Hello folks,

Skip to the end if you aren't interested in the history of this...

I've been having problems since I bought my first car - a '95 Trans Sport 3.8L, about a month ago.

First off the A/C wouldn't blow - that got fixed somehow after taking it to a mechanic - they said we needed a new solenoid, which made sense. We'd taken it in for a different problem though (see below) and so declined to fix the A/C, which worked from the time we drove it out of the lot.

We took it back the following day to have the main problem investigated - the van surges at ~45mph or so - around the shift from 1st to 2nd. Mechanics replaced the sparks and wires, and fuel filter (it was filthy), and suggested Accron, which we have used twice since.

The van ran nicer for a while, but still surges occasionally, usually either at ~45mph or so, or when under load uphill.

Now we find that in addition the van occasionally refuses to start. The engine turns over, but doesn't 'kick in.'

We're thinking it might be the coil, so I'm going to try and borrow a multimeter this weekend and check it out. So...

What I was going to ask is:

Does anybody have the primary/secondary resistance for the coil in a '95 3.8 Vin L?

Thanks for this and any other suggestions in advance,

wryx10

Primary listed as 0.5 to 0.9 ohm, secondary at 5k to 8K ohms, all at 70 F
Jeff

Thanks!

SHifting from 1 to 2 at 45 mph seems somewhat high....either you are flooring it, or the transmission modulator has a problem...not sure if it still has the external vacuum modulator in '95 though....will check that out.
NOw..how cna the engine "surge" when it is in gear? do you mean it accelerates the car and slows down by itself..or is it due to an unstable gear change that revs the engine up and down..?
About "coil"...that would be "coils"....as there are 3, and I so not consider them to be involved directly in that problem. HOwever, refusing to start might involve either the crank sensor or the ignition electronic module...under the coils. THe ignition module is a risky part at that age, and having a spare (d1977a) is a must in my opinion...mine ('93) failed 3 years ago...and changing t for a new one from e-bay is 70$ and a few minutes. ..
http://www.avigex.ca/xport/d1977a.jpg
THe crank sensor is a common culprit also...but if it fails at times as the engine continues running, it should pop a code....and changing it is a chore..the crank front balancer has to come...not an easy task.

It's this kind of problem:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=937516

A kind of shuddering under load, uphill, and now at various times, often after driving for a while - it's usually good to start with.

We found a good mechanic who looked at and tested the harmonic balancer, found that to be fine but fixed something around there (I'll post what that was when I remember) and now the car starts okay, but the shuddering is still happening.

I guess we're going back to the mechanic and I'll keep you folks updated - it seems to be a not uncommon problem with a few possible solutions.