Q: While driving & without warning, my van will suddenly turn off.

asked by on January 16, 2018

While driving & without warning, my van will suddenly turn off. I am able to coast to the side of the road. The engine will turn over, but will not start. After waiting 5-10 minutes, the car will restart & I can continue on my way. This has been happening for about 2 months now, about once every 1-2 weeks. It has happened while cruising, while accelerating, and while waiting at a stoplight - always without warning.
I replaced the fuel pump about 1.5 weeks ago - thinking that would solve the issue - but it happened again today. My van has about 260,000 miles on it.

My car has 260000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hi Karl. Thanks for contacting us today. What you are describing is arguably one of the hardest items to diagnose, but is typically caused by an electrical short. In some cases, a loose wire to an ignition system component, such as a crankshaft or cam position sensor, can cause ignition timing to shut off quickly, which will instantly stall the engine. It can also be caused by a faulty electrical relay. The only advice I can suggest is to have a professional mechanic complete an electrical inspection, so they can determine if there is a short or another glitch that can resolve your issues.

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