JustAnswer > Car
Ask A Question|Register|Login|Help
JustAnswer

Car

Ask a Car Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Car question?

17 Auto Mechanics are Online Now
characters left:
Not a Car Question?

Question

I have a question about my car. I have a 2001 Cadillac Catera Sport and we are having some troubles with it. When you start the car and it runs for awhile the car will just die. It has a brand new fuel pump in it. When the car dies, the fuel cap light comes on and so does the little light when you want to use the sport mode of the car. Would you happen to know maybe why this is causing the car to die? The guy that we took it to said that the other fuel pump was bad so he put in the new one. Also he had to recharge the battery because it had some corrosion on the wires so the alternator was able to charge the battery. I was just wondering if you might know whats causing it to die. Thanks so much, Chris

Submitted: 324 days and 11 hours ago.
Category: Car
Value: $9
Status: AWAITING EXPERT REPLY
+
Read More

Optional Information

2001 Cadillac Catera Sport V-6

Already Tried:
new fuel pump, got all the corrosion off the battery and the positive wire. Charged the battery and machine says battery is still good.

Posted by Tracer 324 days and 11 hours ago.

Info Request

Hello, lets forget the lights for now and look at the basics working from there. You say the car gets warm and dies or cuts off. When this happens, does the car start right back up or do you have to crank long time or do you do something different to get it to start again? Does car abruptly shut off (die) or does it become a rough idle then stalls? give me as much detailed info as you can.I will see if I can help from there. Thanks

RC

324 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

When the car dies, it will start back up but it may take a few minutes before it will fire. As for the car dying, it will just shut off, no rough idling or anuthing, it will just shut off and thats when those two lights come on. the guy that we have taken it to says he can leave it running in park and it will not die. So when we went to pick it up that night, we left his house and got about three miles from his house and it just died on the road. So I went back to get him because we were going to tow it back to his house and when we got back to the car it started again and he took it back to his house.

Posted by Tracer 324 days and 11 hours ago.

Info Request

So the car cranks ok but will not start ( fire) and it takes awhile to get it fired up agian. You noted also it just died while driving on the road?. I am just reconfirming things as I am not there. There could be many things to cause this so I am trying to work 123. Thanks as there will surely be more questions.

324 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

The very first time it died, my wife was setting in a drive thru and and she said it just died, no rough idling, just died. So I went up there to check it out and even with me trying to jump it, it wouldn't fire. So I just pushed it to a parking place for the night and came back the next day to look at it. Me and a friend put it on a trailer and took it to Autozone to have the battery checked out. They recharged it and the machine said the battery was good so we put it back in the car and it started but the guy I was with said it could have been because of all the corrosion on the post and the wire. So we hauled it over to the guy's house that was going to look at it. He called me the next day and said that it needs a fuel pump so he put a new fuel pump in it. He had recently changed out the oil valve things because there was oil coming out of them so he repalced them. Then he called us and told us it was ready. So thats when we went to get it and when we left we got about three miles from the house and my said that it died on her when we were going down the highway so we pulled it off the road and went back to his house to get him. It took us about ten minutes to get back to the car and he got it to fire when he got in it. He said that as he was driving it back, the fuel cap light and the sport mode light were blinking. Hope this helps some.

Posted by Tracer 324 days and 11 hours ago.

Info Request

Ok, thanks for more info.The one thing I am finally trying to understand. When it dies,you are having to jump it? are you saying it is like a dead battery even if the battery tested good? OR does the starter crank BUT car does not start up? There is a huge difference between the 2. basically is it cranking ( starter working) or not cranking ( starter not cranking). lights shortly I hope.

324 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

The 1st time it died on my wife at the drive thru was when I tried to jump it and it wouldn't even start jumping it. Then the next day is when we took it to auto zone and took the battery out to have it tested and they charged it and said it was good. That is when we put it back in and after that it didn't have to be jumped anymore. they tested the alternator also and siad that it was good. We took it to that guys house and he got all the corrosion off the wires and he siad that it would crank and start. He took it out that night to drive it and he said that it just died about three miles from his house. So that is when he towed it back his house and called me and said that I need a new fuel pump. So he put the new fuel pump in it and he said that he started it and let it run for about forty five minutes and it never died, but he never drove it. We came over later that night to get it and that is when it died 3 miles from his house and those lights were coming on. So the car will crank and fire but after we drove it that night to go back home is when it died and we had to go back and get the guy. I tried to get it to fire before we went to get him but it wouldn't satrt. It would crank but it wouldn't fire and by the time we got back about 10 minutes later and he got in it it started

Posted by Tracer 324 days and 10 hours ago.

Info Request

I am not going to submit this as an answer at this time. Still, I realize the lights and yes they may be some sort of indication but neither of them should be in any wa directly related to a "no start" condition.They may be getting triggered by an electrical problem but you or the tech must go back to basic. This is what we do at the shop on any car with this type problem. Just to throw in, the tank pressure is monitored by pressure switch. This is for emmisions. If you leave a cap off, the pressure drops and light comes on. If the tech maybe left a loose hose clamp or line loose in any way to include vent, fill and overflow lines (hoses) that light will set. As far as traction, I am unsure about that. back to baisics. When car does not start, someone needs to be ready to check for what is missing ( fuel or spark or both) easiest thing to do first is have can of carb cleaner on hand. When you have a no start, remove the large black hose going to throttle body or find aircleaner and gently spray the cleaner in the intake. If car starts, runs rough and then stalls when you are done spraying, the spark is good and you have a fuel delivery problem. If car will not try to restart with cleaner, then you have a spark problem. You need to isolate which one. It is very important as to what direction we take on the diag chart. No guessing. I am at computer each morning for sevral hours early, then back each evening for a few hours. sometimes off/on during the day. I will get your answer or what the tech come up with. LMK. Then we will go to step 2 when I know what we are chasing. Thanks for the patience. Good luck

324 days and 10 hours ago.

Reply

I will call him and let him know this info. His friend works for a Cadillac dealership in Memphis and he is coming down this weekend so maybe this will help. If you can get me any more info and send it to my e-mail I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

+
Read More

Related Car Questions

  • 97 Deville level control noisy
  • where is the bcm located on a 1997 voyager
  • I had my rear driver side window smashed. I bought a new gl...
  • I am working on a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus. V6. T he owner repl...
  • How can I ID motor size of a 62 mercury monterey?
  • I just bought a 94 Saturn SL1. It has a VERY strong fuel sme...
  • We need to fix horn on 1995 Ford Escort. Where is it fixing
  • Where is the fuse panel on a 1964 Buick Electra 225? Thanks,



Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.
Question List | Become an Expert | Terms of Service | Security & Privacy | About Us
© 2003-2009 JustAnswer Corp.