Taco shuts off while driving....

Hey guys ive been having this issue, my taco shuts off while driving, dosent stutter or anything just suddenly dies on me. After around 10 minutes or so it starts back up like nothing and Im on my way. It keeps doing it over and over in shorter distance spans untill im able to get home or i have to leave it off for about an hr to cover a good distance. I checked for codes and they told me it was the crankshaft sensor, so i changed that and it still did the same thing. Then a Toyota mechanic plugged it again to check for codes again and told me again it was the crankshaft sensor so I told him it was brand new and he said then its your distributor cuz that wont pop out on the computer so he changed it out, drove it about 20 miles and it shut off again. Now its showing no codes but keeps shutting off, he tells me its not fuel related so i dont know what else it could be... any ideas?????

2.7 4cyl automatic stock engine no mods.

 

do the dash lights light up when it dies ?

 

Defect ignition control module?

Shut off while driving, will crank but not turn over but if you sit and wait, while engine cools down, fire right after that?

 

Yes my dash lights light up when it shuts down.

Yes it will do that exactly, it cranks and turns over but wont turn on. I have to sit there for about 10-15 min then fires right up. If i let it sit for longer time the longer it stays on before it shuts down again.

 

Sounds like something is heating up - could be the ignition.

Here's a couple diagnostic videos for it from a guy that is good at diagnosing - doesn't have the same symptoms as you, but you could see something helpful perhaps:

 

My old '99 Tacoma would die on me suddenly when the MAF sensor had gone bad, might be something to consider anyhow

 

Need to determine if its getting spark when it wont start.

 

This. But also the ECU needs to receive a signal back from the igniter (ignition control module) to keep firing the injectors, so it's possible to have spark but no fuel because of a bad igniter. ECU sends signal to igniter, igniter to distributor to spark, distributor coil back to igniter, igniter back to ECU.

You could try pouring water on igniter or distributor to see if cooling it allows it to start sooner.

The best thing would be to test things when it's not working. Coil resistance, crank sensor resistance, etc.

 

It is going to be VERY difficult to figure out what is going on without a GOOD OBDII scaning tool. I suspect the Crankshaft Position Sensor but that is just a guess. If you can beg, borrow or steal a tester capable of showing you the various signal(s) and see what they look like when she is running and cranking when she stops then you can eliminate alot of things. One thing you can do is the "wiggle test", when she is running grab the various harness's and grounds around the engine compartment and wiggle them and see if she shuts off, you just might be suprised. This is usually the first test a competant tech is going to do if you bring her into the shop.

 

Well i changed out the crankshaft sensor because thats the code it gave me at first and it did the same thing. I then took the truck to a toyota tech to get it checked again and he told me it was the distributor, so I changed that and it did it again. So its got a brand new crankshaft sensor and a brand new distributor. So those I know I can rule out.

 

I was going to say distributor since this same thing happened to my 86 4Runner many moons ago.

So does it *always* take several minutes before it will start again? If so, that might point to a heat issue, probably with the ignition. But if it sometimes starts back up maybe a bad ground or a short somewhere...

I hate chasing electrical gremlins, I hope you figure it out soon!

 

When it quits running and wont start check for spark.

 

Camshaft position sensor. Check that.

 

Its a 95.5 2.7 4x4 so it does not have a camshaft sensor. Toyo tech said that by replacing the whole distributor that would take care of all of that.