possible battery and/or ignition control module issues - Page 2

whiterider00 · 10-28-2011, 01:59 AM

funny...

Papa Rad17 · 10-28-2011, 04:57 PM

have you had any more trouble?

whiterider00 · 10-29-2011, 01:21 AM

shit load today. way into work at a stop light same thing as always happens. idle drops to like 300 then surges up to around normal (750) for at least 5 sec. no codes, no other issues ( backfire etc). i shut the car off and started it right back up. no issues for the rst of the drive.

on my way home just now, happened at least 3 times. pretty sure i heard it backfire at least 2 times too. second time it happened, i just about floored it to see what would happen. nothing for a sec or 2 except the idle surge, then that stopped and speed and rpms jumped up like they should. again, no codes or anything except what im pretty sure was backfiring.

funny enough, after this happened the car seemed to run a lot better. i mean ridiculous throttle response, even sounded smoother at high throttle.

based on the slow, or lack of immediate change in rpms when i floored it, my somewhat more mechanically inclined friend is leaning towards throttle position sensor. he may be on to something because the one thats in the car, on the 2.3l tb is from a 1992 grand am, and definitely looks that old. its only like a $30 part, so i may just swap that out and see if anything changes. if anyone else has other suggestions, id love to hear them. just hoping its not fuel pump related.

Papa Rad17 · 10-29-2011, 02:26 AM

That would be a good place to start instead of just jumping to the file pump. That's for sure.

whiterider00 · 11-03-2011, 08:05 PM

Replaced tps yesterday morning. On the ride into work, there were no issues and i thought it might be fixed. I did notice that my idle went from around 750 to over 1000 when warm. And on 1st start up it idled over 1500rpms and sayed there til i shifted into reverse nearly a min later. Anyway, at night on my way home, i brought the car over from the parking lot, and all seemed fine. Clocked out, went back out to the car, and the loping idle starts again. Similar issues on the drive home. Start it up this morning, and within hslf a min it starts again. So whatever the issue is, its getting much worse and kore frequent. Im gonna toss in a bottle of gumout fuel system cleaner with next tank of gas, then do the fuel filter. Hopefully its just clogged or something. But im pretty sure its the pump thats going bad. If anyones got any other ideas let ke know.

a.graham52 · 11-03-2011, 09:23 PM

never seen a fuel pump cause this kind of issue. however you could be lucky

whiterider00 · 11-08-2011, 11:14 PM

So, tried replacing fuel filter, and i cannot get it loose. Let it soak in pbblaster all night, then tried again. Started rounding off the nut on the fuel line. So i really dont know wtf to do now. Im gonna run out this tank of gas with the gumout in it then try the filter again. It seemed to get kinda worse after i put in the cleaner and gas, so maybe more shit is coming loose and clogging the filter. Who knows. Ill keep updating.

Redog · 11-08-2011, 11:30 PM

Does the RPMs jump at random while driving?

Mine has been doing that for years. I replaced the ICM and all 3 coils and it got better, but still did it from time to time. I also replaced the plugs, TPS and all that good stuff over the course ofr the past 4 years.

Lately it's been doing it, really bad. Misses so bad, it almost dies right there. The car FINALLY threw a SES light today saying it was the CPS. I ordered one from Rock Auto tonight while I was on break. Cost me a whole $36.06 (including the $3.07 for shipping and the 5% discount coupon I used).

Kinda looking forward to replacing it, and kinda not at the same time

whiterider00 · 11-09-2011, 01:53 AM

the loping happens at idle, but while driving it seems like its out of gas (no throttle response, sputtering etc) i have yet to see a ses, which is why i havent even really thought of the crank position sensor. my friend said that might be the issue tho. i just wish there was a definitive way to know before i keep tossing money at this thing.

a.graham52 · 11-09-2011, 07:18 AM

have you tried unplugging sensors and test drivign?

whiterider00 · 11-09-2011, 09:10 AM

I had the car parked and running, and unplugged the idle air cntrl valve, map, and tps, when it started acting up, but nothing changed. So doesnt look like its any of those. Is there any way to test the crank position sensor, to check if thats bad?

whiterider00 · 11-10-2011, 02:29 AM

tried removing the old crank position sensor after work tonight. got the bolt out, and the harness unplugged. the sensor itself will not budge from the block. im guessing whatever sort of gasket/o-ring that seals it is keeping it stuck to the block. hopefully some more wiggling in the morning will get it free. and then hopefully thats actually the issue, and not another waste of time, money, and patience.

