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hey guys and gals. i have a 93 buick park ave will crank but no spark. i put a screwdriver in the spark plug wire and held it close to the coil post and no spark. i find it hard to believe all 3 coils went bad at once. also every so offten the car will start but most of the time it wont. the car was bought off a dui offender and had a blow and go (breathalyzer) insatlled. i just got the car tonight and did not get to look at the wiring under the dash yet. any ideas? thank you in advance.
john
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it has 3 fed in to 2 as you said. i took off the coil pack and its getting 12v to the coil pack but its not getting a signal from the crank shaft sensor. i had the key on and turned the engine over by hand and got nothing. so right now i pulled the coils and the icm. under the icm there was some corrosion under the icm. also the some on the bolt some wires are being ground to. so i am cleaning that up to see if it makes it any better. also while i got it apart i am going to trace the wires from the crank shaft sensor to the icm to see if there all good. i am still thinking it some thing with the ground. i have noticed the past few days the alarm has been going off. the remote dont work so i have to run down and put the key in the door and unlock it to shut it off. the odd thing is no one is around the car when the alarm goes off.
i got the icm tested and it was good. it was tested 2 dozen times in a row. as long as it dont rain i will be checking the all the wires tomorrow.
It could still be a connection or wiring issue. The ideal would be to have a lab scope so that you could check the waveform coming out of the crank sensor. If there is no signal coming out, it could be wiring or a connector somewhere. That said, you might also be able to use a DVOM but I’m not sure what signal you’d be looking for and where to check for that signal. Bottom line, diagnosis is not about replacing parts and hoping you get lucky. It’s about knowing the system and checking it’s operation so you can find the cause of a problem. Sometimes this requires special equipment and tools. Either way, starting with a good working knowledge of how the system works is a good jumping off point. For that information, the service manual is the best place in my opinion.
I’m still thinking something simple like the wiring, since you said there wasn’t any crank position sensor signal coming into the ICM harness. Here is another thought that occurred to me. You may need to research this. I believe your car (if it’s a 3800) is equipped with a dual crankshaft set up. Without getting all technical, the car will generally run (albeit rough) with a bad 18X sensor (the one behind the harmonic balancer). The other crank position sensor, defined as a 3x sensor is the one that will not allow the vehicle to fire if it has failed or the wiring is compromised. You just might be looking in the wrong place. Anyways, I know this has been a long ordeal for you. I hope you get it all sorted out soon. Keep us posted.
Upon further research, it seems that both the 18x and 3x crankshaft sensors work in tandem on the 3.8L, meaning that if either one fails, you get a no spark scenario. I thought it was set up like the 3.1 L and the 3.4 L GM that uses one Hall effect sensor and one that sends AC voltage directly to the ICM. You still need to check out the 3x sensor and related wiring. Again, the difference being if either one has failed, you get a no spark scenario… Additionally, if your car is equipped with a camshaft sensor, you need to look into that as well. Sometimes with wiring, the insulation degrades because of heat and leaking fluids over a period of time. Check especially in any areas of related wiring where oil/ power steering fluid, etc., appears to have been present over time. I’ve attached a picture of the wires from the camshaft sensor on one of my vehicles. If you look near my fingers you can see what I’m talking about.
Here is a good article with some good information and test options for you. http://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm/3.8L/ignition-module-and-crank-sensor-test-1
i agree with what everyone has said here, check your wiring theroughly, this isn’t exactly a young car, check your ground connection for the ignition control moduel as well, as many have said it really sounds lik you have a wiring and connection issue, check throughly for corrosion, feel the wires and have a look at there insulation… if you aren’t getting signal from the crankshaft position sensor i would start there first, check the connections for the cranshaft position sensor for corrosion, check for continuity of the wiring, check the condition of the wiring leading from the crankshaft position sensor.
Tomatofarmer you hit the nail on the head i changed it today bam started right up. Great advice.it also taught me a lesson i will never forget thats for sure. but THANK YOU!!! banana: Also THANK YOU ETCG for all your help and making this site i cant thank you enough!!!! Everyone on here is great and very helpful.
Man, I’m so glad for you! I know this was a long journey. I agree with you, the folks on this forum are top notch. Eric has the best automotive forum anywhere on the internet. You didn’t say with certainty on your last post, was it the 3x crankshaft sensor? Way to hang in there and figure it out johnyjohn412.
It was the 3x one I was mad at myself for how easy it could have been to start there but none of that matters because I learned something and thats the best tools to have in a tool box. Replacing both sensors just means no problems there for awhile. I’m going to upgrade my membership this forum has proven itself time and time again. Also I feel by upgrading it will be my way of giving back to the etcg community. Shoot being a member here I feel like I can fix anything lol. (I wish) But with this case being closed I can now go back to the lumina and hopfully finish the heads.
Ok guys having problems again. Today my wife was on her way to work had 3 more minutes to go til she was at work then it died. It came home on the flat bed was cranking but not starting again. I knew it has been like 4 years since it had a tune up. So I pulled a plug it was looking very nasty. I put it back in checked the see if there was presure in the fuel line there was but not like I wanted to see but when you turn the key it sprays. Then I checked for spark I had none. So then I unplugged the cam shaft sensor and looked at it it seemed to look good Iplugged it back in had spark then but still would not start but was making a popping noise sort of like a back fire. But not loud. Then I was pumping the gas peddle and holding to the floor it started and is running fine again. Also it has been hesitating when you step on the gas hard. So I put new plugs and wires and a oil change it was 10k over due. After all that the service light is still on and still hesitating. I am going to do a fuel filter tomorrow. Also some times the security light stays on for a few mins when you first start it and comes on when your driving once in a blue moon. Also I am looking for the reset button for the change oil light I Seen online there is a hole on the passenger side under the dash but I must be blind or dumb because I can’t find it. Lol I’m probably just dumb and looking right at it lol but any input on this would be just awesome
You may be victim of the GM Passkey system… The security light may be a clue….
Check this out… Often easier to install a a few resistors (can buy them already made on ebay)… All you have to do is test your key and find the ohms that your Passkey was set with…
As far as your service light… Keep looking over on the passenger side…
-Karl
If it’s not what ToyotaKarl suggests, the lingering hesitation could be ignition related such as the coils, or even the cam sensor itself. (I know you replaced the 2 crank sensors previously). It could also be dirty fuel injectors or faulty fuel pressure regulator, etc., You can research these things…Best of luck
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