Why does my car stall, with oil and engine warning lights on and right after all the meters gone crazy?

Asked by Dada14 Aug 05, 2014 at 07:43 AM about the 2008 Chevrolet Aveo LT Sedan FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My concern is about my 2008 aveo which started having the oil and engine warning lights on right after all the meters gone crazy.



As i reached a stop light, i turned-off the engine but would just krank.



After, say 10 mins. somebody helped me and got it started, and I was able to reach my destination.



Upon leaving work place, it started without the oil and engine warning lights on. Turn it off and on again, seemed to work alright until i slowed down towards a traffic light then the oil and engine warning lights turned on while the engine quitted.  It would krank but would not start the engine.  Someone helped me again using car-to-car battery jumper and got the car running.



On a normal city driving manner, the engine died again with the the warning lights on.  Then, upon installing new battery, it was alright. I parked and started 5 times to visit several mechanics and electricians, still it seemed well although the engine warning light was on.



The electrician appeared to have gone tired waiting for the codes to be displayed, as he just detached the battery and then of course the engine warning light turned off. The senior electrician tasked me to drive around and return once the problem recurs but, after successful acceleration and decelaration with a stop at another traffic light, i was still able to accelerate when the light turned green.



I could not remember if i stepped on the brake when the car just quitted again after travelling maybe 100m or so.  I could hear the alternator ticking while the oil and engine warning were on.



After about 30 mins. of trying and waiting, the engine magically started, despite the fact that it would just krank and not start earlier.



(By the way, all these happened in the same day.)



I have tried tightening the fuel cap.  And, I am told that if i just keep the head lights off, it should fine. (based from the mechanic who drove the car, as he was able to make it start with the aide of several men pushing the car)



The service center tells me to replace the Alternator, Camshaft Sensor and the engine Valve Cover Gasket. But, they further claim: should it not resolve the case, maybe the ECM might need replacement.



I haven't seen the diagnostic report nor the quotation, but i will do today.

9 Answers

63,145

Sounds like the damn thing is possessed. As of now I'm leaning toward the ECU.

2 people found this helpful.

Hi Mark, i did some readings. according to some webpages, the car will never start with the ECU broken. the good thing is that my car does, so hoping it is not the ECU that needs replacement. The other thing on that 2nd Hand two-week old car (i recently bought it), is that the clutch intermittently stays on the floor when shifting gears..

63,145

The clutch is a slave cylinder. As for the electrical problem, something sounds like it could be lose.

61,205

sounds like it could be the alternator. The warning lights come on any time the key is on and the motor is off. When the engine stalls it is therefore off. I dont see anything abnormal there. You alternator charges the battery, if drive with a bad alternator it will eventually die, a jump will help and only get you a short distance. It makes sense the new battery got you a few cranks before it wouldn't go any longer. Did anyone test your alternator? I know most autoparts stores will test them for free on the car.

1 people found this helpful.

Thanks Andrew and T_S_T, the service center will proceed with the replacement of Alternator, Camshaft Sensor, Engine Valve Cover Gasket and a few more parts that will have to go together with the replacement activity. Nothing was discussed by the repair shop on the clutch that sometimes sticks to the floor when stepped on. Hey Mark, so your suspect is on the clutch slave cylinder huh. I therefore wonder why the service center representative choose not to bring up the probable cause on this. Will post again, when it gets out of the repair shop.

Oh no, Jacob and Mark has the same suspect.. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping my almost 900 USD expense on current repair activities does not go to waste.

On latest update, the parts replacement went through boiling down to 820 USD expense after discounts on parts. All is running well even without doing anything for the clutch issue, i just hope the symptom does not reoccur. Thanks everyone and sending apologies to Andrew, i happened to click on T_S_T instead of you for having the best answer.

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