Car cuts out when I use turn signals

MDMACPLUS03

MEMBER
1998 BUICK REGAL
182,000 MILES

About a month ago while entering the freeway my 1998 Regal's engine shut off and then restarted when I signaled ot get on the highway. It has done this now on several occassions and I have noticed that if I do not cancel the turn signal right away the car does not restart by itself as it did during previous occassions. When this issue occurred we also had our right side turning/cornering lamp becomke inoperative despite all the other lights in the assembly working i.E. Parking lamp, r/s turn signal and high and low beams on r/s. I have replaced the bulb, the socket and even the whole assembly itself with a brand new one complete with new wiring and bulbs and it istill doesn't work! I think that some how this is all related since it all occurred around the same time. What is your opinion and how can I fix this issue?

1 Reply

SQM

MECHANIC
6,383 POSTS

Hello,

Just to clarify, does the engine stall as you are driving? And then you are able to start it back up?
If so, I don't think the lights have anything to do with engine stalling.
If it was an alternator issue, the lights were putting too much load on the alternator, this would have discharged the battery and the vehicle would not start back up.

This engine shutdown sounds like it's due to a faulty crank position sensor. The crank sensor sends the engine regulation data to the ECM. Over time with heat and vibrations from the engine the sensor can lose its internal calibration. This will trigger the crank sensor to send incorrect data to the ECM. Which can cease the engine to be shut down by the ECM.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-a-bad-crankshaft-sensor
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/crankshaft-angle-sensor-replacement

I have attached diagrams for your reference.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you.

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