Vauxhall Astra 1400cc Hatchback 1995 (N Reg.) Stalling

[Outtheway]

My Astra has developed intermitant stalling, it starts 1st pull from cold and then may run all day without stalling or may stall within a mile or two, after waiting for a couple of minutes it will usually start then run on till it stalls again!
It only gets small journeys (3-20 miles at a time) it runs ok when it going but sometimes/very occasionally "lurches" as if short of fuel/electical fault?
I've currently got it in at a garage where they say it could be coil, fuel relay or possibly fuel pump (they think unlikely) has anybody experienced similar or have any suggestions as to what the problem may be?
I know that on some later models these symptoms may be as a result of faulty cam or crank sensor? but my car does not have these sensors as it is older.
Any help/information would be gratefully received! Many thanks!

[AlBags]

Well I'd start by having the throttle body and idle bypass cleaned out properly with carb cleaner. Then check the throttle plate aperture settings are correct. Only after that would I start delving deeper.
Fuel relay might be worth substituting to try. Get a spare from eBay and try it. ...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk...M&hash=item45f54310f8

[Andyvon]

My father has a 95 Astra which he had real problems with last year. His car either refused to start, kept stalling or the engine suddenly raced at high revs. He took it to several garages, some of whom said there was nothing wrong or told him he needed different items replaced! Eventually he took it to a garage owner I know who has an almost mystic gift for listening to an owner and an engine and then pinpointing the fault. This chap instantly pointed to a unit called the MMU which is part of the fuel system (I think it distributes fuel to the cylinders). He ordered a second hand unit from a local scrappie which cost £40 and it arrived later that day. My Dad's car has been fine ever since.

Be careful Outtheway! Don't let garages keep plugging their diagnostic computers in to read fault codes! My father's 80 and each garage did that to him. They charged £50 just to plug the things in! Dad had various senders (fuel and temperature) changed and someone even said he needed a new ECU for £900 ! Each garage charged my Dad £50 to plug the computer in and he eventually ran out of money! The car was still the same! Eventually he didn't have £50 for another diagnostic check which is why I took him to the garage near me. They just charged him £40 for the part as a favour to me.

Does your car have an amber engine warning light come on? It's hard to say sitting here but your problem might be something as simple as a dirty fuel filter. Have you changed that recently? At this distance an intermittant problem like yours could be one of a number of things. I would suggest you choose a garage and let them do a diagnostic check. Keep the read out and keep going back to them if the car is the same. If you give up and go to another garage keep the diagnostic read out to show them. Otherwise it'll cost you a bomb in diagnostic checks.

Good luck.

[Outtheway]

Thankyou Albags and Andyvon for your time and very helpful replies I don't have any warning lights coming on to indicate there is a problem?! I agree entirely with your comments Andyvon the garage I have taken it to is my regular MOT garage and they are pretty good and have suggested they try a few parts first ie coil and fuel relay unit(second hand parts/scrap parts) in order to see if they work? because there are so many parts on a car the possibilities are almost endless if its not obvious, however, I will suggest that the MMU unit could be a possibility and once again thank you for all your help!

[kendra20]

same thing happened to me took it to garage and the carburetter needed a good clean its been great ever since. its worth a try anyway

[Andyvon]

I recognised everything you said Outtheway, except that my father's orange engine warning light kept coming on. If the car stalled, he had to sit for 10 minutes or so before it would start again.

Major problems are usually easy to diagnose as they are obvious, but something like this is tricky as it could be many things. It's just a process of elimination. The garage you are using sound very helpful and they are obviously prepared to help you keep the cost down so I would stick with them. If they keep testing various possibilities it won't be long before they find the problem.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

[Hopkirk]

I had something similar on my P reg.

It was OK with a new coil and coil pack.