engine sputtering and dieing

I was driving down the interstate/freeway today in my 1991 Volvo 240
at about 70 mph when the car started surging and then losing power. I
managed to keep it going to the next exit, about 4 miles and pulled
into a gas station. Since I had used some cheap gas earlier I thought
it might just be moisture in the gas (in fact when I opened the gas
cap it whooshed from the built up pressure) so bought some high test
and pulled into the shade for a bit. It stuttered a bit and so I
turned it off. About 5 minutes later I tried again and it started
just like always and seemed to run good except that the
check engine light was on. I drove it on to a meeting about 15
minutes away and parked it for a couple of hours. When I went to
restart it it ran as well as always and so went back home, about a 50
mile drive. I did make a couple of stops but it continued to run well
until I got within a mile of my home when it started sputtering
again. I put some more high test gas in it as well as some injector
cleaner and drove on home.

This AM I disconnected the battery for a while and reconnected it
which turned off the "check engine" light. Then I let the car run
until I could feel the engine was warm. At that point the "check
engine" light came back on.

Ok, 2 things you should know. After several months of below average
temps here in Nashville, teens to low 40's it was in the 70's today.
Also my temperature sensor hasn't worked in a couple of months but the
engine wasn't overheating and there was plenty of coolant.

Any ideas as to what my problem is and fixes.

Thanks.

 

If the check engine light came on, there will be fault codes you can
read, there's a socket under the hood with a test button and LED that
blinks codes, google LH 2.4 fuel fault codes. My guess is you'll see
something about mixture excessively lean.

I suspect that the vent system for the fuel tank is clogged, and rather
than pressure, you are pulling a vacuum in the tank which is preventing
fuel flow. Someone else can probably better describe this system, I've
never had to mess with it myself, but you could try driving with the gas
cap removed, don't try this with the tank more than about half full, and
see if that prevents it.

 

Clogged up fuel filter? fuel pump @ fault, spark plugs (since your an
american i gues its not a diesel)
ignition distributor/rotor @ fault. (or is it electronic..)

 

I second that, but driving without a fuel cap is way to dangerous and
not recomendable...

 

Put a rag in it or something, I don't mean drive around for months like
that, just take off the cap or at least loosen it up and go for a spin
to see if it corrects the problem.

 

Thanks to all. Good info. I'm planning on checking it out tomorrow
when it warms up again.

 

Only dangerous if you put a match to it, or get in an accident.