Juanita Snow

1994 Chevrolet Caprice, been having problems for about a month. I recently put on a used steering column - from a non-lt1 caprice - and after that the car has seemed to go to ****. At first the car was just sputtering while driving down the road, almost like it was starving for gas, so I changed the spark plugs and wires. After that, I cranked it up and in about 15 minutes it was doing the same thing - sputtering and eventually cut off after getting warm. I changed the ignition coil and the MAF sensor, then I crank it up, 20 minutes later it started to sputter again. After this, we changed the opti-spark distributor, after the car idled fine, just like normal, drove it about a mile and the motor seemed to have bogged out, the more gas i tried to give it the worse it got, until it would cut off on me. It cranked right back up, rpms jumped up pretty high but came right back down. Changed the ICM - no change. Began to think maybe the ignition switch in the used steering column was bad, so we changed it. Checked the fuel pressure, it was about 2thove poorly all the way home - no difference. Checked the fuel pressure, it was about 20psi, so we changed the fuel filter and fuel pump kit. Car seemed to run fine again, drove about 3 hours around town and the car started to cut off everytime my foot wasnt constantly on the gas, it ran like it wouldnt switch gears and then as soon as we took the exit and got to the light, the car cut off. It started right back up, but evertime we came to an idle it would turn right back off. Did this atleast 10 times until we made it home. After that, we changed the fuel pressure regulator. Once again, it seemed like the car was fixed, drove it to work, then a little bit after , 2-3 hour total, and it started to idle rough, then turn off. The rpms would spike, and the car would stall out. It started back up, got on the highway, drove rough all the way home, check engine light came on, and the car seemed to be stuck in fourth gear, felt like if i tried to give the car more gas that it would completely give out on me, and we noticed a smell, almost like stale gas. Got to our exit, came to a stop and the car shut off. It did not start up. I heard a single click - not constant- when i turned the key. Had to beat on the starter to get the car to crank, started right up and drove fine for the last mile to the house. Let the car sit in drive with my foot on break for about 15 minutes and the car idled fine, no skipping. Today we changed the idle air control valve. Car sounded good at start up, idled good, for about 20 minutes, then drove it about a mile and the car started to sputter like it was going to stall out. Turned around, got 1/2 a mile back, and it turned off while driving slowly through a parking lot, at low idle. The car didnt start back up, once again, had to beat the starter. I dont know what to change next, this is starting to cost alot of money. obviously the starter is bad, but i dont think that would cause all the other problems the car is having.

dont know if this means anything but I guess ill add that :
my temperature gage has never worked before. While we were changing the steering column, i noticed while messing with the wires, it jumped up. Now every time I start my car, it spikes up and goes right back down with the click of the key. The car has never done this before. I also notice that it does this before the car starts to sputter, and eventually turning off.

Also -
I only changed my steering column because i could not use the key for the original one and had to use push start. I wanted a key so i ordered used steering column from a 95 chevy caprice.

WS Sick

Check your grounds, and look over your wiring for broken or ba wires. Also ensure that everything is hooked up correctly.

Big Al

iTrader: (1)

Did you check for codes?

Al 95 Z28

defaultexistence

iTrader: (11)

May be the faulty 12v terminal post under hood on passenger side firewall shorting out once hot ... This is a known issue and there is an upgrade kit available

ugod02010

start off checking for codes. Also try popping your fuel rails up and turn the key on engine off and see if you have any leaking injectors. It's nice to have a logging program to see if you are running rich or lean and what exactly is going on. Trust me it's a lot cheaper than throwing parts at the car to buy the cable and download datamaster it has a free trail or download tunerpro RT.
opti--$300-500
aldl cable and data recorder 60-80

A lot of guys on here know a lot about these cars/engines if you can give more info from your log if you cant see the problem chances are someone else will!!