handmedownreatta Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 (edited) like phil my car runs like crap.it has no current codes two history codes 331 and 553.it has the wandering idle so i removed the iac and cleaned.no difference.it also spits back when you try to give it gas going down the road but clears out if i floor it.i also did the seafoam and vacumn hose thing.no difference.i also changed the oxygen sensor 331 means tape deck disconnected 553 means crt memory reset Edited May 2, 2020 by handmedownreatta (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 * Check for vacumn leaks * Coil module * Cam sensor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y-JobFan Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Shouldn't the CAM sensor throw a code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashmaster Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Unplug the MAF sensor and see if it runs better. Easy Test. Would help to know if the problem is all the time or only after warmed up and running in closed loop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 5, 2020 Author Share Posted May 5, 2020 all the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 "All of the time" sounds like a cylinder is not firing. I'd use an IR temp gun to tell which is cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashmaster Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 When it dark enough out side or in you garage with light off. open the hood and start it. See if you have any arcing from the plug wires to ground. I would suspect the rear bank wires first. I you do not see any arcing then it may be bad coil pack, spark plug wire or spark plug. How old are the Wires and Spark plugs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 (edited) let me start this over again.about a year ago it died and aaa towed it to my house.it sat eight months til i was brave enough to try to fix it.it had no spark so i bought a used coil pack from a 1994 bonneville to upgrade the ignition.it turned out to have one bad coil which i replaced with an acdelco coil.it hasn't run right since i installed the coil pack.i don't want to start buying parts that don't help.ive done that before.i replaced the oxygen sensor since it had never been replaced.i ohmed out the spark plug wires and cleaned the plugs.its currently getting 13 mpg and i have to keep it from stalling at stoplights.at 65 mph it constantly spits unless i let off of floor it.its fine at 80 on flat ground.on the upside the brakes still work great since i removed the abs light bulb. Edited May 7, 2020 by handmedownreatta (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Double or triple check the spark plug routing, particular attention to the rear cylinders. It is very easy to get two wires swapped around. It has happened to me😣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 (edited) 21 hours ago, handmedownreatta said: let me start this over again.about a year ago it died and aaa towed it to my house.it sat eight months til i was brave enough to try to fix it.it had no spark so i bought a used coil pack from a 1994 bonneville to upgrade the ignition.it turned out to have one bad coil which i replaced with an acdelco coil.it hasn't run right since i installed the coil pack.i don't want to start buying parts that don't help.ive done that before.i replaced the oxygen sensor since it had never been replaced.i ohmed out the spark plug wires and cleaned the plugs.its currently getting 13 mpg and i have to keep it from stalling at stoplights.at 65 mph it constantly spits unless i let off of floor it.its fine at 80 on flat ground.on the upside the brakes still work great since i removed the abs light bulb. What you are describing is similar to what I had for an issue on the Red last summer. I got to my brother's house and tried to back up a slight incline and the car wouldn't do it. So I pulled forward as far as I could and took a running try at backing into the spot [on an incline]. Made it. Then about 3 hours when I left total failure with no restart. Replaced coil and ignition module [Delco unit] fired the car up and it ran like a top. Just today I put on 250 miles and never a hiccup. Just because you put a different one on doesn't mean the "new" one isn't bad. Do like Padgett; Buy two when you go to the yard. Put one on and drive it for a week or two. If it runs good put the other one on and drive it. If it works good leave it on and mark the other one as "tested good". Then when the latest one fails you know you have a known good one to use, and one less thing to check on a part of the ignition that doesn't throw codes. It's not a major investment, salvage yards sell them for less then $50.00 On another note did you check the fuel pressure? Edited May 7, 2020 by DAVES89 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 i haven't checked the fuel pressure.btw while it does backfire sometimes the problem i have during acceleration is more violent shaking til i change the rpm up or down.i will try some of this stuff saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Really sounds like a fault in the secondary ignition (coils, wires, plugs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashmaster Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 I had an issue with random misfires under load. It was bad enough it kept the car from attending the Allentown event. After going over ignition related stuff 3 or 4 times with no solution and tins of frustration. I found the large loomed wire harness on the firewall was not tied up high but much lower, about mid way down, Near OX sensor. I pulled up the harness and tied it up high. Problem solved. I was getting inducted signals from the harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Interesting. Was it affecting the O2 sensor or something else ? Wonder if it would show up in diagnostics somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashmaster Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Padget. I am not sure what part was affecting which part with the induction interference.. Nothing showed up on the Diagnosis or out of spec when driving and looking at the running sensor parameters. I think I have an old thread for misfire under load. I really went over all ignition parts 4 times. One thing though this issue started after a MAF failure. Replaced everything, swapping parts back and forth doing testing. I was so frustrated I think I might have put it up for sale at that time. Been running perfect since then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Good to know and very interesting. The '90 and up do not have that big harness in that location so maybe a factory