Engine shuts off for no reason then cranks right up

I have a 1996 Legacy wagon EJ22 engine, The engine will shut off after I accelerate from a complete stop at a traffic light, then it will crank right up and go again. This is serious i have three small kids in the car and don't want to get into an accident.

Any Ideas please?

I had a Chevy Venture that would do this - it was a bad connection on the power to the fuel pump. It was just that odd too, never failed at startup, only driving along, and would always re-fire.

I'd start tracing along the fuel pump power and go from there.

what does it do when it shuts off? backfire? chug a lug and die? how fast are you going when it happens and are you accelerating at the time, or idling? all kinds of info missing, fill in a bit and someone may have an idea

very sorry for the lack of info. when i stop at a red light, it will shut off when i step on the accelerater. No backfire, knock or any noise.

Could be the idle air control valve (IAC) egr valve, intake hose between the Mass Air Flow sensor and the throttle body or even the MAF sensor itself. I would lean towards the egr or the hose or MAF as the IAC would make your engine die when coming to a stop or when the engine idled down. Do you have a check engine light on?

I had a intake hose on my old Mazda that had a tear on the bottom and when I would leave a stop light it would bog down and die and also start right back up. With that hose a tear or even being lose would cause that dying issue. So check everything out and report back.

Could be the idle air control valve (IAC) egr valve, intake hose between the Mass Air Flow sensor and the throttle body or even the MAF sensor itself. I would lean towards the egr or the hose or MAF as the IAC would make your engine die when coming to a stop or when the engine idled down. Do you have a check engine light on?

I had a intake hose on my old Mazda that had a tear on the bottom and when I would leave a stop light it would bog down and die and also start right back up. With that hose a tear or even being lose would cause that dying issue. So check everything out and report back.

Looking for a tear or hole on the intake hose is an easy place to start. A leak downstream from the MAF will confuse the engine management and cause stalling. Temporary fix is duct tape until you get over what the replacement hose costs.

Also check the hose that goes from the BPT(back pressure transducer) to the EGR. This small dia. tube loves to get clogged up.

O.

I have this problem when filling up my tank over halfway (have a ej22 99 legacy). replaced everything it could be except the vapor return system and the fuel tank filler pipe.

mine dies randomly at any rev/any speed. it misfires and sometimes throws a code for a cylinder misfire, most of the time not. i tried getting to the filler pipe the other day but the first bolt i tried to remove on the cover cracked off (so rusty). it will probably be mid-late april before i try to remove the other two and the broken one. i'm assuming at this point that there is a hole rusted through the fuel filler pipe and the vapor return system is purging air into the engine, causing the misfire.

i've already replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, ecu, battery, and ignition coil. i've also taken pressure readings on the fuel pump and all is good.

mine always starts back up again but it sometimes takes a couple minutes of cranking (on and off).

good luck with yours; odds are it's something that's already been listed

I have this problem when filling up my tank over halfway (have a ej22 99 legacy). replaced everything it could be except the vapor return system and the fuel tank filler pipe.

mine dies randomly at any rev/any speed. it misfires and sometimes throws a code for a cylinder misfire, most of the time not. i tried getting to the filler pipe the other day but the first bolt i tried to remove on the cover cracked off (so rusty). it will probably be mid-late april before i try to remove the other two and the broken one. i'm assuming at this point that there is a hole rusted through the fuel filler pipe and the vapor return system is purging air into the engine, causing the misfire.

i've already replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, ecu, battery, and ignition coil. i've also taken pressure readings on the fuel pump and all is good.

mine always starts back up again but it sometimes takes a couple minutes of cranking (on and off).

good luck with yours; odds are it's something that's already been listed

I found this info: this condition can be caused by a Fuel Pump Relay not supplying power to the pump due to dirty contact points inside the relay....(THIS is actually quite common)....locate your Fuel Pump Relay under the hood in the fuse box found there....find the relay....and SWAP IT with an identical one that powers something else......if after you swap them the issue is resolved....you found it....

Another fueling issue can be that your fuel pump motor gets stuck....If this does the "no start" condition again......locate your fuel tank.....and BANG ON IT.....like with a 2x4 piece of wood what this does is Jar/vibrate the fuel pump in the tank and many x it will jog the fuel pump motor into spinning again.....IF you do this experiment and the banging the tank trick works.....then its your fuel pump getting "Tired"....

Either the fuel pump cant get power.....or the fuel pump is getting stuck...THESE cover the issue IF it is a fueling problem. THE OTHER....and EQUALLY IMPORTANT cause could be that you aren't getting spark to the plugs....that's a whole other bag of tricks.... IF she cranks over and doesn't start....go back and actually SMELL your tailpipe....LOL....I know sounds silly.....but if you smell unburnt fuel smell.....then it is not getting SPARK.

Hope this helps?

I found this info: this condition can be caused by a Fuel Pump Relay not supplying power to the pump due to dirty contact points inside the relay....(THIS is actually quite common)....locate your Fuel Pump Relay under the hood in the fuse box found there....find the relay....and SWAP IT with an identical one that powers something else......if after you swap them the issue is resolved....you found it....

 

Another fueling issue can be that your fuel pump motor gets stuck....If this does the "no start" condition again......locate your fuel tank.....and BANG ON IT.....like with a 2x4 piece of wood what this does is Jar/vibrate the fuel pump in the tank and many x it will jog the fuel pump motor into spinning again.....IF you do this experiment and the banging the tank trick works.....then its your fuel pump getting "Tired"....

 

Either the fuel pump cant get power.....or the fuel pump is getting stuck...THESE cover the issue IF it is a fueling problem. THE OTHER....and EQUALLY IMPORTANT cause could be that you aren't getting spark to the plugs....that's a whole other bag of tricks.... IF she cranks over and doesn't start....go back and actually SMELL your tailpipe....LOL....I know sounds silly.....but if you smell unburnt fuel smell.....then it is not getting SPARK.

Hope this helps?

I've already tested fuel pump pressure and the pump is working fine. again, it's only when the car is filled over a half tank of gas; then it randomly misfires and occasionally stops. it always turns back on though. i sometimes got a smell of gas when it was filled over halfway (in the car). Below half a tank of gas, the car runs flawlessly.

I will be sure to check the relay for the fuel pump, but again, I doubt that's the problem because the pump is working fine.

I also don't mean to hijack this thread, I was just having somewhat similar issues.