1990 PA Electra and My mechanic

Here's the problem...My 1990 Electra will suddenly cut out on me while driving or idling. It doensnt make any noise...no choking, sputtering...not a peep. It happened this past week and 2 weeks prior to that. It has 110,000 miles on it. Two weeks ago I was on the highway and the everything went dead. The lights, radio and engine. I threw the car into nuetral and tried to restart it. After several attempts it started again. On Tuesday I was sitting in the car while it was idling. Totally shut off on me again. After a few minutes it restarted. I took it to my mecahic yesterday and he suggested I put in a new electronic ignition module, a new IAC and a new distributor (with cap and rotor). Before I put money into this, please let me know if any of these may help the situation or if he's just blowing smoke up my a**. The ECM was replaced two weeks ago. Oxygen sensor was replaced abt 2 yrs ago. I dont want this to become a money pit. Thanks again for all of your help.

Annie

IAC=Idle Air Controller-probably not an issue.
Distributor~not even on a 1990 Buick. To my knowledge, they don't use carburators.
Might be a module. However, if under heavy acceleration, and the motor vibrates or feels like it is being "starved" or "held back", I would likely think of the ignition coil(s).
Anything else that I should add to this list?

Well, I had a situation where I would make a turn, or hit a bump, or just occaisionally would lose everything and then it would come back on. Turned out a mechanic had stripped the threads of the positive side of the battery.

I'm not trying to be silly here, check and make sure you have excellent tight connections at the battery first. New bolts cost a couple of dollars and will save lots of frustration, and clear up lots of odd little electrical things.

The next thing I would do is check and make sure the power connection atthe relay center is tight.

The IAC is a good possibility, GM has a bulletin out for it. The PROBABLE ause is the ECM. Have someone tap on the ecm with a screwdriver while going down the road and see if this makes the vehicle stall.. it's been a long time since i've worked on these.. I've beena t the same buick dealership for 14 years.. Also, the Crankshaft Position Sensor could be an issue.

The crankshaft or camshaft position sensor will cause the engine to die unexpectedly and you will be able to restart after a few minutes. BUT... I don't think that this, or the ECM for that matter, would cause everything to die. The original email said the lights, radio and engine went dead. This sounds more like a bad battery connection than anything expensive.

I would also be wary of any mechanic that wanted to replace components that do not exist on the car.

fwiw

The crankshaft or camshaft position sensor will cause the engine to die unexpectedly and you will be able to restart after a few minutes. BUT... I don't think that this, or the ECM for that matter, would cause everything to die. The original email said the lights, radio and engine went dead. This sounds more like a bad battery connection than anything expensive.

I would also be wary of any mechanic that wanted to replace components that do not exist on the car.

fwiw


I partly disagree, the ECM will cause complete failure of the vehicle, including shutting down, no power, etc. You don't have a distributor in your car, so your mechanic is smoking. If the car is running fine then shutting down, check the ECM and or Replace, and Check battery connections. IAC has nothing to do with it either.

I’m with Clay Bee on this one. It sounds like you have a power/ground distribution problem.

Check battery, relay and ground connections. Make sure everything is clean, tight and corrosion free. Use good lighting and look for chaffed insulation. Check for poor connections behind the fuse block. Try wiggling wires and connections with the engine running. If the vehicle shuts down you have located the problem circuit. Be careful when doing this because a running engine can bite. The ignition switch or its connector is another possibility.

Just a few more thoughts.

If you are losing headlights and or dash lights you can move wires aroud with the engine off and check for a change in condition.

If this vehicle is equipped with a main or common relay it could be failing. I checked my 89 98 and there does not appear to be any such relay but the Park Avenue may have a slightly different layout. I looked at a wiring diagram at the library and found a relay labled MAIN but it may be for the ABS. Where is a good wiring diagram when you need it?????

I replaced my ecm cause the car would die whenever it was hot,for no reason,a jolt or bump would stop it dead in its tracks.It turned out to be the ecm wiring was bad,they route it across the water pump,and every one of them does it.I went to the junk yard,and they all had bad wiring in the exact same spot.about ten of them i came across the wires leading to the ecm were fried about a foot away from the ecm plug.i had to take several things off just to get to where the wires were bad.When it dies again,grab the ecm wires,and give them a light tug,or giggle,and try it again.
Unfortunatly i couldnt find available wiring for one of those,so i went to radio shack,and bought some shrink tube,and wires,and soldered my own.