Car sometimes dies at highway speeds

1991 OLDSMOBILE 98
156,000 MILES • 3.8L • V6 • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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VERNONP
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
My car dies at highway speeds with seemingly no cause and only restarts upon stopping and letting it sit for a moment. Idk if this could also related but around the same time my air conditioner wouldn't blow cold air until I unhooked and rehooked the negative wire on the battery, which made it work again.
Aug 3, 2015 at 7:51 AM
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CARADIODOC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,414 POSTS
This is typical of a failing crankshaft position sensor or camshaft position sensor. Either one can fail by becoming heat-sensitive, then work again after it cools down. The place to start is by having the diagnostic fault codes read and recorded, but you're going to have to stop disconnecting the battery. Doing so erases any fault codes, then that valuable information is lost.
Aug 3, 2015 at 12:45 PM
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