1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Just Dies Out

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1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Si 3.1L. Old car with lots of miles on it bought it new with 8miles on it, never had a problem until now. The week of Christmas i was just going down the road and everything just went off in my car from lights and radio to motor. I had nothing at all.... (i live in Ohio so its been really cold here to) i just got it off the side of the road and tried to start it again. Nothing no power, no lights or power from the motor... It was like the car died. 5 minutes went by and i tried it again and it started up with lights and everything, so i drove about 4miles and it went died again.

So i took it to a shop here in my town and they ran a test on it and said the power was fine and couldn't get it to act up.... I have been driving it for a few days and its been run good... Anyhow someone told me i could of had a chip by my fuel pump or filter that froze .. Or had fuel line freeze up with that... Has not been that cold here now only around the time it died

i did have about 1/4 tank of gas when the car did this... Anything will help if you could write back and let me know.... If you know the problem i will tip you , just dont like giving credit card info on the computer ... So thank you for your time

ANSWER:

This does not sound like a fuel problem at all. That would have nothing to do with loosing all of the electrical power. You must have a wiring problem somewhere. First, be sure to check that the battery cables are clean and tight.

Also, on the driver side under the hood, there is a small fuse box with a stud that has a couple of wires attached to it. It is used as the positive jump start stud. This may be loose or broken. It is the power feed for the fuse box. Grab the wires and see if they are loose, or wiggle the stud to see if it is loose. You could also grab and wiggle the other harnesses under the hood with the engine idling to see if you can get it to act up. This would indicate a loose connection or ground somewhere.

Question: 1991 Oldsmobile cutlass supreme engine 3.1L. Do i need to torque the spark plugs when changing them?

Answer: Proper procedure is to torque every single bolt and nut on a car. The service manual has specifications for absolutely every part. But, spark plugs can be replaced without doing that. Just get them to the point that they are tight, then give them another little nudge will do it. It takes a feel for it. Too tight, and they will crack. Not tight enough and it could blow out in a few weeks. Be sure not to strip the treads either.