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My 99 Pontiac cutting off while driving,no check engen lithg on

My 99 Grand Am is cutting off randomly while driving. I have not been able to purposely reproduce the problem, which makes diagnosis difficult. I am looking for any advice in diagnostics, or parts to test first.

The car will run normally 99% of the time. Without warning, the electrical cuts out and the engine stalls. This has happened at low speed and highway speed, while turning or while going straight down the road. There are no engine error codes, no dash warning lights, and no other indication of what occurred.

After each incident, the car can usually be restarted immediately. Twice, I got a single "click" and no start -- turning the key off and trying again started the car in both of those occasions.

It has been suggested that I check the wiring harness, which I have done by aggressively wiggling and pulling on various engine connections and wires while the car is running -- no results. It has also been suggested that the crankshaft position sensor is faulty or the harness is damaged. Visually, there are no problems with the harness.

The car is not equipped with any remote starter, and does not have any after-market security systems. The stock security system is what I gather to be the most basic one. The security light has never lit, and I am not certain that it CAN light (not used?)

In summary: What should I be checking? Is the crankshaft position sensor a likely candidate here for the problem? I don't want to invest in parts and labor if there's no possible way this is the issue.

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Now remember here, This may or may not be it. But it sounds just like an Ignition Control Module.

The parts store should be able to tell you for sure where it is and all.

When they would go out, it was just like turning the key off. Sometimes it would fire back up and most time had to cool off for a bit.

All I can think of now. I'll check back to see what you found.

Mark

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Ignition Relay would explain the symptoms

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Another idea just came to me. Could be a fusible link. Some of those were inline on the positive cable, others were like a big fuse. They get corroded a lot which could cause what your saying.

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Ivan,

So things to think about going forward:

If the entire electrical system shuts down, it may very well be the main electrical relay. If all lights and electrical functions shut off simultaneously this could be the issue. Testing would be to simply replace it. They are usually much cheaper than sensors.

It may also be the main cabling for the alternator and battery. Your starter wire, alternator wire, or battery terminal may be corroded and be intermittently failing. Testing would be visual inspection on all exposed metal on the battery, alternator and fusebox connections, and/or getting an auto parts house to run their checker on your battery system to see if anything is out of tolerance.

Another thing to check would be the ignition switch. If it is old, corroded, or failing it may be cutting off the ignition with vibrations. Check by "jiggling" the key vigorously while running to see if you can reproduce the problem that way.

Electrical issues can be difficult sometimes to pin-down. Some other things to think about and further research would be loose connectors and possible shorts.

Cheers

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ivan stoinev will be eternally grateful.
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