# 87 Stanza just dies while driving



## Paulie253 (Jun 5, 2008)

My 87 Stanza will just die while im driving. like the other day on the freeway i felt the car lose power when pushing the gas pedal the motor was still on and the transmission was downshifting quickly once the car came to a stop it just died and wouldnt turn on for about 30minutes. earlier that day the car did the same thing at a stop light once i came to a complete stop it died. its been doing this for about a year and as long as i keep it above idle or shifted to neutral it wouldnt die but now the car just dies out randomly. the car is now dies when i turn it on and let it sit before it dies it starts to sputter like its not getting enough fuel. i've replace the fuel filter recently and thinking about replacing the injectors since it hasnt been done so for about 160k miles.


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## bikeman (Dec 26, 2006)

When it doesn't start is it cranking? Do you hear the fuel pump hum before you crank the motor over? It may be a faulty fuel pump or the connection to it.


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## poor_red_neck (Jun 7, 2008)

Mine did the same thing. 1987 Stanza. Mine did it one day. I would let it cool and then it would start back and run for about a minute. I towed it home and the next day it would not start up. It will crank but never start. The fuel pump comes on. I am not getting any spark. I have basically reaplaced everything related to the spark, ECU, distrbutor, crank angle sensor, coils ignition control modules. Mine is dead now and has been for a week, I am at a lose


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## bikeman (Dec 26, 2006)

poor_red_neck said:


> Mine did the same thing. 1987 Stanza. Mine did it one day. I would let it cool and then it would start back and run for about a minute. I towed it home and the next day it would not start up. It will crank but never start. The fuel pump comes on. I am not getting any spark. I have basically reaplaced everything related to the spark, ECU, distrbutor, crank angle sensor, coils ignition control modules. Mine is dead now and has been for a week, I am at a lose


Have you checked all fuseable links related to fuel and ignition under the hood? My rotor broke free once inside my cap, have you looked in your cap?


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## poor_red_neck (Jun 7, 2008)

bikeman said:


> Have you checked all fuseable links related to fuel and ignition under the hood? My rotor broke free once inside my cap, have you looked in your cap?



Yes, all fuses and relays are good. As stated above, the distributor was replaced, and a brand new cap and rotor were installed.

The old cap and rotor were in BAD shape. The 2 points were broken, and pieces of the cap were broken but the thing still ran. As bad as the cap and rotor were, we thought the thing would fire right up just after replacing the cap and rotor, but the problem is a little more in depth than that.


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## iowaheat (Jul 17, 2008)

*so does mine*

I also have a 87 stanza, and it will drive fine then suddenly just quit running. After sitting for 2-10 minutes it will start up and drive fine again. This might happen the next day or sometimes it has gone months before doing it again. Usually it happens within the first 10 miles. Yesterday drove 25 miles in the heat with air running and ran fine. On the way home died about 8 miles into the trip. Thought I fried the starter and ended up getting a ride home. Went back the next day with a trailer and the damn thing fired right up and drove it home. I have no idea what is causing this I can hear the fuel pump when key is turned on but still just cranks. Hard to diagnose because it is so intermittent. Let me know what you find out.


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## Pr1me (Apr 30, 2009)

Bringing this back to the top. Having the same issue on an 88. VERY intermittent and VERY annoying. 80% of the time, it starts and runs fine, but every day for a week now my girlfriend has been coming home telling me how it cut out again and wouldnt start back up. I've noticed that sometimes I can't hear the fuel pump priming when you start it, but even when it does, it is still a rough start. 

It has just had new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter, oil change etc. Haynes manual is worthless when it comes to this. Where are the fusable links and fuel pump relays on this damn car?


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## jerseymike68 (Sep 15, 2009)

useful sources here


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