1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Logo
Posted on Mar 08, 2009
Answered by a Fixya Expert

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1996 Olds ciera, V6, Engine dies when put in drive

When I go to start the car, I turn it over and it starts just fine. When I put my foot on the brake and put the transmission in drive the engine shuts off. I put it back in park position and it starts again. I put the car in reverse and it goes a few feet and the car engine stops again. The engine is running good in the park position. I checked the fuel pressure and the fuel pump is good. All the fluids are good (Oil, transmission) and I checked all of the vacuum lines, spark plug wires, the air filter and squeezed all the electrical connectors to make sure they weren't loose and everything checks out. The engine is not kicking out any codes because I don't get a check engine light on the dash. The vacuum line coming off the master cylinder drum to the engine is in good condition as well.

  • 3 more comments 
  • aaaheckman Mar 08, 2009

    Thanks for the reply, I removed the plug located on the front side of the transmission. The car stalled when I put it in gear. I'm not looking forward to your answer becasue It's probably going to be costly! Let me know what you think. Thanks

    Jeff

  • aaaheckman Mar 08, 2009

    Hold your comments, After I tried this I replied right away to your suggestion. Fearing the cost of potentially replacing a transmission. I went and tried it again and the engine did not stop.

  • aaaheckman Mar 08, 2009

    Alright, Now that I'm really confused here. I went and tried one more time and it died. Sorry for the confusion but I'm out of ideas. Let me know what you think and I'll go from there.



    Thanks

    Jeff

  • aaaheckman Mar 09, 2009

    Thanks again for the reply, The car died either way. So it appears not to be transmission related. It appears to be an electrical issue. A friend of mine came over with his computer and ran a diagnostics on it checking for codes. Unfortunately we tried all kinds of things to make the car kick out a code and nothing showed up even though the car died again. With the engine running we wiggled the electrical harness for the fuel injectors and the car died. We pulled the harness and a few of the wires don't look too good but nothing that really stands out as being the cause. I'm going to replace it anyway since we have it out, as well as new injector O-rings etc. This is just been a headache trying to figure out what the issue really is with this car. It worked fine the other day now all of this. I'm still open for any advise that we can use to try and figure out this problem. Thanks for your time.

    Jeff

  • Anonymous May 03, 2009

    engine has no vacuum brake pedal rock hard engine stalls when pressing brake pedal engine idles fast when started code reads running lean multiple cylinder misfire\

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1 Answer

Bruce Bracey

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  • Oldsmobile Master 1,000 Answers
  • Posted on Mar 08, 2009
Bruce Bracey
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Try disconnecting the electrical connector at the transmission and see if it stall when you put it in gear. You will get a service engine light, but not to worry, it will go back out once you reconnect.
By disconnecting the wire connector we can tell if it is transmission related.
Good luck, let me know.
Regards,

  • Bruce Bracey
    Bruce Bracey Mar 08, 2009

    What you want to do is leave it disconnected, continue to put the car in drive and reverse until it does not stall. Drive it a couple of miles then back home and shut it off. Start the car, put it in drive and see if it stalls, don't reconnect the harness.

    When you said you tried it again, were you connecting the harness up and disconnecting it again or was the harness always disconnected during all three tries and never reconnected.

    Let me know

  • Bruce Bracey
    Bruce Bracey Mar 09, 2009

    The reason for the transmission harness disconnect was to verify the TTC (torque converter clutch) was not stuck on. I have had the torque converter clutch stick and cause an engine stall.



    I believe you are on the right track. Trace each one of the wire harness branches around the engine and engine compartment. Look for spots where the harness is laying against metal brackets, sharp areas on the engine block and such. If the harness is touching any metal edges, pull it away and put a piece of duct tape over it to make sure it is isolated.

    Good luck, let me know what you find.

    Regards,

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