car dies when i give it gas?

Question

lately my car has been stalling every few miles and I would let it set for a few minutes and it starts,today it stalled out again but did not start back up for about 3 or four hours and when I finally got it started it backfired a bunch and I couldn't give it gas,it was sputtering the whole way home.I just bought a new fuel filter,so thats not the problem.Any help would be appriciated.Thanks

Answer 1

i've got a 83 civic with a 1500 EM1. i had this problem when they started putting ethanol in the gas in some counties in texas, i went to a smog exempt county and got gas from a shell station without ethanol and the next day my car wouldn't idle without dying and smoked light a train. I drove it for about 40 minutes at 75 Mph then changed the spark plugs and wires and the problem stopped. it was bogging down really bad before that though, in second gear if i stepped in on the clutch it would die and didn't want to start again unless i dumped the clutch out to start it with momentum, i don't think they ever thought the honda 1500 would be running with ethanol but once it gets used to it i think it kinda likes it, i did have to swtich to mid or premium though because it was knocking so bad with 87 octane ethanol gas. with 91 or 93 it runs like it did before they snuck ethanol into my gas. you also could try to advance the timing, but i would check the plugs, cap, and rotor to make sure it's not an ignition thing. when i changed my plugs i also did my cap and rotor and the cap was fried and the rotor contact was worn down to a very tiny nub, after all the cost of parts(less than 25 bucks) my car was laying down some smoky burn outs.

Answer 2

I just had a similar problem. My problem was that one of my spark plug wires was not fully down on the distributor cap so than the engine was trying to run on one less spark plug.

You need to make sure that all your spark plug wires are fully connected. There "may" be a spark plug wire that has opened up. A new set is not that expensive.

Your car may also have clogged fuel injectors or maybe even one. Get some fuel injector cleaner at Wal-Mart or other auto store and put it into your gas tank. You should be doing this regularly because it's an expensive labor job to have a mechanic do service for clogged fuel injectors. They all have to be removed and cleaned and replaced. Time consuming and high labor costs.

If you have an older carburator vehicle then remove the air cleaner and see if more air helps the engine idle and acellerate when you give it gas as you are parked in your driveway. If your carburator is faulty you may be flooding the engine with a gas/air mixture that doesn't have enough air. Is your air filter clean? They are less than $10 bucks or less than $20 at the most if you do it yourself.

If you have a carburator vehicle get some carburator spray cleaner at Wal-Mart and really clean out your carb! Your choke plate could be sticking closed when it should be fully open so that you get the proper air/fuel mixture once the car warms up and the revolutions (revs) go from fast idle to regular idle speed.

Of course, you could have worn out spark plugs - as simple as that. Then were they changed last?

I don't recommend going 50,000 miles on a set of plugs!

Try looking at your engine at all the simple check places to see if you can see anything. Also, look carefully (with a strong light) for any loose wires.

One last thing. Where are you buying your gas at? Same station all the time? Try buying some different gas. Maybe you are buying weak gas!!!

OK? good luck.

Answer 3

If the problem didn't start until after you got that new fuel filter, then that actually could be the problem.
However, I remember a friend of mine had a very similar problem. He had replaced his gas cap a while back because he accidentally left the original on the top of his car and drove off.
Turns out, the new one wasn't ventilated. Basically, whenever gas was used, there was no way for oxygen to enter the tank and replace the used fuel. In essence, it created a vacuum because the pressure in the tank couldn't equalize. Every time he gave the car some gas, it would shut off on him.
If your car shuts off on you again and you can't start it back up, unscrew the gas cap to equalize the pressure, then try starting up again. If it works, you know what the problem is.


Hope this helps,
Nicholas
www.iConfessional.com

Answer 4

No one can help you unless they know what kind of car you are driving and how old it is.

If your timing chain slips one or two notches, you will have that problem.

If your Ignition coil is heating up and shorting out, it could give you that problem

if your distributor is shorting out it could give you that problem. Let us have more information next time. Every car is different. How many cylinders does it have. What make and model is your car.

If all else fails for you , go to Pep Boys or some auto parts dealer and look in a manual that will cover your car. Look in the Troubleshooting section.

Also do you have a "Check Engine" light and is it on?

You see what you are up against. Also some schools do Auto repair for parts only, if they are offering Auto Repair courses.

Good Luck; Jaread

Answer 5

If it is carbuerated its the accelerator pump . Injected - then its the in tank fuel pump. it will probably cost you about $100 for the pump and an hour or so to install if your good with tools. If you do have a carb then I would recomend getting a rebuild unless you have the balls to try it yourself . They aren't really that hard to rebuild but they do require some finness. Ignition Module could also be a likley culprit but without seeing the car myself it's about impossible to say for sure.

OK I just saw your car desription, DEFINATELY check to make sure you have fuel pressure coming into the carb before going for the rebuild. Key must be on when performing this check.

Answer 6

one thing to check on an older car like that is the timing. it doesn't really sound like it though. I had a 88 mazda with a timing belt that a couple of teeth had worn off. It would spit and sputter under hard acceleration.... It is an easy thing to check, just need to buy a cheap timing light @ walmart. Instructions come with it

Answer 7

Will it stall by itself when you just park ?
Does the engine shake obviously when it is in park ?
Will it be worse if it warms up ?
If you are not shift in gear, just by stepping on the accerlerator, will it still stall ?
What is the color of the exhaust ?
Does it has EFI or caburator ?
Did you check your fuel pump and air filter ?

Answer 8

1) check the type of fuel; did you put in regular instead of unleaded.

2) there might be a problem with the catalytic converter.

3. DON"T FART IN THE GAS TANK!

Answer 9

This car is a 1981 Honda Civic 1500,carberater,electric fuel pump......I forgot to put this info on my question

Answer 10

Sounds like your timing chain is broken or the timing in your distributor is off or even cracked.. Have the distributor cap changed and check the timing while your replacing the cap..
If it should continue with this crap your experiencing, take it back where you last had it tuned up.