[HollyZ32]

OK so im getting to the chase here
i have a 1990 Nissan 300zx N/A
I have replaced almost ever thing imaginable in my car! except a new engine so it seems!
latey this has been happening like once ever 2 weeks or so
i will be driving and out of know were BAM the car just ..shuts off ( its an auto so its not me killing it)
it shuts off with out warning sometimes i dont even notice it until my steering wheel locks up! and the breaks dont work
wtf is wrong with it
its getting to the point of scary when it shuts off in the middle of the road sometimes freeway and i dont notice it.
when it shuts off it starts back up no problem when i turn it back on!
whats wrong here?

[03aspec]

alternator on its way out? i don't know for sure though, could be a number of things.

[HollyZ32]

I just put a new alt in 3 weeks ago along with getting the main wire from my alt to my battery rewire because it fried itsself
and also got a new alt belt lol

[03aspec]

and its not throwing any codes?

[HollyZ32]

Nope nothing
it just shuts off
no notice sometimes i dont even know it shuts off
no nothing no lights come on doesnt shift down or start to idle low just bam its off
but starts back up again no porb

[you]

BAM!
next thing u know the thing blows up

[HollyZ32]

Oh god dont say that haha
thats just the next thing i totally need to happen to it hahah fricken eh

[Jin]

try checking the main relay. i had a similar problem in one of my cars a couple years ago and had to replace that.

the main relay isnt very common to fail, but its something to check. GL!

[HollyZ32]

Thanks i will deff get that checked!

[FatalCloud]

o2 sensor

[Iceman-19]

o2 sensor

I hope that was a joke.

It could be a wire grounding out.

[Chopstick]

sometimes i dont even notice it until my steering wheel locks up!

shuts off in the middle of the road i dont notice it.

(o________o)......

umm hmm maybe try coil packs? distributors? checkie fuel pump?

probably something electrical

maybe check all the electrical connections using one of those voltage check thingies

[FatalCloud]

o2 sensor

my old car, the main relay wire was too close to to something sharp and so over time, the wire eventually grinded to the point where yes, my car just shut off while i was driving. ignore the o2 sensor thing, i was thinking about my other old car.

[Pinky V1.1]

i say something to do with the ignition cylinder

[anti-vip]

coils

[TigerSY]

I had the same problem before in my previous car.. it was my ignition column. If you've replaced everything under the hood, its worth a look.

[jlenko]

Are you out of gas?

Sounds like my car when the fuel pump was on its way out... car would just die while I was sitting at a light... but the exhaust was so loud, you knew it wasn't running anymore...

[Death2Theft]

Well she is blonde :P Look at it this way if it dies and doesn't kill you, you might get nuff money to get a TT!

[Lomac]

DO NOT DRIVE THAT THING UNTIL IT'S FIXED! Not only do you put yourself at risk if it dies at random, you're putting everyone else on the road around you at risk as well. Since it's an auto and not a manual, you don't have the ability to restart the car until it's stopped.

[penner2k]

My parents car had an issue like that at one point. It was a relay.

Your car is starting to sound like mine. I would seriously consider getting rid of it. From experience.. once you replace everything in the car.. then things you replaced just start breaking again.

[jlenko]

DO NOT DRIVE THAT THING UNTIL IT'S FIXED! Not only do you put yourself at risk if it dies at random, you're putting everyone else on the road around you at risk as well. Since it's an auto and not a manual, you don't have the ability to restart the car until it's stopped.

Couldn't you put the shifter to neutral and start the car while you're still rolling?

[Lomac]

Couldn't you put the shifter to neutral and start the car while you're still rolling?

Some automatics don't allow you to start in neutral, while those that do often have park/neutral safety switches that require the brake to be depressed while you start the car.

[Berzerker]

Main relay is a possible cause of this. Also I'm going to go out on a limb and since your a girl I'm going to guess your key chain weighs about 5 lbs with various shit dangling off it. This causes wear in the ignition cylinder and over time it wears out the tumblers. This causes the ignition to rotate due to the weight of the keys and sometimes results in the car turning off even though its still in the on position (I have had this happen personally so this is how I know)

Now when I see people with heavy key chains I tell them the only thing that should be attached to the ignition key is the alarm remote.

Might not be that but if I had to guess I would say main relay or what I described.

Berz out.

[mmmmmic]

Check your AFM plug. Car wont run with the plug unplugged.

[JudeChow]

Could be the fuel pump dying...

[Lomac]

I think Berz may be onto something here. With the steering wheel locking after the engine dies, it sounds more like the tumbler may be affected. An engine dying will not cause your steering wheel to lock unless the tumbler thinks it's back in "Full Off" mode.

BTW, how do you not notice your engine dying until the steering wheel locks up or the brake pedal goes stiff? Wouldn't the lack of an exhaust tone, or your tach dropping to 0 rpm's alert you much sooner?

[HollyZ32]

haha wow ok
lots to say here
first of all lol david just because im blonde has nothing to do with it! haha gosh jerk lol :p
secondly
yes i can pop my car into N to start it back up thats what i do lol
third of all Berz i dont think it could be that well maybe i dunno but no i dont have anything on my kep chain cept the alarm car key and a house key THATS it
i hate those chicks that have random stupid shit on there
and last but not lest
(i dont do it anymore) but my car is actaully really quite and super smooth to drive so when i do drive when it shuts off i have my music up so i cant hear anything (dont do that anymore) and also i do notice pretty quick but not right away when it does shut off because all the lights on my cluster turn on i notice that first most of the time
but yeah haha

[Klobbersaurus]

i will say ignition switch or ignition tumbler as well, the reason is cause your steering wheel locks when this happens

[Chopstick]

i will say ignition switch or ignition tumbler as well, the reason is cause your steering wheel locks when this happens

lol imagine that is indeed the issue

HollyZ32: ".....and i replaced the battery, i replaced the transmission, and i also replaced the engine ^.^......"

mechanic: "hmm.. it seems like the tumbler is missing a screw." *inserts screw* "there we go, now the car wont shut off by itself. free of charge, now get out of here"

HollyZ32: "...(o__o)... omfg (Q__Q)..."

[Dentz]

Main relay is a possible cause of this. Also I'm going to go out on a limb and since your a girl I'm going to guess your key chain weighs about 5 lbs with various shit dangling off it. This causes wear in the ignition cylinder and over time it wears out the tumblers. This causes the ignition to rotate due to the weight of the keys and sometimes results in the car turning off even though its still in the on position (I have had this happen personally so this is how I know)

Now when I see people with heavy key chains I tell them the only thing that should be attached to the ignition key is the alarm remote.

Might not be that but if I had to guess I would say main relay or what I described.

Berz out.

Good idea, but the way the Z32 tumbler is setup, it would be quite a fluke. The key goes in horizontal, and when in the "on" position is vertical. Not only that, but Z32 keys are also lopsided...Like so:
http://dta-motorsport.com/key.jpg

[Lomac]

^^

Tumblers, like anything else, do wear out after time. It could purely be a fluke that it's happened to hers.

[HollyZ32]

Just throwing this out there
BUTTTTTTT
just above my break peddle there is one pretty big wire that hangs down and sometimes my foot gives it a little yank
could have that anything to do with anything >? lol

[jlenko]

Umm.... without knowing what the wire is, we have no idea. It could be the power wire to those subs in your trunk (if you have them, that is).

Maybe you should stop yanking stuff with your foot. ;)

But seriously.. You really should take the car to a shop to get it fixed. We're not going to be able to diagnose it though osmosis...

[Klobbersaurus]

start the car and just wiggle the key abit and see what happens, if it stalls out then at least you got a starting point