Four Reasons Your Car Might Stall While You're Driving
When you're driving, one of the last things you want is for your car to suddenly stop working. It's a frightening experience, and we hope it never happens to you. If it does, it's probably best to call for a tow truck and have your car brought to a service center. This is because diagnosing the reason your car stalls is no simple task. Below are four possible reasons that a car might stall. Though they're some of the more common causes, they're far from the only ones.
4. Transmission Problems
If you've driven a car with a manual transmission, you know that it's easy to accidentally stall the engine. Disengaging the clutch pedal too quickly or stepping on the brakes while the clutch is engaged can cause the car to stall. But if you're driving with an automatic transmission, stalling might be a sign that the transmission isn't working correctly. Often, a bad torque converter is to blame for an automatic transmission that salls the engine. If this is the case, you may well feel it in how the vehicle responds when shifting into or out of gear. You may also notice something seeming off with the throttle response.
3. Insufficient Air
In order to run properly, your engine needs a constant and precise supply of fresh air. The mass air flow sensor, or MAF, tests the amount of air entering your engine. The computer, or ECU, takes the data sent to it by the MAF and adjusts the fuel-to-air ratio accordingly. If the mass air flow sensor isn't working as it should, it might send the wrong data to the ECU. It might not even send any data at all! This can cause the ECU to inject the wrong amount of fuel, which could cause the engine to stall.
2. Fuel Problems
Everyone knows that most cars won't go without gas, and an empty tank is certainly one common cause of a stalled engine. However, not reaching the gas station in time is just one of the potential fuel problems in your vehicle. The fuel pump is responsible for getting gas from the gas tank to the engine. If the pump is faulty, or if one of the fuel injectors is clogged, then the fuel won't reach the engine, and the car will stall.
1. Bad Alternator
The alternator plays two primary roles in keeping your car running: it recharges the battery and it runs the electronic parts of your vehicle. If the alternator fails, the spark plugs may not be able to keep the engine running. When this happens, your engine will be missing one of the crucial components in making a gas-powered internal combustion engine work.
