New Poster Stalling out with a knocking sound

[PiXiE Reaver]

I have a 2002 Chevy Cavalier with 128k on it. Its been a good little car for the 3 or so years that I have had it. A few months after buying it I started noticing a problem. It would randomly cut out pulling in to or out of a parking spot. Eventually I also found that if i was parked and I turned the wheel all the way in either direction it would idle weird and sometimes cut off. If I hit the brakes with the wheel turned it would immediately cut off. A few months of driving it and this problem just stopped. In October I bought another car and decided i was going to sell the cavalier. It is now January and I just got around to cleaning it to sell it. We have went out every week or so and cranked/drove it. Well everything was going good. Someone came out and looked and test drove it yesterday and was coming back to buy it this morning so before they got here I took it and drove it, made sure everything was working perfect and it was working just fine. The people brought someone with them to check it out, he wanted to test drive it (for his grand daughter) got it about 3 miles down the road and it just cut off on him. (they were coming up a hill) He tried to crank it back up and it sounded like it had a dead battery. Jumped it off and it was acting real weird. Check Engine, Oil, Check Gauge and Traction control light were all on, as well as the engine was making a knocking sound (the not normal ticking of a cavalier) Then it Died out twice before we were able to keep it running long enough to get it back to the house. As soon as he went to pull in the parking space it died again. We got it cranked up again and all the (above mentioned) lights were still on. They rightfully decided not to buy the car. After they left we cranked it yet again and it still sounded like something was knocking in the motor and all dash light were still on. The knocking quieted a little after a few minutes. I went to the parts store and got a code reader, came back home, went out to the car and no more lights, no code. Car cranked right up, although there was still a knocking sound real bad but after a few minutes it quieted down a lot. I could still hear it but it is a lot quieter. Although it was running really rough, we were able to put it in drive and reverse without it cutting out. I did find that turning the wheel and or pumping the brakes will make it cut off.


Details
I live in GA and it has been pretty cold at night (although I am not sure this is important)
The belt is fraying but still intact and tight
The Traction Control light stayed on a little longer than the others
Oil is old, Miles wise just coming up on needing to be changed
Faint smell of burnt oil and gasoline

* I am so annoyed because this was such a good little car for me. We had decided that if we did not get a decent amount on the car we were just going to keep it as a spare because it has never had a problem.

 

[Chuzz]

I'd try an oil change with some fresh 10w-30 and a Purolator Gold series filter. I suspect that since you haven't been driving it any distance since you got your new car, that the old dirty oil may have clogged the pickup in the oil pump. Get some engine flush and follow the directions on the can before changing the oil. You also really need to have the battery checked for a dead cell. Low voltage or a bad cell can cause all kinds of electrical anomalies. Does this car have an idle speed motor? I'm asking because I don't know, but those will affect the idle on sudden stops and when turning the wheel from lock to lock position. Check all of the electrical connections you can find for tight, clean fits and corrosion. Get some electrical contact cleaner and clean and reconnect all that you can find with plug connections. That's what I'd start with if it were mine and I was trying to sell it.

 

[PiXiE Reaver]

Thanks for the info. We had the battery checked this morning and it had a 75% charge and the test said it was a bad battery. But that cant be causing all this mess can it? We are going to get the engine flush possible tomorrow if the weather will allow that. I am just at a loss and on a tight schedule as we are moving 100 miles away in about a week and towing it that far would just be crazy... We are going to go threw and do one or two things a day for the next few days and see where that gets us.

 

[Chuzz]

Yes indeed, a bad battery can cause all kinds of problems with todays computer equipped cars. Just a slight drop in voltage can cause the computer to think all kinds of things are shorted out. Do the flush and oil and oil and filter thing, clear the codes after installing the new battery and you'll most likely have a car you can sell with no trouble. If you don't sell it before you move, the you should be able to drive it to your new home.