92 will start but will not stay running

when the car is cold it fires right up. runs a little ruff then in just a min it lines right out. you can drive it 10 miles or a hundred miles and it runs fine. all the gauges are right on. shut the car off and now you got a problem. it will start right up and then dies. changed fuel pump and filter. no help. there is a slight sweet gas smell when this happens, and the electronics on the dash go ape.it shows no codes. i do acc get a service asr light but that seems to be random. you can let the car sit for 10 min and it will start right up sometimes. other times it may take 2 hours before it will start. car has 95 thou on it auto trans. i have changed opti spark, water pump, plugs wires, egr valve. after these changes the car ran fine. this problem just started. just put brakes, rotors, and shocks on [ that was about as easy as any car i have ever worked on i was very surprised and pleased] i don't think this would have anything to do with this problem but you never know so i thought i would include it. the car acts like its not getting enough fuel. i don't know squat about fuel injection or computers so any help would be app. thanks robert

The ECM is a semi costly repair ($180 I think for an 84) but can be done at home in about ten minutes (again, on an 84). I wouldnt suggest buying one off the bat, but it seems (to me anyways) that it might be the culprit. Also, check the wire harness on the distributor and make sure it is in good shape. I have heard that they may get brittle and fail from time to time.
Good luck!

thanks for the help. i think i have narrowed it down to the security system. took all the fuses out today and cleaned them and everything was working perfect. drove home and about 4 miles from the house i went to stop and the service asr light came on. at the same time the security light started flashing and would flash 3 times go out and do it again. the center read out beside the fuel read out flashed sys. when i got home and killed the car the problem was there. it would start but would not stay running. in the owners manual it says one of the ccm systems has a malfunction when these things happen together. it also has a 3 min timer on the alarm system after a key is tryed that has a bad chip? everytime you try to start it if the sensor in the column gets a bad reading the timer starts over. i am guessing it has a bad sensor either in the column or having something to do with the service asr. does anybody know how to service the asr system? can i find a manual on this? also any body know where to start on trouble shooting the security system before i just start tearing the column apart. is it possable for something to be wrong in the asr system that would trigger the security system? and if so why does it keep running when it does. if the security system is shutting off the fuel and wont let the car stay running when cranked, why will the car keep running allday if you dont kill it? i need two TYLENOL i sure do miss carburators. any ideas on this would be appr. robert

hey i had this problem last year! it drove me nuts!!! i found out it was my chip in my key. i just bought a bypass from ecklers ($25.00) it takes 5 minutes not even to put in. i would drive somewhere and go into a store come out and the car would not start for a half hour!

[vigman]

I hate VATS!

Ok here's the deal, The little pellet on the key is nothing more than a presicion resistor. There are two little fingers internal of the key switch that sence the resistor. If the fingers are weak or corroded the resistor value gets higher than spec and the VATS thinks the owner is stealing the car.
( Nice feature huh?) ( or if the key itself in gunky)



A quick fix ( for the brave at heart)
Remove the cover panel under the dash
find the 2 pin connector ( Small white wires, black jacket, brown connector right side of steering collum)

Get a buddy with a GOOD ohm meter, measure the resistor value on the key itself

Go to radio shack, buy matching resistor

Remove connector under dash and solder the resistor across the wires that are NOT on the steering collum side but VATS side

Leave connector unplugged

Start car... see if that fixes your intermittant problem.

If it does your wiring up to the switch is bad.

If it dosen't your VATS module has a corroded connector OR is going bad.

Hope this helps

Vigman

where is the vats module located in the car? and or what does it look like.