95 Bonneville 3.8l vin.K wont start

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by Tonedog

I upgraded all my power & ground cables ( the cheap factory stuff ) & went to a marine store & bought the 1OT cable after measuruing what I needed & had them crimp all the 5/16th's terminals & heat shrink to all my cables. The bigger wire carrys more current, therefor giving all your electonics the power & ground they've been starving for, it made a big difference. Might wanna think about it for your own cars.

Thanks for bringing this up, this is very good info for others to have! I have been doing the same upgrade since back in the mid-80's. In addition to soldered positive terminals, I use gold plated battery studs to attach the cables to the battery. I have never had an electrical problem of any type since this upgrade! Click Here

[Tonedog]

Hey HottZ28, you got the same set up as me, gold terminals & all, except you used all black cables. Did you use HTML codes to post your pics on here? or is there a photo upload button I dont see.

[HotZ28]

If you look at the top of the message box, you will see this icon Click on it & enter the URL of your img from the img hosting service of your choice.

[Tonedog]

thanks, I see it now, I'm still trying to get used to this site. So....Hott, do you moderate this entire site? I see other questions on this site I might be able to help out with, but I see you already replied to a few, I don't wanna step on any toes. How does that all work here? If you answer first, does the other person step back or does it not matter. I know to many replies can be confuzing to some people.

[HotZ28]

Feel free to step in anywhere you want, you will not offend anyone. We are here to offer advice and help others save money. Different, or varying opinions are important & sometimes help resolve the problem sooner. This is how we provide a community service to those with less experience. Yes, I am a global moderator, which means I can moderate anywhere, but basically hang around the Buick Forms, where I share most of my "free advice"!

[Tonedog]

Awsome, Thanks again HottZ28, it was a pleasure meeting you btw. I'm glad this site exist, like you said, where all here to save a buck & keep our cars running.

[mrricha]

My 94 Pontiac Bonneville won't run either. I drove it to work it ran fine six hrs later tried to crank it and it turned over fine but would not start. poured gas down breather tube and engine fired right up and got me almost home. Poured gas agian to get rest of way home. tried starter fluid wouldn't work tried gas fires right up and runs till gas is used then will turn over all day but won't fire up. So what is a pcm anyway? Any advice am lost?

[Tonedog]

PCM is the brain/computer of the car, also known as ECM...PCM=Power Control Module, ECM=Electronic Control Module. It accepts & delivers information to all the sensors. You mentioned having to pour gas to get car to run, have you checked for fuel pressure?

[Drivingzzz]

RE: mrricha I have a 95 bonne sse with the same problem after many forums the common 'bugs' have surfaced thanks to the age of this car. Roughly 80% relates to a grounding problem on a ground plate located on the drivers side rocker panel. To check you will have to remove the door trim lifting up the carpet to expose. There are 7 black wires all connected to the plate. One of the wires yes goes to the fuel pump. What happens is you get a leak somewhere (mine in the lr wheel well) water gets in soaks the insulation under the carpet never leaves because the carpet is rubberized underneath and corrodes the plate. All the stranded wires turn black with carbon and quit or intermittently work. Some were 'black' 1 1/2 feet mine was 5! Trace the wire(s) from the plate until they are clean splice solder heat shrink etc. This corrected most although remember when troubleshooting there is always the possability of multiple issues. When you see the plate it will be obvious and you will have to take the plate apart. I would replace with a terminal strip and move to to higher ground.

[mrricha]

Hey, thanks for answering Tonedog. No I have not tried checking for fuel pressure. I don't have the equipment and wouldn't know how. I 'm a shadetree and I totally wing it. If the problem is too tough I take my vehicle to the garage but times are tough so I have to fix it myself. It was running fine then It wouldn't fire up. I figure some kind of electronic gizmo went bad that I could just change. Any ideas?

[mrricha]

Hey, thanks for answering Drivingzzz. That is very interesting about the ground plate i did not know that and I will remember that bit of info for future trouble shooting. I pulled the fuel line (just befor the fuel injector feed tube) and turned the key on and fuel gushed out so I know that the fuel pump is working. It seems like i'm getting fuel right up to the injectors
then nothing. I am fearful about messing with injectors the they look complicated and I don't know anything about them anyway. Any ideas? Anybody.

[Tech II]

Well, if you have proper fuel pressure and it runs with carb cleaner being sprayed into the intake, then the injectors probably aren't being pulsed....disconnect an injector harness and attach a noid light.....it should flash when you crank the engine......if it doesn't, bad ICM, bad ECM/PCM, or bad wiring in between.......