Scotty Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 My wife tells me last night at "9:30 no less" oh by the way something is wrong with my car coming home from work the LAST TWO days it has no power.... OKAAAYYY... Nice of you to mention it, I responded... Anyway, its a 2002 3.4 liter Monte Carlo with 37,000 miles. I take it out to get milk last night and it felt rough but nothing major UNTIL I stepped on the gas say half way.... Then the car BOOGS like nothing I have ever seen, if you have ANY idea of trying to pass, or pull away from a stop at all, the car just BOOGS. It will not easily rev above 3500 RPM and when it does the engine is making an odd noise sort of tappety and maybe backfiring through carb but I can't nail the noise down. When its warm the idle in gear while smooth is low around 500 RPM. NO POWER at all and it fights you to go through the gears... I have never seen an engine act this way.. it feels like something is holding the car/engine back, I initially thought it was tranny related, like maybe it was stuck in OD or if it has a lock up clutch it was locked up, its dragging. The idle is reasonably smooth No idiot lights Tranny fluid level is perfect and its not burning and looks good, Pulled the air filter and it looks good, I can see through it when I hold it up to the light, I plan to change the fuel filter next and check the fuel line pressure, I think I noticed a FPR and plan to see if there is fuel at the vacuum port If I could dump the codes I would, I may need to buy a code scanner for this POS...LOL... Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marika Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 My wife tells me last night at "9:30 no less" oh by the way something is wrong with my car coming home from work the LAST TWO days it has no power.... OKAAAYYY... Nice of you to mention it, I responded... Anyway, its a 2002 3.4 liter Monte Carlo with 37,000 miles. I take it out to get milk last night and it felt rough but nothing major UNTIL I stepped on the gas say half way.... Then the car BOOGS like nothing I have ever seen, if you have ANY idea of trying to pass, or pull away from a stop at all, the car just BOOGS. It will not easily rev above 3500 RPM and when it does the engine is making an odd noise sort of tappety and maybe backfiring through carb but I can't nail the noise down. When its warm the idle in gear while smooth is low around 500 RPM. NO POWER at all and it fights you to go through the gears... I have never seen an engine act this way.. it feels like something is holding the car/engine back, I initially thought it was tranny related, like maybe it was stuck in OD or if it has a lock up clutch it was locked up, its dragging. The idle is reasonably smooth No idiot lights Tranny fluid level is perfect and its not burning and looks good, Pulled the air filter and it looks good, I can see through it when I hold it up to the light, I plan to change the fuel filter next, if I could dump the codes I would, I may need to buy a code scanner for this POS...LOL... Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, Mike Just a guess coming from me, but maybe it's a clogged exhaust or cat converter? If you really want to make people safe drivers again then simply remove all the safety features from cars. No more seat belts, ABS brakes, traction control, air bags or stability control. No more anything. You'll see how quickly people will slow down and once again learn to drive like "normal" humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Interesting Marika, thats a good thought and that is what it feels like, I will look at the outlet, maybe someone is playing a prank. The car is too new for a CAT to have destructed itself, Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stsjoe Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 sounds like a plug or plug wire, Ive had them both do that, were fine till you get up to about 2500RPM then all hell broke loose, you may try misting the wires and look for a arc, could also be a bad coil pack but sounds ignitiony ( Ihad an S 10 with a bad wire at only 4K Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 sounds like a plug or plug wire, Ive had them both do that, were fine till you get up to about 2500RPM then all hell broke loose, you may try misting the wires and look for a arc, could also be a bad coil pack but sounds ignitiony ( Ihad an S 10 with a bad wire at only 4K Joe Thanks Joe, I will do that, I am thinking this car has low mileage so that thought is throwing me off.. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 sounds like a bad coil pack to me does the engine vibrate a lot when you mash the gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 sounds like a bad coil pack to me does the engine vibrate a lot when you mash the gas? Thanks bigfoo, the engine is definately not smooth when you mash the gas and its bucking both slow and fast as the RPMS get up. After I change the fuel filter if it still persists, I'll buy a coil pack and swap it in to see if I can locate a bad one. This V6 has 3 coil packs each handling 2 plugs so it should be easy to find the bad pack. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry94 Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 My wife has been using the Caddy a lot lately (Xmas Shopping). I had it yesterday and when merging into traffic, I like to merge "briskly", it hitched, the engine rattled, not much power, and I looked in the rear view mirror and there was this cloud of brown dust coming from the exhaust. About 3/4 thru first gear at WOT, it started to clear, then by 3/4 thru second, it started working like it should. A couple more WOTs and it ran great. It was carbon build up, too many short trips to the Mall. Any chance you have extreme carbon build up ??? Barry 2008 STS V82016 Colorado Z711970 Corvette LT-1 Coupe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 I dont think this is carbon buildup, this engine is being starved somehow. As Murphy's Law goes, its freezing out today.... Thanks, I have to get out there and figure it out.. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
