VX Commodore stall while driving

[Dazza VU ute]

Hi all, just want to know if anyone can assist. I have a VU Commodore ute which i have owned since new (now at 280,000ks). I was driving home from work the other day & the car stalled while i was driving at about 90kph which has never happened before. When i pulled over to the side of the road i tried to re-start two times without success. The engine sounded like it wanted to start but, didn't. After i made a phone call to arrange alternative means to get home (about 10mins duration) i tried to start the engine again & it started & i drove home without issue. I have driven the car for the past two days & it hasn't happened again since. I am thinking of changing the fuel filter as i haven't changed it for some time thinking the engine may of been starved of fuel. Anyone that can offer any ideas of what may of caused this or if anyone has had similar experience, what was the cause & how they fixed would be appreciated.

 

[lout]

typical failing crank angle sensor behaviour

 

[Dazza VU ute]

typical failing crank angle sensor behaviour

Hi, thanks for your reply although, i have replaced the CAS when i replaced the harmonic balancer about 12 months ago. Going to try fuel filter & see how it goes. Can't hurt for only $22 & as i have not replaced for some time. Any other ideas ?

 

[lout]

did you fit genuine

 

[Dazza VU ute]

did you fit genuine

Lout, that is a very good question. As you would be aware getting genuine GMH parts for this age of Holden vehicle is now getting harder although, i have an assortment of genuine GM parts which i have purchased over time from Lion's den Holden & Australian Online Car Parts ready for use when required. I always endeavor to fit genuine GM parts where i can for obvious reasons. Otherwise, i but next best. Don't like to spend good money on inferior parts. I believe you get what you pay for & China is not the answer LOL. To answer your good question the CAS that was fitted to the ute was Delphi brand which i believe was an GMH OEM supplier. So, if the CAS was genuine part or not, that would or can be debatable. At the end of the day just because a part is in genuine GMH packaging, they bought it off a supplier somewhere in the parts supply chain. I am confidant Delphi was or is a reputable supplier for GMH. Please correct me if you think i am wrong. I believe the current problem i have is being caused by a consumable item such as a fuel filter (due to poor fuel supply maybe ?) or another part or sensor which has been on the vehicle since new & ready to die (some parts die quickly, while others die slowly/intermittently) . Due to the amount of electrical sensors on these vehicles & beyond, diagnosing issues can be difficult as you would be aware. I have owned this vehicle since new & has (i believe) been very well maintained, i have never abused this vehicle & i still get comments on the condition of the ute after 20 years of daily driving. As you can understand, when it is not working right it does my head in & i as i have had the car so long it does not take much for me to know when something is not quite right. I appreciate talking to you & any expertise or knowledge you may be willing to offer.

 

[lout]

280,000km is a big service, plugs, air filter, and fuel filter
so was this just done or all due now
delphi is a good brand
but if bought from ebay it may have been counterfeit

 

[Dazza VU ute]

280,000km is a big service, plugs, air filter, and fuel filter
so was this just done or all due now
delphi is a good brand
but if bought from ebay it may have

280,000km is a big service, plugs, air filter, and fuel filter
so was this just done or all due now
delphi is a good brand
but if bought from ebay it may have been counterfeit

Plugs, leads, air filter, oil filter, diff oil, engine oil & fuel filter have been replaced many times over it's 280,000klm life aswell as alternator, radiator etc. I agree that items from EBAY can be suspect as you really don't know what you are getting. I bought the Delphi CAS through Repco.

 

[Dazza VU ute]

Just wanted to provide an update on my stalling issue. After a little research I found it to be a failing IAC (Idle air control) valve on the throttle body. Replaced with a GOSS brand IAC from Repco.

 

[lout]

the car stalled while i was driving at about 90kph

iac is not active at 90km/h
could cause stalling at idle

 

[Dazza VU ute]

iac is not active at 90km/h
could cause stalling at idle

I am not exactly sure that to be correct from what i have read & maybe so for a correctly working IAC valve. Although, if the IAC valve is faulty & not working as it should, it may cause the butterfly on the throttle body to close during normal operation causing the engine to stall. This may explain why the engine would not start after attempting to start it twice after engine first stalled due to a suspect valve. Only after the engine was off for a matter of time the engine then started again which may indicate a faulty IAC valve. The problem i had was the computer was not showing any fault codes and no warning lights on the dash. I had taken it to an auto electrician Saturday morning just passed to check for codes to try & diagnose the exact problem to no avail. No engine or transmission codes came up. After some research i chose to change the IAC valve on Saturday afternoon & so far so good, if it stalls again i will have no choice but to look further & if no codes are still evident, play the game of elimination.