# Car Talk puzzler about stalling car **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168 "2004-02-25T20:47:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/1 "2004-02-25T20:47:25Z")
On a recent Car Talk show, the Magliozzi brothers offered a puzzler about a car that kept stalling mysteriously, until the mechanic poured a gallon of washer fluid over something under the hood. Transcript [here](http://cartalk.cars.com/content/puzzler/transcripts/200405/index.html). Clearly (I think) it was to cool something off, and the puzzler was to identify what had overheated. But I missed the show where they gave the answer. On the website, the listed answer has the right title but belongs to the \*previous \* week’s puzzler (the British murder mystery). So what was the answer? Ignition coil or something else? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/2 "2004-02-25T20:57:14Z")
I don’t know the real answer, but my first thought was the pouring it over the fuel line and manifold to try to de-vaporlock. ---
**Author:** ![Quint\_Essence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/54ee81/32.png) [@Quint\_Essence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint_Essence)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/3 "2004-02-25T21:27:40Z")
two possibilities occur to me. One is that the electronic ignition “chip” was overheating. Another possibility though could be that there is a safety cut out from the fuel tank that was triggered by the heat of the engine or even by the hot summer day. A friend of mine had a car that had the sensor near the rear quarter panel and it would get hot (black car) on summer days and the car would not start. It took quite awhile to figure this problem out but when the sensor was moved slightly away the problem went away. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/4 "2004-02-25T21:35:27Z")
It was to cool off the electronic ignition module. ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/5 "2004-02-25T23:33:58Z")
Could an air conditioner line be close enough to the fuel line to freeze it? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/6 "2004-02-25T23:47:41Z")
> [@donkeyoatey](#): > > Could an air conditioner line be close enough to the fuel line to freeze it? It wouldn’t be cold enough to freeze it, no matter how close. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/7 "2004-02-25T23:58:51Z")
I second the vote…cool the fuel line/filter/pump to reverse vapor lock. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/8 "2004-02-26T03:16:58Z")
The transcript linked to in the OP says it’s a late model car. That means it’s not vapor lock. All late model cars have fuel injection, in which the fuel supply line into the engine compartment is pressurized. Vapor lock occurred in carbureted vehicles with fuel pumps in the engine compartment, where the pump inlet (non-pressurized) line was vulnerable to engine heat. While the other posts admit to guessing, the tone of **Arcite’s** post suggests he heard the show and knows the answer. I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade, but the OP seems interested in the answer given on the show, not in guesses as to what it could be. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/9 "2004-02-26T04:03:21Z")
In the transcript the car is given as a late model Olds-mo-bubble. The question is how late, and with which engine? Electronic control boxes can go open circuit when they get too hot. RPM pickups also fail in exactly this same manner. Off the top of my head, I don’t know of any GM products that have a control unit under the hood that would need cooling. ( **Gary T** you got any clues?) Many late model GM’s use RPM sensors which can go open circuit from heat. Cooling one of those would for sure provide a temporary cure for an open circuit in the windings. So would letting the car sit with the hood open for 20-30 minutes. Also some engines use a cam position sensor which if it fails might cause an engine to die (depends on what limp home is designed into the control unit) But I would say that RPM sensor is a very safe guess. ---
**Author:** ![Lagged2Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lagged2Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lagged2Death)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/10 "2004-02-26T04:30:06Z")
> [@Gary T](#): > > the tone of **Arcite’s** post suggests he heard the show and knows the answer [pour washer fluid on ignition module to cool it]. I heard that show, and Arcite’s answer is indeed the one they gave. ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/11 "2004-02-26T05:49:13Z")
[Cartalk.com](http://Cartalk.com) was down briefly earlier in the week, and when it came back up the puzzler page was messed up, because when I read the answer to that puzzler (before cartalk went down), it had the correct link to the transcript, and it did give the answer - the one that **Arcite** gave. PS - I’ve sent a note to the [Cartalk.com](http://Cartalk.com) webmaster to see if he can get the link fixed 🙂 critter42 ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/12 "2004-02-26T05:52:40Z")
Where the hell is the 2004 archive? I can’t directly get to any Puzzler from the past two months at all - I want to see that “previous week” puzzle the OP mentioned. Anyone know where to click? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/13 "2004-02-26T19:47:07Z")
Thanks, everyone. I’ve had this problem with a couple of GM products now, and it isn’t random because new ignition modules don’t always fix the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Photog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c77e96/32.png) [@Photog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Photog)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-talk-puzzler-about-stalling-car/231168/14 "2004-02-26T20:34:51Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Where the hell is the 2004 archive? I can’t directly get to any Puzzler from the past two months at all - I want to see that “previous week” puzzle the OP mentioned. Anyone know where to click? 🙂 This frustrated me too. I happened to catch the ‘Murder Mystery’ puzzler and was anxious to hear the answer. Couldn’t find a click-able link anywhere on the site so I did a little sleuthing… Here’s the [question](http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/transcripts/200406/index.html) …and the [answer](http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/transcripts/200405/answer.html) (with the wrong title)