dtate Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hi all, I posted a few days ago about my 97 OBS (227K) & the stall out problem I am having. This problem is occurring after I have replaced coil, wires, MAF sensor & Throttle control sensor. The car runs fine except for when the AC is on. Three times, while running the AC the car has stopped running. All of the dashboard warning lights will light up, with the brake warning lighting first. As soon as I put the car in N or P, I an start it up & it runs with no problem. With the car parked, the AC seems to run fine, it cycles through the condensor running on & off with no effect. One time, after the car stalled, when I cranked it up, the AT warning started flashing for 10 seconds or so, and then it stopped. I hope to take it to the local Subbie dealer in the morning. But, does anyone here have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Is the idle RPM increasing when the AC kicks in? I suspect what is happening is that the idle is dropping and killing the engine. When the engine stops you get all the warning lights. The reason is does not do it in P or N is the transmission is not loading the engine as well. The RPM should increase each time the AC clutch engages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtate Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 When I have the car idling & in park with the AC on, it seems like the idle speed goes up when the condensor cycles on, but not alot. While driving, the RPM's were around 2200, speed around 45-50mph, and the car was not under any undo strain( like going uphill) when the car died. It does seem like the car is idling speed is a little lower than it was before I had the throttle control sensor & MAF sensor replaced. If it is the idling speed, is this something that can be verified & fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtate Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Okay, this morning I drove the car into town & while driving at 35mph, 2200rpm, the car cuts off. I put it into N, & restart the engine, it cranks right up & then stalls out again. I restart, it fires right up, & this time the check engine lights comes on & stays on. I pull into a Advance Auto, ask to borrow their code reader, but it would not work. The guy there said the reader was old & not a realible one. So, drove the car to the grocery store, park it for about 50 minutes while shopping, return and started it. Check engine light is out & it is running fine. This time this all occurred without the AC running. I will be taking it to the dealer on Monday. I have a couple of questions, is it possible that there is a short to the CPU & when it loses power then the engine shuts down? Or is there a sensor that might be losing conductivity with the rest of the system, causing the engine to shut down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtate Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 I was just poking around under the hood, looking at the work done by the mechanic (this work was not done at a dealer, but by the mechanic with the tow service that towed the car in on Friday, last week). The throttle control sensor was a subbie part, that I picked up at the dealership, but the new MAF sensor was one that he ordered. The MAF has a housing with a 2 inch square cover/top & that top is sealed around the casing with a bead of silicone. The silicone has pulled away from the casing, causing a crack in the seal for about a quarter of the casing. The cover can oved by pressing it with my finger. Could this be an area where addional air flow is occuring, causing the MAF to fault out & shut down the engine? I may try to reseal with more silicone & see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I was just poking around under the hood, looking at the work done by the mechanic (this work was not done at a dealer, but by the mechanic with the tow service that towed the car in on Friday, last week). The throttle control sensor was a subbie part, that I picked up at the dealership, but the new MAF sensor was one that he ordered. The MAF has a housing with a 2 inch square cover/top & that top is sealed around the casing with a bead of silicone. The silicone has pulled away from the casing, causing a crack in the seal for about a quarter of the casing. The cover can oved by pressing it with my finger. Could this be an area where addional air flow is occuring, causing the MAF to fault out & shut down the engine? I may try to reseal with more silicone & see what happens. That sounds suspect to me. A MAF is not "sealed" with silicone. If the cover on it moves around with your finger, it is broken. Don't use that mechanic again and get your money back on that part, he screwed you. Get that code read (it will probably be for the MAF) A MAF that is bad will cause the exact problems you have described. A new MAF is expensive, see if you can find one at a pick and pull yard as they rarely go bad. Good luck and let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtate Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 That is what I am beginning to suspect. I had the car towed to the local dealer, they will be looking at this morning. I am going to request that they save any parts that they replace. THe guy that worked on the car last week, charged $247.00 for the MAF sensor that he installed. I am kicking myself that I didn't look under the hood & checked out his work before leaving the shop. Thanks for the input, and I will let you know about the outcome of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks for the input, and I will let you know about the outcome of this. Yes, I am curious what they find, hope all turns out well:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtate Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 I picked the car up this afternoon, they replaced the MAF meter with a new one, I had them to save the one that they replaced. IT looks like it is a remanufactered MAF meter, and that the square cover had been removed and siliconed back into place. I will be taking it back to the guy that installed it last week. Anyway, on the drive home, the car runs fine, but the check engine comes back on! So, I plan to take it back in the morning and get the codes read & see what is going on now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtate Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Okay, I hope this will be my final post in this thread. I returned to the dealer this morning, the tech. pulled a code for the Knock Sensor, and recommended that I replace the sensor. So, I did so, and the car seems to be running fine. Additionally, I contacted the shop that installed the first MAF meter & I was told to bring the faulty meter to them with a copy of my receipt for the MAF meter from the dealer & he will refund me for the faulty one. So, hopefully I am done with this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I am glad they found the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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