Weird Car Problem

john in la · Nov 30, 2021

My daughter called me today.
She has a 2005 Chevy Tahoe.
Truck runs well for a 2005.
Lately the truck has been killing when she makes a sharp turn.
It does not happen every time she turns so she never knows when it will happen.
She said it has only happened to her when turning left but her husband has noticed it when turning right also.
She has not noticed a problem when going down the road.
It only happens when turning into a driveway/parking lot or making a U turn in a parking lot to go from one parking lane to
the next parking lane.
She hits brakes to bring truck to a stop and it will start right back up.
I asked her if the amount of gas in the tank made a difference and she said it has a half a tank right now and it did it
yesterday while she was driving.
Any ideas ??????
She lives in Chattanooga so its not like I could go look at it personally.

She also stated she searched the problem online and another person had a similar problem with a Chevy pickup without a
solution to the problem.

MarkB_MI · Nov 30, 2021

Shift the transfer case out of 4WD.

john in la · Nov 30, 2021

Its only a 2 wheel drive truck.

Steve in VA · Nov 30, 2021

When it dies, is the ignition all that fails or does other electrics go too like maybe lights or radio. It sure sounds to me that moving the steeling wheel affects the ignition wiring.

kcm.MN · Nov 30, 2021

A couple of shots in the dark from a NON-mechanic.

Could it possibly be ignition-related? If any of the wires are loose, could they move when turning the steering wheel?

Another thought is, could loose/broken motor mounts cause this kind of problem?

Stephen Newell · Nov 30, 2021

You might check the fuel pressure. It's suppose to be between 55 and 62 psi. If it's low, change the fuel filter and check the pressure again. If it's still low the fuel pump may be going out.

used red MN · Nov 30, 2021

Is the engine light on? If so need to check the codes. Just for her own safety and convenience you might inform her that the truck can be placed in neutral and restarted without stopping.

redforlife · Nov 30, 2021

Is it possible that foot off of the accelerator is the common denominator here, and not the turning. That would mean the engine is apt to die while at idle. And turning has nothing to do with it, other than thats when foot is off accelerator

DoubleO7 · Nov 30, 2021

Power steering pressure relief at pump or in steering gear is not working?

john in la · Nov 30, 2021

It has never happened at a red light with foot only on brakes. Only happens when turning.

Bruce from Can. · Nov 30, 2021

We had a Dodge K car that did the same thing. And I discovered that the gas gauge wasnt accurate. At around a half tank, it started to die on sharp turns, but would recover and run smooth as silk afterwards. We bought the car used for the kids to learn to drive with, and my wife drove it probably the most. I finally looked at the owners manual to see what the gas tank capacity was. Then drove the car to the gas station and filled it. Soon realized it was near the bottom of the tank. And it never happened on a full tank.

Steve@Advance · Nov 30, 2021

Had a Dodge 1/2 ton PU that was doing that, stalling on take off, turns. Only did it occasionally, maybe once a week, but always at the most inopportune time.

I rigged up a fuel pressure gauge and laid it in the windshield so I could watch the pressure while driving.

Finally caught it, sure enough the pressure dropped at the same time it stalled.

Went into the tank, found the fuel pump mount bracket was broken, the pump hanging by the hose and wiring. It finally broke a wire inside the insulation that was making a bad connection.

Steve@Advance · Nov 30, 2021

Can you make it stall by turning the steering , in gear, not moving?

Hobo,NC · Nov 30, 2021

It would be nice to scan it for codes.

I had this 05 it had a short in the wiring harness where the harness goes over the left valve cover. It shorted to a stud that retained the coil bracket. I have seen another do it in a post on the net by
scannerdanner. It set cam/crank codes PO335/340/341

I would at the least clean the throttle body. Spray a rag with throttle body cleaner open the throttle plate and wipe it out real good. I am glad its not my problem are at my door : )

BobTx · Nov 30, 2021

Really outdated, but I had the same problem on a 1977 Ford van. It turned out to be a failing electronic ignition . It appeared the weak spark would not fire the fuel mixture when going from idle to full throttle. I know it's outdated but if all else fails might be worth a look.
Bob

Dean · Nov 30, 2021

I once owned a 79 Trans Am with (Pontiac) TA 6.6 engine and 4 speed.

After a 2 or 3 years, it would stumble upon acceleration from light throttle, similar to what happens with a failing or mis-adjusted accelerator pump.

Tried to figure it out for over a year or so without success.

Eventually, it failed hard. No spark.

Turns out, the wire to the reluctor wheel in the distributor had failed inside the insulation but made contact during normal operation. Upon tip in from idle or low throttle, the vacuum advance retarded the timing creating a momentary open circuit in the wire which self-corrected after motion stopped. Wire looked fine and no visible evidence.

Never would have found it until eventual hard failure.

Dean

Dean · Nov 30, 2021

Bingo.

See 79 TA story, above.

