Car shut itself down...?

[jumpman6235]

So i was going home from school, i started it up, turned the heat on full blast, drove it for maybe less than 5 minutes and the car just shut itself down, the engine light came on,... i just sat there for about 30 seconds trying to figure out what went wrong, then started the car back up and turned the heat off... i drove home and it didnt shut down again, but im worried it may happen again. Any ideas on what caused this?, and the engine light didnt come back on when i started the car, so will the code still be stored?

i have an 01 v6, and its about 20 degrees outside

 

[mharrison]

Is the check engine light on now?

 

[jumpman6235]

no, when i started the car back up, the light didnt come back on

 

[mharrison]

Did it shut down while you were driving or while stopped? Did you leave it idling for a while and then it stopped? I wouldn't think that running your heater had anything to do with the problem. So run the heater and try to stay warm

It could be as simple as some condensation icing in the fuel system. Often that is exactly what water in the fuel system will do when cold. Everything is fine, the car dies, the car starts back up and runs fine. (Unless you're in severly cold places like Alaska)

I'm not sure if the LS experts will agree, but I would use some fuel line antifreeze product like HEET. It is also very inexpensive. This will help eliminate any water from your fuel system.

It's basically methyl (wood) alcohol, which is heavier than gasoline and consequently sinks to the bottom of the gas tank. There it mingles with any water in the tank, which also sinks to the bottom. The resultant mix is combustible, although just barely, so when it gets pumped through your engine your car may sputter a bit. In the absence of water all Heet does is raise the octane of your gas slightly. A _lot_ of extra methyl alcohol will crud up your fuel system, so my advice is to follow the instructions on the label.

 

[taylor414ce2003]

that is odd!!! my caddy did that once ,I noticed the ground on the bat. terminal was loose and knock wood it hasnt done it again

 

[jumpman6235]

Did it shut down while you were driving or while stopped? Did you leave it idling for a while and then it stopped? I wouldn't think that running your heater had anything to do with the problem. So run the heater and try to stay warm

Yes, it shut down while i was driving it, it wasnt stopped. ... Thanks for the info about Heet, i will look into that, ill also check my battery out. I hope it is just something simple, i dont need to add some repairs to my xmas bill which is already high