# Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving



## dbkelly72 (Jun 26, 2010)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

Guess I am going to try to revive this thread. 

My friend has a 2000 Malibu and it looses power (rapidly decreasing engine performance) then dies after pulling over while driving on the highway. This happens after alomost exactly 2hrs of driving. After turning off the ignition and waiting a few moments it fires back up and continues on it's journey. The ignition connection sounds good but how about that consistant two hour fail point for an intriguing twist.

Anybody else out there have this one? The dealer has had a couple of looks at it but since there is no check engine light there is no way to ask the computer what happened.


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## kjms1 (Jun 4, 2010)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

see if you can find some one who has aldata to see if there is any service bulletins on this prob
It sucks when you have to tell a customer till it gets consistent and not start back up it will be hard to test for things cause if its running the problem isnt present at that time .... you can guess and try new parts in hoped thats it


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## jaggerwild (May 21, 2007)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*



dbkelly72 said:


> Guess I am going to try to revive this thread.
> 
> My friend has a 2000 Malibu and it looses power (rapidly decreasing engine performance) then dies after pulling over while driving on the highway. This happens after alomost exactly 2hrs of driving. After turning off the ignition and waiting a few moments it fires back up and continues on it's journey. The ignition connection sounds good but how about that consistant two hour fail point for an intriguing twist.
> 
> Anybody else out there have this one? The dealer has had a couple of looks at it but since there is no check engine light there is no way to ask the computer what happened.


 Drive the car for the two hours, then pull into a city road. Get out look under the car at the catalytic converter to see if it is cherry red, you will feel the heat just getting close to it. If so you will need to replace it, the care starts normally after cooling off right? If so bingo!


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## ryanschimmy (May 27, 2011)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

I own a 2000 Chevy Malibu LS that is having the exact same issues. I have around 110,000 miles on it currently. I will drive it for an hour or 2 and the lights on the dash flash, and all power to the car shuts down. I then coast without power steering of any sorts and pull over for 10 minutes or so and wait until I can restart it again. The car will then drive another 5-10 miles again before I have to repeat the procedure to start it and hopefully make it back home.

I have been to a Chevorlet Dealer and they didn't find any problems with it because I'm sure all they did was hook a computer up to it and run diagnostics. No problem will register because no trouble lights are even on. I then took it to atleast 2 more mechanics who tested and replaced various parts. 
I have had the fuel pump, fuel filter, battery, crank shaft, cam shaft and a few other parts replaced that I can not currently think of replaced. I have had the alternator tested.

The problem to me seems electrical of some sort?
It also seems to me that while I'm driving it, just before it dies, I can feel the accelerator start to give out like the engine is no longer getting gas? The car sort of feels as though it's about to cut out but if I drop the speed down to low speeds (30-40 mph) and coast alot (not using the accelerator) and I will now be able to drive it what seems further distance before it shuts off. I have had to this on several occasions just to make it home.

Any suggestions would be very grateful as I am not a highly knowledeable car guy and have poured more money into trying to fix the car than I wanted, and the issue still is not resolved. *Thanks*


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## dbkelly72 (Jun 26, 2010)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*



ryanschimmy said:


> I own a 2000 Chevy Malibu LS that is having the exact same issues. I have around 110,000 miles on it currently. I will drive it for an hour or 2 and the lights on the dash flash, and all power to the car shuts down. I then coast without power steering of any sorts and pull over for 10 minutes or so and wait until I can restart it again. The car will then drive another 5-10 miles again before I have to repeat the procedure to start it and hopefully make it back home.
> 
> I have been to a Chevorlet Dealer and they didn't find any problems with it because I'm sure all they did was hook a computer up to it and run diagnostics. No problem will register because no trouble lights are even on. I then took it to atleast 2 more mechanics who tested and replaced various parts.
> I have had the fuel pump, fuel filter, battery, crank shaft, cam shaft and a few other parts replaced that I can not currently think of replaced. I have had the alternator tested.
> ...


Check Jaggerwild's comment,
sounds good to me.

Thanks Jaggerwild


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## mack1 (Nov 27, 2007)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

Hi dbkelly72 and ryanschimmy,

A very interesting problem. Hope Jaggerwild's suggestion fixes the problem. If not, it would be interesting to know if the engine will turn over when you are caused to stop (does the battery seem dead at that point?) 

Did the lack of spark keep the engine from re-starting?

Anyone try using starter fluid at that point to see if it would start? 

One of those two should be problematic. Would be interesting to see what has to cool off before you can restart the engines.

Please keep us posted on what you find.
It could help others.

Very best regards,
Mack1


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## dkan33 (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

Checked Alldata, no bulletins for this problem. Could possibly be exhaust is plugging up when it gets hot as Jaggerwild stated. Does the check engine light ever come on ? When this problem happens , if you could put a vacumn guage on it , you could tell if it is a restricted exh. problem. Eng vacumn drops very low with plugged exh. Should run 15-20 in. of vac.


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## ryanschimmy (May 27, 2011)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

I did what I could to follow Jaggerwild's suggestion last night. I ran the car for as long as I could before it shut off (about 20 minutes). I then, looked at the catalytic converter and didn't notice it abnormally red. It was warm but not real hot as possibly thought.

Mack1 - The engine does attempt to turn over after it shuts off. It does not act as though I have a dead battery. I feel it's getting the spark from the spark but to me seems as though it needs to cool or something before it can start all the way? 

dkan33 - All the warning lights turn on at the same time for a couple seconds when the car is shutting down. Not anyone specific light turns on nor stays on. I am not sure how I would go about putting a vacuum guage on it to test for restricted exhaust. I am not where I would get a vacuum guage nor really how to specifically test the exhaust. A

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks


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## dkan33 (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

There are so many possibilities . I've seen fuel pumps shut down when they get hot and then start again when they cool off or when you bang the bottom of the gas tank to jar the pump. When eng dies out, shut the key off for a few seconds then turn it on (without cranking the eng)and listen for the fuel pump running. It will run 2-3 seconds and then stop if the eng is not cranked over. Ignition module, crank sensor, pcm , are just some of the things that can shut the engine down when they get hot. I've even seen a fuel injector shut down an engine after driving a while because it built up so much resistance it took down the pcm control circuit. You really need the right test equipment (scan tool-fuel pressure guage-vac guage) in place and drive the veh so you can monitor fuel pressure , spark control etc. If this is a consistant problem , then a good trained tech road testing with the right test equip. hooked up when the engine dies should be able to properly diagnose what caused the shut down , (fuel,ignition,electrical). It can be very costly to throw parts it !


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

personally as many problems as I've had with GM products here lately I'd sell it an buy a Ford.

Modern Chevrolets are lower quality than anything I have ever seen in my life.
I used to be a Cheevy man until I saw th modern quality. If your going to own a GM product, get one built BEFORE 1993, and make sure its midsize at least.


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## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

*Re: 2000 Chevy Malibu LS - electrical problem??!! Shuts down after 2 hours of driving*

Ryan, has anyone checked your ignition control module or tried reapplying dielectric silicone to it?


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