Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but have you checked the connections to the battery (goes in line with checking all wirign harnesses)?
I had a problem where my car died (old studebaker), and it turned out that the wires were not securely attached to the battery. tightened them up, and it ran like a top.
Good luck!
Creeg;
I have checked the battery terminals recently (they're secure) but have been through 3-4 batteries since I've had the VX... I still haven't been able to figure out why that was either.
don't hate
My VX will do the same thing. But, it never totally stops. I'll be driving and it feels like everything goes dead, throws you forward in the seat, then it picks up like nothing happened. I am trying to pay attention to what is going on when it happens, does the radio turn off, lights dim, what does the dash do, does the steering go out, things like that. It has only happened once where it killed the engin and it required re-cranking, but only because I was in the middle of cranking it, I had just released the key from start to run, and shifted into drive, and it killed the motor. It restarted right away.
I have some quesitons about your description. It dies and you have to coast to the side of the road, right? Will it restart immediatly, or is everything dead? What does the dash say? Is the radio on and will the lights work? I am just wondering if it is a engine thing, or an electrical issue.
D.W.
i vote fuel system.. try replacing the fuel filter and fuel pressure regulator (in that order)
i had my vx at about 75 on the Atlantic City expressway.. let off the gas for a second.. got back on the gas and couldnt get over like 1500-2000 rpms (dont remember exactly).. got it pulled over.. turned it off.. looked under the hood.. didnt see anything out of the ordinary.. so started it back up... ran like a champ.. i replaced the fuel filter a few days later and never had trouble like that again
also my vx used to maybe 1 time very 2 months i would get to a stop sign or light and the vx would silently shut itself off, no sputtering or anything, just RPM drop and the dash would light up.. also when starting after sitting for under an hour.. vx would sputter a lot.. rpms would drop until stalling unless i held the gas for 10-15 seconds
fuel pressure regulator replacement took care of that stuff..
I've had mine up and die a half dozen times - almost all were as I was coming to a stop. Only once doing 75mph on an overpass.. SHIFT-N, turn key, keep going...
It was a ghost in the machine thing for a number of us. I've also read here that it could just be a hiccup in the programming and miscalculates fuel feed ratio causing to to run too lean and stall...
It happens a few times a year to me so I don't sweat it.
I'd vote for the fuel pump. Just a question: how much fuel did you have in tank when engine died? Because of fuel pump is cooled with the fuel if you get lower level (but enough for the continue running) the pump might overheat and stop working. Another problem in the tank might be the dirty first level in tank air filter which might be covered with paraffin. Also, some fuel pumps just normally wears at 150000 miles. You might want not to replace the whole pump assembly but just the pump itself which is significant cheaper (in Russia replacemnt pump cost about $100 while assembly is about $800).
2001 Isuzu VehiCROSS (build in progress): 4JX1/A340/part time, 2" body lift, front Aisin hubs, rear Aussie Locker, 4.56 gears, OEM rear sway bar disconnect, AirFlow snorkel, cabin air filter
1980 Jeep Cherokee (assembling): 1.5" body lift, TBI, HEI
1987 AMC Eagle: stock