Start, your, engine,

THERE are many things that can cause a car to stall. Fortunately, this usually does not signal a major repair to your vehicle, and it can generally be fixed through some relatively minor adjustments or repairs.

Consider the complexity of your car before to fix it yourself. Modern cars (mid90s or later) are computer controlled, and it will be difficult for you to make any adjustments. You will want to take it to a trusted auto repair shop to address this problem.

The stall is likely caused by either a in the electrical system or the fuel system. Your engine stops running because it is not igniting gas in the cylinders. This occurs because there is no gas to ignite, or because it lacks the electrical charge to ignite it.

Drive the car up and down steep hills. Does change the performance of the engine, or causes it to stall? This may indicate a clogged fuel filter. Replacing the fuel filter is a relatively cheap and easy thing to do, once you find where it is located.

Does the car idle roughly and stall at idle? your car has a distributor, you may need to adjust the timing. This is an easy task if you have the right tools and know how. If your vehicle has fuel injection, you can check the injector by using a screwdriver or mechanics scope.

The injectors will make a clicking/snapping if working. No sound may indicate a bad injector. It can also indicate an electrical failure with the circuit that drives the fuel injector. Also, check the ICM

(idle control motor) that controls the air mixture.

If your car has a distributor, you may changing the cap, rotor, wires, and plugs. This is effectively a tune-up and can usually be done by a relative novice with the right tools. It seems counterintuitive, but even the wires and distributor decay over time, and transmit less electricity. This tune up may solve your stalling problem - even if not, your car should run better and get better mileage.

If your car diesels when you turn off the it means the carburetor and the idle speed adjustment is too high. Dieseling describes the situation where you turn off the key, and yet the car continues to run for a few seconds or longer, eventually sputtering to a stop. This does not occur on fuel-injected vehicles because when you turn off the ignition, you also shut down the fuel supply and spark plugs.

In rare cases, your car may stall due to lock” - a situation that occurs when the fuel lines supplying gas to the engine become hot enough to boil the gas in the line, turning it into vapour.

Fuel pumps are designed to pump liquid and not vapour, however, a clogged fuel tank vent system can cause a vacuum in the fuel line, which stops fuel from reaching the engine. This problem is unique to carbureted engines. Fuel-injected engines commonly have “closed loop” fuel delivery systems that makes this condition unlikely to occur.

Check your tank vent system constantly for blockage. Try opening your gas cap. If you hear a “whooshing” sound, it means the gas tank is not vented. Now try starting the car; it should work after a couple of tries.