2001 Olds runs rough - smokes - came on suddenly

[Eric29412]

Have a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero, 2.4L 4 cylinder, 125,000 miles. For the past month when driving under load, the car would occasionally misfire (not every day - maybe once a week), and the "Check Engine" and "Low Trac" lights would be on, but then always correct itself a few moments later, and those lights would go off. The car would also run very rough with the AC on, but run fine again when I shut it off. Anyway, I parked the car for three days, then got in, drove about 6 miles down the road as usual, and then all of a sudden, it died. I tried restarting it, it took a while, and the car ran extremely rough, it smoked, smelled like something was burning, wouldn't hold an idle, and then, after a few minutes of revving, smoke would enter the passenger compartment from under the center console. I looked under the car, and it seemed the smoke was coming from the manifold area. Interesting note: this smoke didn't seem to be coming from the tailpipe, but rather from the manifold area, and directly under the car! I am not sure if I might have a clogged catalytic converter, or my O2 sensor may be bad, but would those things also account for the bad idle? And would they come on so suddenly? My mechanic changed the coil pack and plug boots some months ago. Today, I just changed the plugs, but it made no difference. Consequently, I also replaced what I thought was a bad coolant temperature sensor (read it somewhere on another site).

The other day, I brought the car back to the mechanic, and he said "the module is bad"... "Which module? The ECM? Which one?" He said, "No, not the ECM. The other one. On the outside." I asked him to show me - he said "Why would I show you? You are just gonna fix it yourself and cheat me!" What the hell does he mean by "outside module"? I lost respect for the guy, and had a friend drag me home. I can't get the car to another shop or auto parts store to get the codes checked, and I'm not sure if I can rent a code sensor from someone... Any ideas? My senses tell me to invest in a new ignition control module, maybe an AC pressure sensor, and a new O2 sensor, but I don't want to arbitarily start buying stuff if it won't fix the problem. Any help would be most appreciated! Eric

[ricebike]

i dunno if autozone still "rents" the obd ii scanner... i had to basically pay for the tool in full and return it and get a full refund when i was done.

sucks that you replaced a perfectly working temperature sensor... the code scanner can tell you if that was bad (or the wiring to it was broken)

yea, he's talking about the ignition control module, an expensive part and probably won't show it on the scan... wow find another trustworthy mechanic i guess

http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/dtcobd2p.html#pow

the 300's are the ignition trouble codes and i don't see that on there
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i guess you or the mechanic already checked/changed the serpentine belt that runs all your accessories? and also checked the tensioner?

there's a trouble code for you o2 sensor as well... so don't be replacing any more things that are running, although the sensor does wear out over time, like spark plugs

did the mechanic also checked for exhaust leaks? like the manifold gasket?

[Eric29412]

Ok, I got a scanner, and unfortunately it could not read any code... it gave me a "0". Just to test the scanner, I visited my neighbor, who has an Olds Intrigue, and she just happened to have a check engine light... I used the scanner to diagnose her P0410, and it worked fine.

After I plugged the scanner into my Alero, and got no code, I hit the reset button, and started my car. It still ran rough, but a little better than before.

I have an ignition control module on order... I will switch it out, and see if that doesn't do the trick. We'll soon see.