Roddimus Prime

An O2 sensor is just a .... uh, well sensor. It won't keep the car from running. It just sniffs the exhaust gas to make sure the car is running correctly. It won't keep it from hot starting.

sounds to me like a fuel issue......did you ever do what I said and check the fuel pressure and ignition?

_Kansei_

It will keep it from starting if it shorts out (blowing the 'engine' fuse).

ask me how I know

It seemed like a fuel issue when my car stalled out while driving and wouldn't restart (would crank but no fuel/ignition). turns out the heater circuit in the primary O2 sensor shorted otu.

Roddimus Prime

i've never heard of that. the O@ sensor is passive...I don't know how it would cause NO fuel or ignition.

katpo

I haven't seen her or the car but have asked her what her dad said/did. Waiting for a reply. I'm funneling all these things to him via email to her and aside from that, I'm pretty much left with little else to do but worry about it. You know how moms are.

Okay ... I SOOO appreciate your help, you just can't imagine how much. When I get a response from her or her dad, I'll see if I can give you more info. Meanwhile we wait.

_Kansei_

When it shorts out, it blows the 'engine' fuse, which also controls the fuel and ignition.

It's one of those situations where running with no sensor at all is probably preferable to running with a broken one. With no sensor, the car just has no idea what is going on and would probably run in a limp mode.

of course I'm speaking of the first oxygen sensor, not the post cat sensor.

If the cat is bad and you have both oxygen sensors in place, you should get a check engine light complaining about it, but the car would still run (badly).

There aren't that many things with these cars that cause an all-out no start condition. Spark and fuel are both run through the "engine" fuse though, so I'd check that out.

Luzer

I can't see it being that fuse. She said that when the car sits for a while it will start up fine. If it was the fuse you are talking about, the car wouldn't start at all would it?

Roddimus Prime

exactly

_Kansei_

Yeah if it was the fuse, it wouldn't start up.

Have them try unplugging the first oxygen sensor and see if it dies again. When it starts up currently, does it just run for a few minutes before dying?

After my car got towed, the shop it was at tried starting it up after the car cooled down and it worked again, so I guess the fuse wasn't blown or maybe they had replaced it already. It was the first time my car was ever at a repair shop so I went there every 10 minutes or so to check on the car, and one time I got there and my car was driving down the road under its own power. He got down the street and it died again...

ALIENMS3

you can get perfomance cats for around 50-100 and installed m,ost muffler shops might install it for about 40-100 is a guess.
Or check to see fi soemoen that has uopgraded there exaust might eb sellign the stock parts and buy there stock one that still owrked.

katpo

I just talked to her again. Here's a little more to add.

She put in some fuel injector cleaner when filling up her gas tank last night and things are running fine for now and the light is off. She says she hasn't been putting in but a few dollars' worth each time she needs gas because she's been a little low on funds. Said she has almost run out of gas a time or two ... but last night she filled it up all the way (with injector cleaner put in first).

I also talked to a guy here at work who is Mr. Car Knowledge and he says he would tend to believe either fuel or ignition.

_Kansei_

she may have just been sucking up gunk or stressin out the fuel pump if it was running really low. Good to hear it is up and running again, though it would be good to know what the error code was (it's still stored even though the light is off).

katpo

I tend to believe that's what it is -- but am going to see if I can find out what the code was.

For now I'm keeping my fingers and toes and eyes crossed that it hangs in there. I told her to treat it gently and to let me know if she needs money for gas!!

Thanks again to you all! What a super group of people you are to be so nice to a new person who isn't all that car smart.

J-Protege

Yeah, what can I say, we're awesome

Haha, keep us filled in on the car, the cleaner may just be a temporary fix, and may need the injectors cleaned by a shop eventually, if they really are clogged up.

Shift2xlr8

I agree, I had my injectors cleaned with 130octane a while back and when I first got it back my car ran like a 13yr old on speed with a sugar high. Now its calmed down some, but still runs 10times better than it did before. So keep us updated on how the car is doing. I personally would like to know, god forbid this happen to me or someone else on here that may not know a damn thing about cars, lol.

Chris

J-Protege

Couldn't hurt to change the plugs if you do bring it in for service. Maybe have her save up a bit and get the basics done.

Oil change + filter.
Plugs.
Transmission flush.
Injectors cleaned.
New air filter if it needs it.
Top up fluids.

Should keep the car running nice and feeling re-energized, and won't break the bank.