While Im driving the car will die and the tach goes all the way to the bottom then it just starts back up. Also I noticed that it's getting harder to turn on, by that I mean that now if have to crank it a few times before it turns on, another thing I noticed is that it smells like unbruned gas and it has backfired a few times??? Help any suggestions??

 

I'd start with the ignion connections to the opti spark and ignition module. Make sure they are clean and free from corrosion. If you suspect the module, you can space it away from the head with some washers and get it away from the heat. Your coil may also cause a similar problem if it is a heat related failure.

 

Have you scanned it for codes?

You need to add a "signature" with basic info about your car - year, model, engine, trans and any major engine mods. Not all years of the LT1 are the same in all respects.

 

No I haven't ran it for codes, I wonder if Autozone has a scanner? It's really wierd the car shuts down and then starts up??? Also it's geting harder to turn on, now it takes me about 3 tries to get it started.

 

Okay the car is a 97Z28 stick shift, as far as mods all it has is a K&N CAI, no mufflers just stright pipe and also the MAF is descrenned. The car has about 127,000 miles

 

Do a fuel pressure check and see if it within specs. And as mentioned scan it for codes.

We can only throw out possibilities...not answers...until we have more information. So when your done give us the update.

 

Got it I will run and get it scanned see if it has any codes, also I will attempt to check the fuel pressure! I will keep everyone posted!
Thanks

 

So it has about seven codes all six are emission related, but the one I have looked into is the P0372. According to Autozone they said that I have a bad Crankshaft Position Sensor. does this sound like something that would cause my car to die and start back up?

 

The crankshaft sensor on LT1s are only used to monitor missfires as far as I'm aware of. I had a 94 Lt1 in with the same symptoms a few months ago. I replaced the ignition module on a hunch because It never seemed to happen when i had the car. It's been a few months and not so much as a hiccup.

 

So should I get a new ICM and coil just to make sure? I imgaine all the cranshftposition sensor does is send and recive info I dont think that it would make my car die???

 

What are the codes?

 

No. Just changing parts does little except make the parts store richer. Do the diagnosis, including running all the codes down, before spending a dime on parts.

Codes as specific to the LT1...get the codes from Autozone and post them here for interpretation. You can also look then up at Shoebox's page. Here's the link: http://shbox.com/1/Dtcs.htm You can select OBD-II at the bottom of the list if it doesn't come up when you use the link.

Long ago I had a Trans Am that would suddenly die and restart while driving. It turned out to be a loose terminal on the starter solenoid and didn't cost a dime to fix. I know, who cares, right? My point is that it can be anything.....

Good luck!

 

Last night me and a buddy replaced the crank shaft position sensor and it didnt do a thing, the car still dies and stalls, you guys make a good point I dont want to spend a bunch of money on parts that I dont need. I checked shoebox link and the code P0372 stands for Distributor Ignition (DI) high resolution circuit? bw_hunter good point! I will check and clean my ICM and coil connection and I will also check and make sure my starter is grounded.

 

But you just played parts replacement roulette with the CKP sensor. He told you it was just there for misfire detection.... and he was 100% correct. But you replaced it anyway. What's the point of offering advice if its totally ignored.

Let's start again..... what are the six other specific codes that you somehow determined were "emissions".? As you can see from your experience with Auto Zone, their advice is not very reliable.

P0372 means the PCM is not seeing the high resolution pulse pattern from the optical cam position sensor in the Optispark distributor. Check the Opti harness connector for corrosion, damaged pins or being loose. The engine should run without that pulse pattern, with just a minor loss in spark timing accuracy, but I've seen several posts recently where that code did cause intermittent shutdown.

 

What does a bad starter ground have to do with the engine shutting off??????

Raw fuel, back firing and an ignition code??? Hmmm I wonder what could be wrong