The best thing to do if something like this happens is to seek professional help from a mechanic. He will most likely be able to fix the problem or come up with a solution, like getting a new car.
Remove the air assembly intake hose from the throttle body and look inside the throttle body. If it is black and full of carbon, it needs to be cleaned out. You can search on the web the proper way to clean it.
Well, it does sound like a breathing issue.
Okay. I think it's safe to rule out the alternator. Were talking an old car that doesn't rely on computers as heavily as these new things do. Most alternator problems cause your card to die after the battery has been drained, and it won't start again until the battery has been recharged. Does this sound like your problem?
The check gauges light would lead me to believe that it is something that is being monitored in your car. And, this would back up my very limited view of the potential problems.
Fuel. How much fuel is in the car? When was the fuel filter changed? Is it a carburetor or fuel injected vehicle? Is it getting the proper air to fuel ratio? Little things like this. If it's not getting air because the air ducts are clogged, this could be a problem. You see, on acceleration you shoot more fuel and air into the engine to give you acceleration. Messing with this ratio can cause problems. This can also go back to the choke and other little things on carburetors as well as dirty fuel injectors.
How is your exhaust system? This is part of the breathing too. Your car needs air coming in to help burn the fuel but it also needs to be able to get rid of exhaust through the exhaust system. A faulty catalytic converter could be the culprit here. Although, anything that would restrict the flow of exhaust could cause problems.
Now. Since the check engine gauges light comes on, this could indicate an electrical problem. Since I'm not familiar with your car I don't know if is leaving a trouble code or not. A qualified mechanic should be able to tell you fairly quickly. My thinking is that a car of this age would still use a system that could be read with a little computer and not require the older flashing lights type of code.
The exhaust system is pretty easy to check. Start the car when it has been sitting overnight so that it is cold. Go around to the tailpipe and see if you are getting any exhaust out of it and how much. You may even be able to put your hand over it and see if the pressure builds up. If you have no pressure/exhaust your culprit could be a clogged exhaust system. Mufflers are fairly cheap, pipe is cheap, but catalytic converters can be rather expensive. The old option that we used to use was to go to a junkyard and find a similar model that had been trashed and take that catalytic converter instead of buying a brand-new one. I'm not sure if you can still do that or not.
If you have a carburetor, you may be able to check the fuel supply while the car is running and see what happens when you press on the gas. Fuel injected cars, however, cannot be done like this. The first thing I would check here would be a clogged fuel filter.
By the way, if you're sitting in your driveway or are parked, what happens when you punch the gas? Does it still stall?
For what it's worth, I'm not a mechanic. I have worked on cars before, but that was back in the early 1990s. They've changed a lot since then.
Good luck. Oh, I have had to work traffic in the past and know exactly what you mean about how people react to people with car problems.
It IS your fault. The car has a severe drivability issue that you know about, yet you still try to drive it. Not only is that an unsafe practice, it's also grossly negligent. Get it properly repaired by a professional mechanic before you kills someone, including yourself.
sounds like it could be a vacuum leak, egr valve problem, or a module or sensor. Take it to Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts and they will hook it up to a computer for free that will give the codes to tell what the problem is.
sucks broo
So this is my first car, and I do not know a lot about cars. We bought it from a private owner. It's a 1998 Pontiac Bonneville. It has almost 230,000 miles on it. It usually dies when I accelerate, like when I am at the light and it turns green, it beeps saying "check gages" and then my steering wheel locks up and dies. I am still able to control everything else accept the gas and the wheel. It is very embarrassing because people will honk and get angry but it's not my fault. We don't know what to do anymore. We took it to get it fixed and all they said that the air ducts needed to be cleaned. It didn't do anything. -.- I personally think it is the alternator. But I don't know, please help! D;