a.graham52 · 11-10-2011, 07:09 AM

just unplug the sensor. dont remove it unless your planning on putting a new one in anyways

whiterider00 · 11-10-2011, 10:19 AM

I do plan on replacing it. I dont think the engine would run better, if at all, with it unplugged. Someone correct me if im wrong tho.

whiterider00 · 11-11-2011, 04:34 PM

so ive spent at least a few hours each day since wednesday trying to get this damn sensor out. i thought maybe warming up the engine would kinda loosen things up and it would come out easier. didnt do shit. so i took i it off the jack stands, and took it for a drive to see what would happen. no issues on a 5 min drive. let it idle in the driveway for half an hr, no issues. im stumped now. maybe all the twisting and prying somehow fixed whatever was wrong with the sensor. or maybe the harness was corroded or something, but i doubt it. anyway, it runs fine now, so i really dont know what to do.

while i had the car raised up, i figured id do the lightweight crank pulley that i wanted to do when i did my cam swap. no real issues there, which kinda suprised me. however, i didnt notice any sort of hp gain or quicker revs or anything. o well.

whiterider00 · 11-15-2011, 03:28 PM

so...remember how i said there were no real issues installing the new crank pulley? ya, i was wrong. i somehow managed to rape the collar that the crank seal sits in, therefore it didnt sit right, therefore lots of oil leaked out, onto my serp belt, and was flug throughout the engine bay.

this was sunday that i noticed it. no junk yards around here are open sundays. and according to car-part.com, the closest yard that had one readily available was an hr drive away. so i spent this morning driving out to east butt-eff massachusetts to get a new timing chain cover. it wasnt til i got home that i noticed there were 3 decent sized dents in the outer edge of it. and my day got better from there. it took me just as long (and much much more frustration) to put on the serp belt than it did to do the 3000 bolts holding on the timing cover.

finally got everything reinstalled, tightened, cleaned and all set. started up the car, and after hearing some odd ticking, realized there was only maybe 1/4 qt of oil. yes, my day has been so shitty and long up to this point, that i actually forgot to put oil in. it ran for 10 sec tops before i shuit it off, and upon startup with oil in it, there were no unusual sounds, and it ran fine for the 5 min i drove it.

now the only really relevent part of this whole story, is that after the car sits for an extended amount of time, (longer than a day or so) the shitty idle/sputtering issue seems to dissapear for the first 5min or so of driving (usually test drive to see if ive effed up anything else). i am still unable to get the crank position sensor any looser than i have before, and theres still no codes or any other symptoms.

does this point to something specific like the crank sensor, or is it purely coincidental? i would really love to get this figured out sometime soon while its still warm out. any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

hope you enjoyed the story. lol

whiterider00 · 11-20-2011, 07:05 PM

ok, so ive been attempting to get my crank sensor out for quite a while now, while still driving tht car to and from work. saturday morning tho, it took me nearly 10 minutes to go about 2 miles, and the car stalled on its own twice, and i had to shut it off cuz of the idle at least 2 times.

anyway, i tried removing the sensor again this morning. first i broke off a small piece of the mounting bracket part. i actually thought this was good, cuz now i had a way to try and get some sort of lubricant down to the o-ring. sprayed on some pb blaster, and let it sit for a bit. tried again, and this time, the whole mounting piece broke off. the only thing that sticks out of the block now is the 2 metal prongs that the wiring harness went to.

i can definitely tell its the o-ring thats siezed up inside the hole, so ive been thinking of what i could spray in there to kinda eat the rubber, and make it easier to pull out by using pliers and pulling on the metal prongs. if i cant get this thing out, i really dont know what to do, cuz any garage wont be able to do anything that i havent already tried.

a.graham52 · 11-21-2011, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiterider00

i can definitely tell its the o-ring thats siezed up inside the hole, so ive been thinking of what i could spray in there to kinda eat the rubber, and make it easier to pull out by using pliers and pulling on the metal prongs. if i cant get this thing out, i really dont know what to do, cuz any garage wont be able to do anything that i havent already tried.

when taking it to a garage... its not about what you have or havnt tried... its about how much luck they guy working on it has...

something you could try is to take a small punch and a hammar and try to fold the sensor in on itself BUT dont push the sensor in anyfurther. this should help you get some lube down onto the o ring and then just try to work it work it out with plyers.

i really hope this sensor fixes it otherwise you just beat all around the bush/through the bush and over the bush for nothing.

whiterider00 · 11-21-2011, 07:08 PM

Ya, if its not this sensor, the cars gonna b up for sale pretty cheap. I already plan on getting something else either way.

Papa Rad17 · 11-21-2011, 09:43 PM

Thats sad, after all the work you put into it with the new cams and kit and everything... Who knows, when you put it up I might buy it to have another alero to drive around! (half serious)