This issue has been going on since early April.

1996 Olds Cutlass Supreme with close to 200K miles on it.

I will drive the car for 40+ miles and it runs fine. However if I cut it off for 20-30 minutes, when I get back in to try to crank it, it sounds very rough(sputtering sound) and after a few minutes will just cut off. I try to recrank it and while the engine tries to start it doesn't stay on for more than a couple seconds.

If I wait for an hour or so after these failed attempts, the car cranks and runs normally.

The CEL is on but it has been on for the last year or two and it feeds me the same code.

The first time this happened back in April, I took it to a mechanic however he couldn't figure out what was wrong and he couldn't get it to reproduce the same issues I had (he never drove it for 30+ miles). He checked the fuel pump and it was working fine. We replaced the fuel filter just in case that was the issue. We thought that maybe the issue was fixed and I took the car back. I drove it from Winston Salem to Greenville and back with no issues for mother's day but the following week the problem returned. I waited about 90 minutes and when it cranked back up with no issues. I drove it home and cut it off. I then waited 5 minutes and tried to re-crank it and it started up but it was very rough.

Any ideas?

6/1/2014 12:40:13 PM

well, what is the code?

may need to get a scanner and or fuel pressure gauge on it when its acting up

6/1/2014 12:48:51 PM

when I had intermittent cranking issues, my alternator's pulley was on its out and making it harder for the starter

worth checking out

6/1/2014 8:08:05 PM

Crank Sensor...some kinda sensor?

6/1/2014 9:07:05 PM

ignition module/crank sensor

6/1/2014 9:56:38 PM

Quote :

"when I had intermittent cranking issues, my alternator's pulley was on its out and making it harder for the starter "

say whut?





the the OP: I would also concur with ^ take a long hard look at the ignition module

[Edited on June 2, 2014 at 4:37 PM. Reason : edit]

6/2/2014 4:37:08 PM

Quote :

"say whut?"

same reaction I had. The car would randomly leave me stranded. It would crank every time when cold, but once it was warmed up, it was anyone's guess. I eventually quit calling for help and discovered that I just had to wait and keep trying every few minutes.

Immediately after I changed out the alt (for other reasons), the cranking was twice as "healthy" sounding and the car never stranded me again

to clarify, it could be any pulley, not just the alt

[Edited on June 2, 2014 at 6:06 PM. Reason : ]

6/2/2014 6:06:23 PM