running change for a very obscure problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/7/2020 at 3:41 PM, DAVES89 said: What you are describing is similar to what I had for an issue on the Red last summer. I got to my brother's house and tried to back up a slight incline and the car wouldn't do it. So I pulled forward as far as I could and took a running try at backing into the spot [on an incline]. Made it. Then about 3 hours when I left total failure with no restart. Replaced coil and ignition module [Delco unit] fired the car up and it ran like a top. Just today I put on 250 miles and never a hiccup. Just because you put a different one on doesn't mean the "new" one isn't bad. Do like Padgett; Buy two when you go to the yard. Put one on and drive it for a week or two. If it runs good put the other one on and drive it. If it works good leave it on and mark the other one as "tested good". Then when the latest one fails you know you have a known good one to use, and one less thing to check on a part of the ignition that doesn't throw codes. It's not a major investment, salvage yards sell them for less then $50.00 On another note did you check the fuel pressure? i was going to do that today but with pick a parts reduced hours i didn't make it. i'll try again tomorrow.i plan to get a iac too; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/5/2020 at 7:19 AM, Dashmaster said: Unplug the MAF sensor and see if it runs better. Easy Test. Would help to know if the problem is all the time or only after warmed up and running in closed loop. it runs better with it unplugged.not great.still won't idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/7/2020 at 8:47 AM, 2seater said: Double or triple check the spark plug routing, particular attention to the rear cylinders. It is very easy to get two wires swapped around. It has happened to me😣 i rechecked the spark plug routing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/2/2020 at 8:37 PM, Barney Eaton said: * Check for vacumn leaks * Coil module * Cam sensor its got a vacumn leak somewhere beneath the iac valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 IAC check is in section 6E3-C2-12 in the 1990 service manual.... should be in a similar place in the 1989 manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 On 5/5/2020 at 7:19 AM, Dashmaster said: Unplug the MAF sensor and see if it runs better. Easy Test. Would help to know if the problem is all the time or only after warmed up and running in closed loop. what does it mean if it runs better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 4 hours ago, handmedownreatta said: what does it mean if it runs better? Odds are there is either a leak causing the MAF to misreport actual flow or it is defective. Best to swap sensors if you have a spare. What is the reading at idle? We just swapped MAF's on my sons Reatta for a poor or non existent idle coupled with a new O2 sensor which cured his idle. In his case, he was getting an occasional MAF code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 There should be an O ring under the MAF Sensor to help the seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 my harmonic ballancer just converted into two pieces.maybe part of my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 usually noisy at idle but mine have not affected performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spazzaroth Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 Had a similar problem recently. Car would run rough and would die at idle with no codes. After checking/replacing every part I could think of it turned out to be a bad cam (or was it the crank? I get those two confused) sensor that hadn't been tightened properly and had gotten chewed up by the harmonic balancer. New coil pack and ignition module helped too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 On 5/9/2020 at 7:01 PM, handmedownreatta said: its got a vacumn leak somewhere beneath the iac valve. the vacumn leak turned out to be the hose between the air filter and throttle body had folded inward and was letting air in.i bought a harbor freight fuel pressure guage today[couldn't find my old one].i found out that theres no fuel pressure with the key on.running it looked about thirty five pounds[i know too low]but the guage is POURING fuel.so i turned it off quickly.i used to hear the fuel pump run before i started it,but not til its running now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 31 minutes ago, handmedownreatta said: i found out that theres no fuel pressure with the key on.running it looked about thirty five pounds[i know too low]but the guage is POURING fuel.so i turned it off quickly.i used to hear the fuel pump run before i started it,but not til its running now. Check the fuel pump relay. If it is bad the pump won't run when you turn the key on but it will start running (through a set of contacts in the oil pressure sending unit) after the engine has built some oil pressure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 (edited) i found it.is there another relay i could swap it with to see if it drives better? . Edited July 1, 2020 by handmedownreatta (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 I don't now about your '90. My fuel pump relay on my '88 is on the firewall and it can be swapped with the other two beside it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 its running MUCH better now.two problems.bad fuel pump relay and when i went with the coil pack from the 94 bonneville i checked the output side of the coils and replaced one.since it still ran bad i bought another coil pack from a late nineties car.it ran better but not good.then i checked the input side of the coils from the first coil pack and found another bad coil.today i combined the three good coils from the second coil pack and the module from the first coil pack and instant improvement,it runs smooth and the mpg jumped from eleven to seventeen.i only went about five miles.i will drive it more tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 still not perfect but much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 In this case why not just buy some new parts? All the 2nd hand stuff? It’s all old and used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted July 5, 2020 Author Share Posted July 5, 2020 yes but what part?if i buy a 100 dollar icm and it runs the same ill be pissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Jake Moran Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Coil pack to start. Mixing and matching parts that heat up and down often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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