Dean

4play · Nov 30, 2021

I agree with Hobo's post with the nice pics. From the pic, with the harness circled, I too have fixed several pickups and SUV's in the same area of harness. Another area to look for is following that same harness up to the top and across the intake manifold, several broken or rubbed wires there too.

4play · Nov 30, 2021

This post was edited by 4play on 12/01/2021 at 08:39 pm.

4520BW · Dec 1, 2021

Fuel pump in tank swinging while turning loosing power or internal short? Please let is know when it's fixed what the problem was.

Sprint 6 · Dec 1, 2021

Small gauge ground wire on the driveside of the engine block near where the battery ground attaches may be failing. See lots of those fail. Broke on my '04 Avalanche and caused all sorts of issues.

Steve@Advance · Dec 1, 2021

That was a fairly common problem back in the days of vacuum advance.

The wires would flex every time the advance moved.

I go to where I would give them a tug any time I was in the distributor. If he ware was broke I could feel it stretch inside the insulation or it would pull completely out.

Hobo,NC · Dec 1, 2021

(quoted from post at 17:42:33 12/01/21) That was a fairly common problem back in the days of vacuum advance.

The wires would flex every time the advance moved.

I go to where I would give them a tug any time I was in the distributor. If he ware was broke I could feel it stretch inside the insulation or it would pull completely out.

I wish it pertained to his issue it would be a EZ fix...

Back in the 80's a guy pulls up it was the classic complaint of this issue. I lifted the cap off tugged on the wire it broke. The problem was he did not have the money to fix it. It did not go well he filed a complaint with the BBB. His reasoning he drove it in now it was dead I broke it... I don't remember the outcome other than I did not fix it are collect any money for my diagnosis.

I moved off the main drag in 1992 I do not miss those idiots...

The moral of the story always ask how are you gonna pay me. Believe me some have no money it never works out for the good.
I am sure all that work on cars for a living have been bit by classic complaints.

INCase · Dec 1, 2021

have her take it to aautozone or aadvance auto parts and have them (or other stores) read the codes for free. if it is an ignition problem it should show up in the codes and then follow what the codes say to help pinpoint the issue.

the old cars (like alot of the replies here that don't apply to a 2005 Fuel injected car) with carburetors would act up when turning. in 2005 im pretty sure they no longer had distributor ignition and certainly not vacuum advance so probably not simple ignition issue. so it could be a couple things

1, fuel pump is bad and when the fuel flow to one side when turning it starves the pump = maybe a weak pump. a full tank of gas would cure that
2, as someone else mentioned ground wire. when turning maybe the engine is rocking with the turn and causing a break in the ground. it is 16 years old and depending on the mileage could have worn motor mounts allowing the motor to rock too much ?? bad grounds/battery can really goof up the computers.
3, loose battery or bad battery (break inside the opens up during turns.
4, ??

Hobo,NC · Dec 1, 2021

07 I am working on today this is not my issue but its headed that way someday. I took the stud out and put a bolt in it. Some have a bracket to hold up the harness some I see don't.

BTW this one has gave me a fit PO455, I think I got it this time water was in the system. Where did the water come from well ME. When the canister busted I pulled all the lines off and flushed them with WATER that won't happen again.

pinball · Dec 1, 2021

years ago i had the same problem on my new chevy. about 2000 miles or so it started doing that. took it to the chevy dealership 5 times. never did find the problem. fellow in the maintenance dept where i worked at told me it was the fuel pump. he told me that there putting electric fuel pumps to keep more constant pressure on the fuel systems and all those motors big or small has its own protection. not very often but sometimes they go bad. have them replace the fuel pump and it will work fine. now after about 30 minutes i finally got chevy to replace it. drove it 25000 miles before i traded it. never once had the stopping problem again. i had to agree to pay for the pump if it didnt fix it but i just felt like the mechanic really new his stuff. good luck to fix your problem

Hay hay hay · Dec 1, 2021

I have a friend that has an old Chevy with what he says is a short in the steering column when turning very short, like parking. He is very careful how he parks the truck so the wheels are straight forward..????

Old560 · Dec 1, 2021

Agree Double07.

dbNga · Dec 1, 2021

Careful using rag to clean throttle body. I did that on wife's 04 Infiniti FX35 and had to have it reflashed. Fluctuating idle was now present. On this new of vehicle I would use dedicated throttle body cleaner.

Texasmark · Dec 2, 2021

That would be a good place to look...insulation worn off a wire and depending how you made the turn, twisting the wiring harness within the steering column you could make ground contact.

Why don't you have her jack up the front of the truck so that the wheels are off the ground and run the steering lock to lock numerous times and see if she can duplicate it.

Hobo,NC · Dec 2, 2021

That may well be true on your car... On a chebby pick up its best to apply the cleaner to a rag and wipe the residue out where the throttle blade seats in the TB. I am pert near sure its the recommended procedure... I do know I have resolved a many low idle/stall complaint this way.

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