My H2 stalled at Death Valley!?!

[MisterH2]

My H2 stalled while I was driving up a paved road at about 50mph. There was no forewarning. I was in driving in D3 and all of a sudden I lost power. The check engine light did not come on. The battery light did come on however. I managed to pull over to the side of the road. Turned off the air and the radio. And was able to restart the H2 almost immediately. All the gauge readings were ok. The voltimeter was pumping about 14 amps. I started going up the hill again in D3 and a few minutes later, it stalled again without any forewarning. The altitude was about 3000 feet and the outside temperature was over 100 degrees. I was able to coast to the side of the road and restart the car after a minute. I managed to drive home in regular drive mode (not D3) and drive at slower speed. The next day I was not able to mimic the problem again. Maybe it's the fuel pump? It would have been scary if I was towing something and my H2 stalled going up a hill in the middle of the highway in traffic. Any ideas?

P.S. See my Death Valley pics under photos. I didn't know how to attach it to this thread. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[MisterH2]

My H2 stalled while I was driving up a paved road at about 50mph. There was no forewarning. I was in driving in D3 and all of a sudden I lost power. The check engine light did not come on. The battery light did come on however. I managed to pull over to the side of the road. Turned off the air and the radio. And was able to restart the H2 almost immediately. All the gauge readings were ok. The voltimeter was pumping about 14 amps. I started going up the hill again in D3 and a few minutes later, it stalled again without any forewarning. The altitude was about 3000 feet and the outside temperature was over 100 degrees. I was able to coast to the side of the road and restart the car after a minute. I managed to drive home in regular drive mode (not D3) and drive at slower speed. The next day I was not able to mimic the problem again. Maybe it's the fuel pump? It would have been scary if I was towing something and my H2 stalled going up a hill in the middle of the highway in traffic. Any ideas?

P.S. See my Death Valley pics under photos. I didn't know how to attach it to this thread. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[VTSTOMPER]

Sounds almost like poor fuel. Or something in the fuel tank. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif Might want to drain the fuel, and check the fuel filter first.

[HGW]

Check the fuel first as suggested above---I have had problems with the cheap fuel pumps installed by GM on the H2---you will get a whinning sound when the pump is bad and usually a drop in fuel pressure that will cause the engine to run rough and hot.

Also could be the fuel pressure regulator but unlikely.

[NoMoGMPG]

The fuel tank module is the likely culprit. A high ambient temperature and California's high ethanol content fuel (also sold in dense metro areas) plays havoc with these pumps. I have sold several modules in the last couple weeks with vehicles having the same symptoms.

It is a good idea to check the fuel filter just in case, but that usually has a symptom of surging before dying if it was plugged. If you do replace the module, definately replace the fuel filter at the same time. Cheap insurance against contamination.

Dave

[tower]

One fine point. If your voltmeter was puping out 14 amps, that would have been the cause of your problem. Your alternator was pumping out 14 volts. Your voltmeter was measuring 14 volts. I know, I'm a picky SOB sometimes. Sorry. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

[MisterH2]

Yes, I suspect it's the fuel pump. I don't think it's the fuel filter nor contaminated fuel tank, otherwise, there would have been symptoms like sputtering engine or rough idle. I was just driving along when I lost engine power, the engine just cut out completely without any sputtering.

GMpartsGuy - So what alternative fuel pump should I get? If I just replace it with another GM fuel pump, I'll probably have the same problem. I have 39,000 miles on my H2 and NEVER had any problems, except this.

Thanks for your input guys.