druhl Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Scotty , If it was a plug wire or coil pack you shoud get a light. you should check the computer with any problem like this. I would definitely change the fuel filter that is the most likely problem and with the mileage it would not hurt anything. Also checking the fuel pressure and exhaust for restrictions is also a good idea. Good Luck, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droger03 Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 I had a similiar problem with my deville I just bought. The guy actually sold it to me cheap cause he thought the engine was bad. It would actually backfire and sputter when trying to accelerate hard. A new set of plugs and wires had her purring like a kitten again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Grek Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Sounds like tell tale symtoms of a bad coil pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 you can test the coil pack either by unplugging one of the wires at idle and looking at the spark, it should be able to jump an inch or more away from the pack and hit the wire.. compare it to the spark coming from the other coil packs and if one pack is significantly less than the others that's probaly the bad one. usually if they go bad they still fire enough to make the engine idle ok but not enough for heavy load Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Thanks everyone for the information, I will probaby tackle it tomorrow, will report back results, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 OK, I am pulling my hair out, here is what I have done 1) changed air filter, no change 2) changed fuel filter, no change 3) bought coil pack, swapped in to all three positions (V6), no change 4) Pulled front three plugs, should be .060 were .065, regapped, no change 5) checked the engine closely for arching, vacuum leaks, etc. 6) filled with premium (was empty with regular) wifes car Still bogging badly. It feels like a TPS, or MAF acting up. I need to pull the codes on this Chevy Monte Carlo 3.4, does anyone know how I do that, can I buy a cheap scan tool? Any ideas? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Grek Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 You can try Autozone I think they do it and it's free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 You can try Autozone I think they do it and it's free. Thanks, I was there tonight, I will go back tomorrow, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 I just bought an Actron CP9125 OBDII PocketScan Code Reader. My wife is out, so I can't use on her car yet, but I hooked it up to my 96 Deville and it read out a P1406 code which is EGR related... Which I was able to erase immediately. Very cool tool for diagnosing problems for none Caddies... By the way, it was $80 and comes with a CDROM that has every code detailed on it for every make.... Codes anyone? As badly as my wifes car is running its not setting a code, very odd, so I bought some dry gas thinking that she picked up a load of water.. we will see.. Mike Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marika Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Mike, you changed the fuel filter but could it be the fuel pump? When my old Chevy started to do something similar it turned out to be the pump. If you really want to make people safe drivers again then simply remove all the safety features from cars. No more seat belts, ABS brakes, traction control, air bags or stability control. No more anything. You'll see how quickly people will slow down and once again learn to drive like "normal" humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Mike, you changed the fuel filter but could it be the fuel pump? When my old Chevy started to do something similar it turned out to be the pump. Marika, If there are no codes, and dry gas does not improve it (maybe it has water in the tank). I was planning to buy a fuel pressure guage and test the fuel pump pressure, maybe there is debris obstructing the sock in the tank or maybe the fuel pump is shot as you say. I would hope not however with 37K miles.. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Grek Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 You would think the fuel pump would last at least 100,000k. My Silverado went at 40,000. I changed 3 fuel pumps in last 5 years on my G.M.'s. Now I have reason to believe the one on my SLS is on it's way out at 60,000k, that will make 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franey Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 IF YOUR CAM POSITION SENSOR IS BAD , YOU COULD BE GETTING AN ABSENSE OF TIMING ADVANCE WHICH WOULD RESULT IN THE BOGING DOWN. FORGET HOW NEW IT IS , THE CARS ARE BUILT WITH BUILT IN ABSOLECENCE FROM DAY ONE . REMEMBER ALL PARTS WERE SUPPLIED BY THE LOWEST BID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 You would think the fuel pump would last at least 100,000k. My Silverado went at 40,000. I changed 3 fuel pumps in last 5 years on my G.M.'s. Now I have reason to believe the one on my SLS is on it's way out at 60,000k, that will make 4. Oh boy, I will go get a fuel pressure guage then... Thanks for the heads up, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 IF YOUR CAM POSITION SENSOR IS BAD , YOU COULD BE GETTING AN ABSENSE OF TIMING ADVANCE WHICH WOULD RESULT IN THE BOGING DOWN. FORGET HOW NEW IT IS , THE CARS ARE BUILT WITH BUILT IN ABSOLECENCE FROM DAY ONE . REMEMBER ALL PARTS WERE SUPPLIED BY THE LOWEST BID. I am hoping that would set a code. Its interestng to note that the car's drivability is horrible and no check engine light showed up. That is why water in the tank and fuel pump seem to make sense. I wish they would put a sensor on for fuel pressure being out of spec to alert you to the problem I dont think they report on that... Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 OK, no codes, bummer...... Now what? I put in HEET dry gas in hoping that it has water in the tank and it will clear it up by morning. It is missing / bucking / hesitating slightly low speed I just noticed plus what it was doing, bogging badly on acceleration. Going up a hill or merging into traffic is impossible. This is an odd one and its looking more like fuel pressure... Tomorrow I am going to do a fuel pump pressure test, check the ignition wires for resistence, check the ground coming off the battery to the frame, battery connections, and check the 3 rear plugs for gap, cracks, and bridging. One of the front plugs had a small mountain of buildup on the electrode reaching toward the tip, if the gap has been bridged, it could be misfiring intermittantly. IF nothing else I will wire-brush and re-gap them. If that doesnt help, its off to the dealer Monday as I would be stumped at that point... Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.