Hello all,

Well, I got the Cam Sensor Interruptor replaced and am now having another issue. The car has no power, is slow to accelerate and cannot hold speed on hills. It starts and idles just fine and does not buck or hesitate, just no power. The check engine light is not on. The transmission shifts and sounds normal, and the fluid level is good and the fluid does not look or smell burnt. When going up hill the transmission will downshift normally and the car will accelerate but not as it should. Real weak.

Would bad wires or coil cause this? Other times when I had the coil or wire go the car would hesitate or stall out.

Would a blocked cat cause this. I will say that coasting down hill (I commute over the Continential Divide) the car does not run off on me like normal. Like it has some back pressure. So this is where I may start.

I am looking for suggestions on where to start with this. It just seems weird that this is happening right after changing the Cam Interruptor. It does seem to be getting worse.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Doug

Did you check the park brake? (just kidding, kinda)

A loss of power like that would usually be associated with a misfire, but that would set the CEL. You might want to have the car scanned for codes anyway. Could be the cat.

Pull a couple of plugs to see if they are fouled.

Yes, I did actually check the parking brake and I can push the car manually.

I barely made it over the pass last night. It feels like I am pulling a loaded trailer. Then going down the other side it stalled on me at 60MPH. I was coasting down and not giving it any fuel. Pulled over and it restarted right away. Made the final 15 miles home, under powered but did not stall. Prior to the CAM interruptor replacement it stalled like this too, and would also buck. But it was never under powered. I replaced the CAM interruptor using the JB Weld method, but I do not see how that could cause the car the be under powered. I also don't know what I could have messed up to cause this doing the repair.

Anyway, I checked the intake for blockage - none. I sprayed mist over the wires to see if it would arc telling me the wires were bad - no arc. I pulled a couple of spark plugs and they looked suprisingly good. I am thinking of replacing the coil, wires, and plugs anyway. I am at a loss because this only started since the CAM repair. The car starts, idles, and shifts normal. It just feels like I am pulling an load and cannot maintain speed. I would like to hear any suggestions anyone has.

Thanks,
Doug

sounds like a cat to me if the plugs looked good. some shops will cut it off and look at it and weld it back up if its good for just a few bucks. either that, or one of the neighborhood kids stuck a potato up your tailpipe haha.

Hello,

I have replaced the plugs, wires, and the fuel filter and the car is acting the same, under powered. It starts and idles fine it just does not have any power.

I do have a question. I checked the fuel pressure with a manual gauge and when the engine is cold the fuel pressure is 40 psi pre-starting and at idle. I then ran the car and got it up to operating temp. and tested the fuel pressure again. This time with the engine up to temp the fuel pressure was 38 psi. I have no way to hook this gauge up to see what the pressure is driving).

Are these pressure readings normal or within specification? Could 38 - 40 psi fuel pressure be low enough to cause such a loss in power. What is the fuel pressure specification for a 1992 LeSabre? I cannot seem to find a definitive answer.

I still have not unbolted the exhaust to see if it is the cat, but other than being loud I would think that this would tell me if there is a restriction.

This car is giving me fits and I would like all opinions and suggestions. What would you do?

Again, thanks for your help.

Doug

38 to 40 on the fuel pressure is low. Should be up around 48. Before you go there, pull the vacuum hose off the fuel pressure regulator and smell for gas. If the vac line is sucking gas the FPR needs to be replaced.

Thank you for the reply. I thought that pressure may be low. The valve on this car is on the FPR and not on the rail. It does appear to be before the fuel fully enters the FPR.

I did check the vacuum line on the FPR. I did not smell it (figured it would smell like gas) but did look inside the hose for fuel. It was dry inside and around the end that attached to the FPR. I will double check again though before I replace the fuel pump.

I bought this car as a commuter and it has been giving me fits. I fix the Cam sensor and interruptor and now have loss of power. If the not the FPR I hope a new fuel pump will fix it.

Again, thanks for the reply
Doug

pumps do make less pressure when they start to go out but make sure you have full voltage at the pump before you replace it. you get some resistance in the connector or ground from corrosion it will be weak also.

Easy to check if the exhaust is plugged too...slightly higher (maybe not noticable) idle but it would tend to have higher vacuum readings..Take Luck!!!!

I would not replace the pump at this time. The readings you have are close to what my 93 LeSabre had and my problems were not the fuel pump.

You may want to inspect the MAF sensor. I tried cleaning mine but under a high power magnifier discover the heated wire was burnt completely away. The MAF tells the computer what the air flow is into the engine.