Alright heres the deal. I was driving along fine, just going along with traffic, I push the gas pedal (not too much) just to accelerate and the engine bogs severely and I have no power. The check gauge light comes on and I really didnt look at any of them I just shut the engine off and roll into a parking lot.

Now when I try to start it, it turns over and wants to start, but it sounds awful. It hiccups and sputters, almost sounds like the ignition or valve timing is off majorly.

I know this might not be the best description for you guys but I'm completely lost here. the car has been fine ever since i got it and bam, this happens completely unexpectedly.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Check guages comes on when its out of gas

 

oh really, is that the only reason it would come on?
because i had 3/4 in the tank, although i did run out of gas couple days ago and had to role into a gas station, but i filled it up and it was fine.

 

Did you check the spark? How many miles are on your opti?

 

whats an easy way to check spark? 98k miles on car and opti (im assuming).

 

I'd put money on your fuel pump and I'm not a gambler. check the fuel pressure. If you want to eliminate spark as the cause, connect a spark plug to the coil and have someone crank it over while you look at the plug. Don't forget to ground the plug. That doesn't mean that all 8 plugs are getting spark but to check each plug is a pain in the A@#. Chances are good if the coil has spark, the plugs do too.

Back to fuel pressure. The gages are cheap and easy to get. Even Sears has them. Get one with a hose on it so in the future if you need to see it from the drivers seat, you can do that.