Thunderpriest

I know next to nothing about Reattas. LOL I have done some work on my own cars with a Chilton's manual.....but I am just a weekend mechanic at best. (Thank God for YouTube!) Will that procedure work if the instrument panel is dead?

I will have to look for the ground cable to verify. The instrument panel display worked for a few minutes, but went out when I changed the coil pack. I figure it is a bad ground wire or bad connection. I believe either instance will cause the start problems we have been seeing, correct? Additionally...I checked the fuses and found that the "Body" fuse was melted. Could this be the result of the bad ground, and could this contribute to the problem? The cables on the negative terminal of the battery rotate easily. Should they be tighter? (I believe the prior owner used a bolt+nut combination to have a better post to connect jumpers to and I don't know if this is contributing.) My nephew is going to bring over his OBD 2 scanner with an ODB 1 adapter to scan the car, but I am not too optimistic. I have tried 2 ignition coils/ICMs and always get the same result. Starts right up the 1st time.....won't start when it heats up. CPS? BDM? Bad Ground? Ugh Oh...and we were able to verify fuel at the fuel rail....eliminating the pump as the problem. As usual...thank for the advice!

So, I let the car get hot, and it won't start again. I will wait for it to cool down...swap the coil pack and try again after making sure that everything is tight.

Okay...so I was doing some thinking about what Padgett said about it needing to be grounded through the plate. I went out and put the nuts on the mounting bolts and tightened them down. I also tightened the wiring module screw. (I am afraid of over tightening it and stripping it, though.) The car started with the old coil and ICM. Another thing. The car's dash has never worked right. It had an error on screen and my son was using GPS on his phone as a speedometer. However....when the car started...all of his gauges appeared. Is it a problem with the negative ground? I am not satisfied that the problem is fixed after a single start. I am letting the car get hot and will try starting again later.

The connectors on the wiring module? Also...I am not sure what you mean by the ICM needing a ground through the plate. I have taken the ICM & Coils off as a unit and put them back on. (though I didn't put the nuts back on. It is sitting on the bracket so I can swap them easily.) I did not separate the coils from the ICM on the original unit. I did have to disconnect a cable below the ICM to access the nuts under the bracket...and I believe it is a ground cable, because it comes from the negative battery terminal. I have reconnected it though. So, I feel a bit lost at this point.

So, I put the new coil and ICM in and tried to start it. Had to do the full install, because the wiring module wouldn't reach otherwise. No dice. I don't know if the replacement is bad, or if I did something wrong. I put the old unit back in, and it won't start. It normally would have after sitting for hours. I notice that when the key is turned to accessory, that there is a loud buzzing coming from somewhere in the dash. I will have to ask my son if that had been happening before....or if I screwed something up and made things worse. Feeling really bad now, because I thought this would fix it for him.....and not only did I not fix it...I may have made it worse. I wish I had better mechanics skills.

Update: Okay...so I was wrong. The salvage yard is open today. I went back to see if the coils I had removed yesterday were still on the counter. Nope. All parts are collected at the end of the day and placed in a wheel barrow to be sorted and put out the following day. They hadn't collected the parts yet. Behold...... I will clean it up a bit....and then test it today. (I plan on just disconnecting the connector and spark plug wires from the current unit and attach them to the new unit without installing in the car to see if it will fire up. Thanks for the continued suggestions and advice!!!

In answer to some questions: 1. Not buying new parts because my son just started a new job and is strapped at the moment. Ideally, buying new parts is the best option....just not practical at the moment. 2. The battery is new. 3. I am located in South East Michigan. Okay...so I am a bit hopeful and discouraged at once. I did go to the local salvage yard, and they looked up an interchangeable part...an ICM from a 1992 Pontiac Bonneville. It was a BEAST to get off the car. Just the angle of working under the ICM on a car up on blocks was awkward...and the third bolt being up against another bolt made it impossible to use a socket. I used an open end wrench. So, All 3 mounting bolts were taken off blind. Then...they wanted to charge me for the coil pack, as well. I had to unbolt the coils and remove...but the last one wouldn't budge. One screw was seized. I had to pay for it and then brought it home to try to remove. So, the bolt snapped off. The last coil is free....but that is one less screw hole available. Now, the discouraging part. The ICM had the 3 separate coils....not the unified coil block. Will I still be able to use it? I am afraid it will not be compatible, based on what Padgett said above. If I have to swap to the three coils, I would have been better off not taking them off the ICM to begin with. Kinda depressed by that thought, actually. So, here is the ICM...after taking the coils off. Do, I need the mounting plate...because I am fishing it out of my garbage can right now. I am really frustrated, after thinking I was ready to swap the ICM in and potentially fix the problem. The best part....the salvage yard is closed today if I do need more parts. Ugh.

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of Reattas floating around our local salvage yards. This is my son's second Reatta, so he has scoured the salvage yards already. I will look on eBay.......perhaps I can find a used one there. (Though any 90's GM with the 3800 at the salvage yard should suffice, I would imagine?) If not...and for the sake of expediency....we may have to purchase one new. I have also seen that the CPS will be more difficult to swap. The "crank the engine with a braced breaker bar" procedure is a bit intimidating for someone who only works on cars when trouble/finances force the issue. Luckily...I have a nephew who is good with working on cars who will be assisting.

Thank you so much for such a prompt reply. Do you think I should have the ICM replaced instead of the Ignition Coil? I will inspect for the "gray/green goo". In trying to minimize the financial impact...I was hoping it was the coil...which is significantly cheaper than the control module. The car obviously doesn't care which part is cheaper. LOL I also am wondering if it is the CPS, as this problem can manifest when the car has been sitting idle for 30-45 mins. It does appear to be random. However, it always seems to start when left overnight. I will definitely inspect the ICM and post pics if I find anything resembling what you had posted. I hope to have this issue resolved soon so he can get back and forth to work on his own again, as I am currently driving him, which adds nearly 2 hours to my daily commute. Thanks again!!

Greetings. My son has a 1990 Reatta that is giving him problems starting, and there appear to be too many reasons why this could be happening, making troubleshooting a real pain. Here are the symptoms: The car typically starts just fine. However, when he needs to go somewhere important - say, his job that is 45 mins away - it decides not to start. The car cranks hard, but doesn't turn over. My first thought was the ignition coil. (I removed a spark plug wire, put my key in it and held it next to metal, and saw no spark.) However, while doing very thorough research - uh, watching YouTube videos - it appears as though the security system might be coming into play. It seems as if the VATS key is not making proper contact due to the resistor being worn down - then it will not start. I have also seen similar symptoms listed when the ignition module needs to be replaced due to loose connections. He took the car to a repair shop, and it started for them a number of times without failing...so they didn't do any further troubleshooting. He drove it home. A few hours later, it would not start. It did start right up the following morning. The time between a failure and a successful start make me believe it could be VATS related. I am trying to help him with his car as quickly and as cheaply as possible. (He just started his new job and has a VERY limited budget.) If we replace the ignition Coil and it isn't the problem...that's just money down the drain, because parts stores won't that them back once installed. I don't think it can be tested.....so we are kinda stuck. If anyone has any ideas, we would be extremely grateful for any advice.