Alright, I've got this 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix here with the 3.8L V6. It'* got the classic 3 coil packs mounted atop the Ignition Control Module. She started running real rough out of nowhere and had a flashing CEL. I popped the hood and after a quick visual inspection, I pulled the spark plug wires off of the coil packs one at a time. One coil was not firing. Before I called the coil, I switched it with another and noticed that the one that wasn't firing was now and the one I put in its place was not firing anymore. I felt underneath and the ICM is really hot only under the coil that was failing to fire. All the wires and connections appear clean and seem to be making a good connection. I figure the module must have power and ground or the other 2 coils wouldn't be firing so no point in checking that. I know that some of these other wires are related to cam and crank sensors, but again i don't think it'd be running at all if those were faulty. So the question becomes, could the ECM be at fault in some way or is this a pretty safe call to make that the ICM is bad? I just don't wanna throw a $130 part on there and it still be doing this. Any input and advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

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Matt

I'm trying to figure out your post because you obviously did not proof read it before posting it. If you swapped coils and the problem followed it then you have a bad coil.
Unfortunately here on the internet we see a lot of posts with typos and missing punctuation so please read before you post.

I think you are on the right track. If the coil of concern started working again when you moved it to a different position, I would suspect the ICM is to blame.

The engine will not start with a faulty crank sensor, and the CAM sensor is used to reference when #1 passes by, to properly sequence the fuel injection.

If cost is a concern, I would hit up the local salvage yards. The hotspot could have been a symptom of the failure, or something else could be to blame as well. ICM failure is fairly uncommon and the yards should have loads of 3800'*. Might be good to grab spare coils while you are there, just in case.

ICM as described....