How about an alarm system or remote start installed in your rig


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I’ll add to this comment, but may be unrelated.

My son’s 2009 Corolla had an aftermarket remote start. He began experiencing weak battery symptoms overnight , etc., even after replacing the battery. Then the starter began staying energized briefly after the car was started (confirmed by dealership). I decided to look for a parasitic drain, with the key out of the ignition. I saw between 200-250 mA, which is a little high. While troubleshooting, the needle on my meter pegged twice, and the fuse blew in the meter. The starter also engaged briefly once with the key in the accessory on position. I located and removed the two 30-amp fuses for the remote start. He had the starter replaced, and no problems since. Take this FWIW.

I have an alarm system in the truck, but right now it doesn't work. In any event I doubt that it could possibly cause the engine to suddenly shut of while running.

If it has a disable feature that would prevent the engine from starting it would also stop it.

A remote start will shut the engine off a few minutes after it’s started remotely if a door wasn’t opened or the ignition turned to run.

You seem to elude that the engine runs 2 min and stops and your starter doesn’t work. And it is pretty much like it always runs the same amount of time then just dies.

Run it till it stops and time it. Then disconnect the battery for at least 1 min and hook it back up and see if it will start.

When nothing makes sense do what doesn’t make sense.


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I do NOT have a remote start on the truck.

The starter works. The problem is that the truck turns off after a 2-3 minutes of running.
Tomorrow morning I'll reconnect the battery and try to start it. Strange as it may seem, it will not restart when it shuts off. BUT, if I disconnect the battery overnight, it will start the next day. Then AFTER running 2-3 minutes it shuts off AGAIN.

Is there any possibility that a dirty throttle body and/or a malfunctioning IAC could cause the engine to shut off after running for 2- 3 minutes ? I hate to throw parts at it but I'm getting desperate.

Try disconnecting the battery for 30-60 seconds and giving it a whirl. Your ECU will clear codes and sounds like that's what's allowing your vehicle to start. What's the word on those codes, were you able to pull them? That's still your best lead. Even if you weren't able to find an OBD in English, that AutoZone should still scan your car free of charge if you ask them.
No, a new TB/IAC will not help. Your problem is almost certainly electrical, I'd say. Don't get all frizzled and take a shotgun approach to it, you'll only dig yourself an unnecessary hole.
You could also snag an ECU from a twin vehicle and see if that makes a difference, can usually be had on ebay for $100 or so and you can easily sell it off if you don't need it. Just make sure it's from an identical vehicle (year, trim, 4x4 - can't remember if cali vs federal emissions matters, so best just to take the exact part number off your current ECU and search, should be blatantly on the front label)

I was not able to buy an OBD 2 in Mexico. So, I have no info I'll either go into San Diego to buy one or get it on Amazon.
Since I can't drive the truck to Auto Zone they can not do the scan.
Ebay has only one USED ECM for my '96 2 wheel drive, automatic V-6, price $179. new $468
I'll hold of on that until I have exhausted all other possibilities,

Oh yeah, I forget not everybody has the option to tow their car lol having the car there is definitely a crucial step for them to scan it. If it's convenient enough I'd snag one from the states so you have one in your hands quickly. Nothing wrong with getting one offline, it would just take longer and I assume you want it asap. Regardless I doubt you'll get far without one; can't start hunting gremlins if you don't know where to look

If you have an android phone getting a OBD BT dongle and installing Torque Pro would be very helpful.

Whatever scanner you get it needs to read live data.

It’s very odd that after your engine shuts off your starter also doesn’t work. The starter circuit is very simple. No computer is involved except the security system if yours came with one from the factory.


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You could just post in the classifieds here if you’re looking to buy an ECU, I sold my 97 auto ECU for like $15, there isn’t a whole lot of demand for auto trans ECUs so they aren’t very quick to sell. I wouldn’t spend more than maybe $50 trying that route, the ECU on these vehicles is very well protected and very rarely fails.

I ordered an OBD-2 from Amazon. it'll be a week before it gets here. However, I haven't the faintest idea of if it reads "live data" (whatever the heck that is ?)

The more I think about it, the more I think it MAY be possible that the cause of the engine shutting off MIGHT be a problem in the security system. Do I understand correctly that SOME security systems could cause the engine to start but shut off AFTER a few minutes ? Is that possible ?

"Live Data" is just information in real time... so you can see the coolant temp going up from a cold start. Pretty basic stuff for OBDii stuff available today.

As for the security, there are zero stock (factory installed systems ) that shut off after allowing a start. MAJOR safety issue, imagine starting to drive away and then having it shut down on you? For that reason, I doubt there are any aftermarkets that do it either with the only sorta exception being a remote-start kit that shuts down if the ignition isn't on and you hit the brakes (had that with a Viper alarm on my T100). But, given that you had to engage the brake to shift out of park on an auto-transmission (and manual trans options having a similar lock-out for the clutch), you still couldn't drive anywhere. These systems also have a time-out period of like 5~10 minutes, where they shut themselves off if you don't get in and do something, but 2~3 minutes would be too short (and mine may have actually been upwards of 15 minutes, never tested it intentionally).

I'm with the others, you have some sort of a check-engine/code issue that's telling the ECU to shut down. OR, you have a failing electronic module somewhere that's getting hot when running and eventually has too much resistance (due to heat) to function properly.

Didn’t you mention earlier that you had to hold the rpms at 2000 while doing the flush cause it won’t idle? Maybe there’s a clue in that direction.

Thank you, Brian. That is a huge help. Good job of explaining the alarm system.

Yes, that makes sense. When my OBD-2 arrives it may tell me what is happening. My original plan was to pull the throttle body and give it a good cleaning, but I'll wait until my OBD2 arrives.