93 with 92k miles, auto. Driving back from the gym yesterday, I put the car in neutral due to ice and snow. Car stopped running but was able to refire in neutral. A few hundred feet later it stalled again, refired in neutral and ran another 1/2 mile then died and would not start. Towed home and but charger on battery. Started right up and ran fine.

ICM is relocated to air intake tube to keep cooler, has original coil and opti. could the neutral safety switch be bad? weak coil, failing ICM?

Thanks for any suggestions

 

is the opti covered in oil? dose the water pump leak by any chance??? If your thinking safety switch you can jump it out and see if thats the issue which i doubt.

there are ways to test coil/icm/opti with a volt meter
Have you checked fuel pressure???

shbox.com has ALOT of great info and ways to test all of the above.

 

I'm confused about the neutral safety switch in a automatic transmission ???
does the car only start in neutral... will it not crank in park ???

 

i looked over that thanks parkerz28 lol

maybe he means the park safety switch if it has one? as said above i think his best bet is basics first

check coil
check icm
check fuel pressure
check opti


post back results!

 

Check for a slipping serpentine belt. Any chance the belt was wet from the snow? Did the voltage drop quickly when you put it in neutral?

The P/N switch only affects the starter circuit. Once the engine is running, a faulty or intermittent P/N switch would not cause the engine to shut down.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. Checked fuel PSI p within spec, coil ok and had service garage check ICM - ok. Serpentine belt and tension correct. I took it for a short run and no issues. I will keep checking this weekend when it warms up

 

Quick update - Drove the car this week a few times and ran great. Is it possible the fuel line froze. I bought the car from an individual who lives in South Virginia near the NC line and am curious if water build up due to the high humidity may have caused the issue. Any other place to look?

 

Did you buy the car from Nelson V.A burnt orange in color ?
gas doesn't freeze unless it is extremely could -30 or colder its possible that your car has
a throttle bypass that will freeze up under the right conditions ( Not likely ) Fred posted something
about tb bypass freeze under the right conditions ... but I don't know what elevation and temperature will cause this to happen..... have someone check to see if the alt is charging

 

There could be water in the tank and it can freeze. I cant remember if water settles to the bottom or floats in gas. Its probably not the cause but if its old gas in there that adds more potential for poor performance. I would be tempted to change ur fuel filter and a point brought up in different post about air filter take a look at ur air filter as ive also seen them get wet and cause problems and I would assume wet and freeze would be even worse. I dont think the throttle body bypass would be an issue. I also would be sure you keep enough fuel in it as the guage isnt always accurate plus the fuel is needed to keep the fuel pump cool. Ive also had issues were wet wires or connections caused greater resistance and effected things(in my truck). Might be a sign its time to do some maintainance like plugs and wires, opti cap and rotor. Any maintainance records with car or can you get info from person you bought it from?

 

"Throttle body icing" (condensing humidity in the cold air, due to the venturi effect in the throttle body, causes ice to form and freeze the blades) is GM's excuse for heating the throttle body with coolant. But I've never heard of anyone actually experiencing it. I've driven my car in 0*F weather with the throttle body bypass, and no "icing".

My thought was the snow got the belt wet, started slipping, and when it went to idle the voltage was so low it couldn't keep the engine running.