I own a 1993 Chevy Lumina 3.1L Auto trans with 150k miles. The following describes an issue that I've been experiencing for the past 15k miles.

I have an acceleration problem that occurs at random. The symptoms are as follows:

- Attempt to start the car after its been running and has only been off for a few minutes

- The engine turns over fine, sounds like it wants to start, sputters and dies

- It takes several attempts before it starts with the gas petal all the way to the floor

- During acceleration the car hesitates, sputters, and feels like it has very little power at the wheels. On some occasions the car even stalls just as the gas petal is pressed.

This is an intermittent problem. During start-up, if the car starts normally, than the car will run fine for the duration of the trip. If the car starts abnormally, the car will run abnormally for the rest of the trip.

The only code I get is a faulty temperature sending unit. I don't know where this is located, and I doubt this has anything to do with the engine stalling issue.

I have replaced the Fuel Filter, wires and plugs.

Any suggestion on where I should start to look to solve this problem?

Your advice is appreciated! Thank you.

 

After doing some research, it seems the coolant temperature sending unit might influance how the car operates (at first I thought it was just for a temperature gauge). From what I have read, the ECU takes readings from several sensors including this unit and uses them to determine the ignition timing.

Now my question is where is the temperature sending unit located (there might be two?) and is this a viable culprit to my problem?

Also, my radiator cooling fan does not come on when the engine reaches operating temperature (I have to turn on my A/C on low when stuck in traffic). So, the temperature sending unit is clearly not working correctly. I'm guessing there is one unit to measure the temperature of the engine?

Advice is needed and appreciated!