Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I drove it to work yesterday with no problems. Came out of work, and it wouldn't start. It cranks over, but won't fire. We sprayed starter fluid into it (under the air cleaner), but it didn't help. This leads me to believe there is no spark. Even if it were a fuel problem (bad fuel pump), it would have coughed and sputtered or momentarily started with the starter fluid.
Things to check:
Coil
Crankshaft Positioning Sensor
The probabilities are high that it's the CPS gone bad. If you can find someone with an OBD-1 tester would give you the answer. Otherwise, I'd put a new sensor on it and that will probably fix it. It's a common failure item for the GM cars of this era.
I found on older cars not to trust the gas guage.
If you have a bad prepump in the gas tank they often will not work on a low tank. Fill it up and you get free extra pressure.
I found on older cars not to trust the gas guage.
If you have a bad prepump in the gas tank they often will not work on a low tank. Fill it up and you get free extra pressure.
I found on older cars not to trust the gas guage.
If you have a bad prepump in the gas tank they often will not work on a low tank. Fill it up and you get free extra pressure.
This car has the one and only fuel pump located in the fuel tank.
I drove it to work yesterday with no problems. Came out of work, and it wouldn't start. It cranks over, but won't fire. We sprayed starter fluid into it (under the air cleaner), but it didn't help. This leads me to believe there is no spark. Even if it were a fuel problem (bad fuel pump), it would have coughed and sputtered or momentarily started with the starter fluid.
Things to check:
Coil
Crankshaft Positioning Sensor
Anything else I should add to this list?
IIRC, there would be two ignition coils that fire pairs of sparkplugs. So if one coil failed, the other should still be firing two cylinders and you'd have gotten a response with the starting fluid.
Leads one to think that the ECM or the CPS has failed. Substitute another CPS and see if that works if you don't have the means to test the system.
It has the 2.5L engine in it - manual tranny also, if that makes a difference.
It has over a 1/2 tank of fuel in it - we've never had reason to second guess the gas gauge. Seems to work accurately.
Sun... thanks for the tip on the coils. You are right that there would have been some reponse from the starter fluid if either of the coils was sparking (meaning the CPS prior to that isn't working).
This car has the one and only fuel pump located in the fuel tank.
A weak pump gets a boost from a full tank. I had a chevy van and usually kept it full. The few times I let it get below a half tank it had no pressure. The replacement pump cost me $400 installed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
