‘97 Buick Park Avenue Cutting out above 2000 rpm
08-30-2018, 10:30 PM
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‘97 Buick Park Avenue Cutting out above 2000 rpm
Ok guys (and gals), we’ve got a friend with a ‘97 Park Avenue (non-super charged). About a month ago it started cutting out on her. She described the problem as “the car wants to die when I drive up hills”. She had a mobile mechanic come out and diagnose a bad alternator. He replaced the alternator. Problem didn’t go away. He then diagnosed a faulty fuel pump. We ordered a new Delphi fuel pump for it and I installed it. I then test drove the car and the problem is still occurring. Basically you get above 2000 rpm under throttle and it starts hesitating and cutting out. FYI my wife and I are footing the bill for all of this as our friend is a bit down on her luck. At this point I have very little faith in the troubleshooting abilities of this mobile mechanic and don’t want to continue giving him money to guess at the problem and throw parts at it.
Prior to the test drive I cleared all the existing codes. Following the test drive I’m seeing the same two codes that I saw before clearing. The first is C1255 which is an ABS/TCS code. The second is P1626 which appears to be related to the theft deterrent system. Honestly I don’t know enough about these vehicles to know if either of these could be the cause of the hesitation above 2000 rpm. We also just found out that the fuel mileage of the vehicle had been getting progressively worst, starting at a normal 17 mpg, and eventually dropping down to about 7 mpg. This sounds to me like an ultra rich condition. It actually kind of smells rich when it’* just sitting idling.
I’m curious if anyone else here has experienced this issue. At this point I have no idea what else to look at. I suspect possibly a bad BCM, maybe bad injector(*), or maybe a MAF sensor, but don’t know how to diagnose any of these. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric
Prior to the test drive I cleared all the existing codes. Following the test drive I’m seeing the same two codes that I saw before clearing. The first is C1255 which is an ABS/TCS code. The second is P1626 which appears to be related to the theft deterrent system. Honestly I don’t know enough about these vehicles to know if either of these could be the cause of the hesitation above 2000 rpm. We also just found out that the fuel mileage of the vehicle had been getting progressively worst, starting at a normal 17 mpg, and eventually dropping down to about 7 mpg. This sounds to me like an ultra rich condition. It actually kind of smells rich when it’* just sitting idling.
I’m curious if anyone else here has experienced this issue. At this point I have no idea what else to look at. I suspect possibly a bad BCM, maybe bad injector(*), or maybe a MAF sensor, but don’t know how to diagnose any of these. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric
08-31-2018, 03:26 PM
#2
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She described the problem as “the car wants to die when I drive up hills”. She had a mobile mechanic come out and diagnose a bad alternator.
Try running with MAF disconnected?
Check F/P regulator for leaking fuel?
Pull O2 sensor and see if carbonned up?
How many miles on vehicle?
Last complete tuneup?
Does it feel like a misfire?
Was backpressure ever tested?
BCM? Doubt it.....
I would be pulling the plugs, and looking for a plug that may be fouled, indicating a problem with a cylinder(*)...
Sounds like there could be more than one problem....a smart tech with a scan tool like a Tech II, ahouls be able to diagnose this on a test drive....No GM Dealerships nearby?
09-01-2018, 12:26 AM
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Yeah, what Tech 2 ^^^^^ said. Everything.
I usually don't bad-review anyone, but this so-called mobile mechanic sounds like he could use a review or two. Moving from alternator to fuel pump for this issue is suspicious at best.
Get us some info based on the above and we'll do our best to help get it figured out. These cars aren't super-difficult to figure out most of the time.
I usually don't bad-review anyone, but this so-called mobile mechanic sounds like he could use a review or two. Moving from alternator to fuel pump for this issue is suspicious at best.
Get us some info based on the above and we'll do our best to help get it figured out. These cars aren't super-difficult to figure out most of the time.
09-10-2018, 11:07 AM
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Thanks for the responses guys. I have no idea if the guy checked any of those items, but will pass along. I installed the fuel pump myself because my wife’* friend who owns the car couldn’t afford the labor. The new pump is working perfectly. Everything I’m doing on this thing is basically a favor to my wife because her friend is broke. At this point the mobile tech is coming back out to do additional troubleshooting for free (as he should given his zero percent hit rate so far).
09-10-2018, 08:04 PM
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Thanks for the responses guys. I have no idea if the guy checked any of those items, but will pass along. I installed the fuel pump myself because my wife’* friend who owns the car couldn’t afford the labor. The new pump is working perfectly. Everything I’m doing on this thing is basically a favor to my wife because her friend is broke. At this point the mobile tech is coming back out to do additional troubleshooting for free (as he should given his zero percent hit rate so far).
And then you let this clown put in a fuel pump? Did he ever check pressure before and after the pump was installed?
Try running with MAF disconnected?
Check F/P regulator for leaking fuel?
Pull O2 sensor and see if carbonned up?
How many miles on vehicle?
Last complete tuneup?
Does it feel like a misfire?
Was backpressure ever tested?
BCM? Doubt it.....
I would be pulling the plugs, and looking for a plug that may be fouled, indicating a problem with a cylinder(*)...
Sounds like there could be more than one problem....a smart tech with a scan tool like a Tech II, ahouls be able to diagnose this on a test drive....No GM Dealerships nearby?
Try running with MAF disconnected?
Check F/P regulator for leaking fuel?
Pull O2 sensor and see if carbonned up?
How many miles on vehicle?
Last complete tuneup?
Does it feel like a misfire?
Was backpressure ever tested?
BCM? Doubt it.....
I would be pulling the plugs, and looking for a plug that may be fouled, indicating a problem with a cylinder(*)...
Sounds like there could be more than one problem....a smart tech with a scan tool like a Tech II, ahouls be able to diagnose this on a test drive....No GM Dealerships nearby?
What part of the world is all of this happening in?
09-23-2018, 04:58 PM
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intake gaskets going bad, I just got a 2002 that you couldnt hardly drive, but idled perfect, pulled the lower intake and No.3 intake port was sucking air from a collapsed gasket.
09-24-2018, 11:58 AM
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09-24-2018, 06:37 PM
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dont know for sure yet, but I did find where the gasket frame failed and was creating an intake leak, it was soon to fail at the coolant passages also, so its good preventive maint to change them, also I tried to drive it and once the engine got under any kinda load it would stuble and the check engine light would come on. car was undrivable. Ill know more this week when i reinstall it.
09-25-2018, 01:22 AM
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09-28-2018, 10:48 PM
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Hello there, just thought I'd drop my two cents. I've owned 6 3800 powered cars and worked on tons of them. Mass air flow sensors tend to be a fairly common issue on these and can present themselves in very different ways. Usually they will set a related code, but not always. A few months ago I was contacted by a friend who now owns my 00 LeSabre. She was having an issue with hesitation on acceleration as well as occasionally dying at idle. I drove the car and confirmed the hesitation on acceleration but the thing idled smooth as glass. No current or history dtc'*, therefore no check engine light. I was watching live data on my cheap little scan tool when I noticed the MAF reading staying steady around 3.8 grams per second( right on target for idle) then for a split second it would jump to 40 g/* or so. I went back and checked for pending codes again, nope. However after hooking up a different scan tool I was able to pull a "fail since clear" mass air flow code out of it. My lesson from this is just because it didn't set a hard code and turn on the check engine light doesn't mean a problem doesn't exist. Observe live data for erratic MAF readings and you may find your culprit.