Engine stall - intermittent

[geschaef]

First time posting...I've used the posts here many times. Here's an interesting and maybe mysterious one for you guys.

At highway speed after 5-10 minutes on the road, my 93 XLE 6-cyl Camry dies. RPM needle drops to zero then all the indicators light up. So I pull over and wait a couple minutes and it starts right up again. Another couple miles and the same thing happens. Decided to drive at reduced speed the rest of the way to work and no stall. Driving around town there's no stall but only at highway speed does it happen. Four times in the last 6 weeks. Any ideas? Thank you!

[haux]

How's the performance otherwise? Does it run smoothly when it *doesn't* stall? Does the idle feel/sound good?

Originally Posted by geschaef

First time posting...I've used the posts here many times. Here's an interesting and maybe mysterious one for you guys.

At highway speed after 5-10 minutes on the road, my 93 XLE 6-cyl Camry dies. RPM needle drops to zero then all the indicators light up. So I pull over and wait a couple minutes and it starts right up again. Another couple miles and the same thing happens. Decided to drive at reduced speed the rest of the way to work and no stall. Driving around town there's no stall but only at highway speed does it happen. Four times in the last 6 weeks. Any ideas? Thank you!

[geschaef]

Good questions. Engine runs smooth at all other times. 170K miles, tuned up this summer, fuel filter replaced in last 3 weeks. Idle is good.

[haux]

If the idle was rough and it stalls on the highway I was going to say maybe the throttle body is dirty. Guess you'll have to wait for someone else to chime in with more helpful info

Originally Posted by geschaef

Good questions. Engine runs smooth at all other times. 170K miles, tuned up this summer, fuel filter replaced in last 3 weeks. Idle is good.

[geschaef]

Thanks. The TB could very well be dirty. But why a stall only when this much torque is on the engine vs. 35-40 MPH?

[haux]

Actually, I'm wondering, does this by any chance happen as soon as you slow down a bit... such as at an exit? Or will it stall at random 5-10 minutes into the higher speeds?

[geschaef]

Hmm. I don't think so. It's pretty random but at the highway speed.

[hill8570]

I'd check the fuel pressure...dying at high fuel usage sounds like something upstream of the injectors. It's a little scary that you just recently replaced the fuel filter, since that's in the same path -- possibly the flow through that filter is restricted or the lines in / out of the filter got FUBARed during the changeout.

[geschaef]

OK thanks hill8570, fuel pressure check tonight then an update tomorrow.

[geschaef]

Sorry for long delay on completing this thread. The problem was the Ignition Coil. A $65 part at Barron's, $84 at O'Reillys and a 10-minute repair.

Since my last post, I replaced the fuel pump which, in retrospect, was likely in good shape. The symptoms reported earlier in my thread moved from highway-speed only stalls to street-speed stalls to no start at all. The symptoms were mysterious since I thought a coil died a quick death not the slow and inconvenient one I lived through.

FYI, my list of remedies learned from this site and others included:
- fuel pump
- ignition coil
- dirty EGR/IAC valves and throttle body
- engine coolant temperature sensor
- oily plugs
- water in fuel

I did clean out the throttle body and butterfly valve. Starts and runs great again for a 173K mile 93 XLE six cylinder. Thanks all.

[hill8570]

Originally Posted by geschaef

Sorry for long delay on completing this thread. The problem was the Ignition Coil. A $65 part at Barron's, $84 at O'Reillys and a 10-minute repair.

Since my last post, I replaced the fuel pump which, in retrospect, was likely in good shape. The symptoms reported earlier in my thread moved from highway-speed only stalls to street-speed stalls to no start at all. The symptoms were mysterious since I thought a coil died a quick death not the slow and inconvenient one I lived through.

FYI, my list of remedies learned from this site and others included:
- fuel pump
- ignition coil
- dirty EGR/IAC valves and throttle body
- engine coolant temperature sensor
- oily plugs
- water in fuel

I did clean out the throttle body and butterfly valve. Starts and runs great again for a 173K mile 93 XLE six cylinder. Thanks all.

Thanks for getting back to us with the final solution!

Wild...you're the second guy in two weeks who had a bizarre problem that turned out to be a cracked coil -- his also only occurred after the engine warmed up. Makes me want to go and change out the coil in my '95 just on general principles.

Did you ever get a check engine light after these? The other guy was getting a CEL with a DTC 14 (and another one, DTC 13, I think). It'd be real strange if the car would die from a bad coil without some sort of DTC.

[geschaef]

I did not get a check engine light but was directed to dig a code. Since this is an older vehicle, most local parts stores don't carry a code-reader for anything but 96 and newer.

[geschaef]

I'm back. Despite my reported outcome above, the problem continues. Yes, my V6 did start as soon as an ignition coil was installed but the warm stall continues and now cold start problems persist intermittently. Like everywhere else in the country, its dang cold here in Iowa (30 to 15 below) and 10 inches of snow. This car has been sitting outside undriven for 3 weeks and yesterday it fired right off!

New information since I last posted: I pulled a DTC 41 (Throttle position circuit fault) code. Mechanic found no spark at plugs and condemned the distributor since the coil was new. He said an "electronic component" inside the dist is failing intermittently (Pickup coil?). This test was done on one of the times it would NOT start sitting outside. He pulled it into his garage til warm then started it and I drove it home after deciding his bill for a new dist was too high. Nothing's been done on it nor has it been driven since.

Ideas on what to try or test next?

[geschaef]

I’m a little hesitant to claim victory on this problem but so far, its working and I wanted to put a closer on this post (also apologize for double-posting on Automotive Forum before I read the rules). Its been a long haul...I first posted 11-5-09.

It was the Ignition Control Module (Toyota calls it the Igniter). As I wrote previously, the spark test seemed to indicate that the distributor was the road block but reading through the Service Manual for this engine (3VZ-FE), noticed that Igniter was not part of distributor. The guy working with me had previous experience with ICMs going bad on Chevy’s so went with that. A new ICM is $365+ so I found a $50 recycled part at local salvage yard. Camry fired right up and it’s been staying that way. So far, no warm stall, which is what sent me down this road. If I’d had more electronic skill, I might have solved this sooner. Am grateful for this forum. Hope this helps someone.