water gets into it or the ignition coil..
if the coil is the original then replace the coil and the ICM..

other problems maybe the PCM wiring and connectors .. remove air box and remove PCM check all the wiring and the connectors pins for any green mess.

I had a problem last week with my 96 Impala not starting cranked good but a little slower than normal.. the battery was dying 12.26volts key off ... when I cranked it the engine , the volts dropped down to 8 volts.. so the fuel pump could not get the fuel pressure up high enough to start engine..put trickle charger on it .. next day I touched the key and it started up in 1/10 of a sec...battery is 5yrs old .. auto zone battery these IMO will not buy again..
cold weather or the hot weather does create this ..
I also put the volt meter on the fuel pump connector rear of car when I turned the key to ignition on .. volts too low ...next day with engine running the volts at that same connector was 13volts..ran perfect..

old cars will consume your time and $$$ but these are great sedans .if you have $40K buy a new vehicle ..

 

[4DoorSS]

word of advice...it really helps if you let us know what was recently done to the car. I just saw this thread a little further down....

https://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/34-engine-problems-maintenance/1315150-engine-wont-stay-running.html

...so, did you replace the pump or have someone do it? Did your issue here happen after that? When replaced, was the wiring harness in the tank replaced and the Bulkhead connection "carefully" inspected?

I too replaced a pump years ago and months later had an intermittent issue pop up that left us stranded 500 miles from home. A ne pump installed, ran great for a day or 2 and acted up the same again. What we found was a burned up Ground wire in the tank that was missed before.

 

[sherlock9c1]

Hey Bryce in the future just make one thread and keep adding to it. Don't post the same issue in multiple sections.

 

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Thanks.....ill give this car a few more chances to get tight..or I will buy a new one..do love this car..out a lot of money in it

 

[sherlock9c1]

Bryce, these cars are over 20 years old. Most cars this age are in the junkyard by now, because almost everything needs to be replaced or refurbished for them to be reliable. If you want to daily drive this car, you're going to need to replace all the wear items AND be able to diagnose problems by having the proper tools.

I'm getting one of these cars ready to be a daily driver after the previous owner wore it out. I've spent $1500 so far just in parts with mostly me doing the labor. I'll be over 50 hours labor in it by the time I'm done. There's a reason most people buy new or newer cars.

 

[angelo]

I just spent $2k to get me back to DD mode.
Tires, ALL brake parts, rotted exhaust, and rotted fuel filter [ only metal in fuel line]

I am determined to hit 300K, at 298 now.
-ALF out...

 

[schlicky13]

He mentions a new fuel pump, but I'm curious if the bulkhead connector was inspected? Was it just a fuel pump, or was the in-tank harness replaced as well? If those were fried (like these cars are so notorious for) a new fuel pump would be a band-aid at best and would match the symptoms he's experiencing.