1995 Bonneville SE stalling and other electronic woes

Hello,
I'm writing on behalf of my father's 1995 Bonneville SE(3800 NA). A while back, the car started stalling intermittently. Basically it'd lose power while driving and usually catch and immediately restart(almost stuttering...but it did completely go out). Sometimes we noticed the voltage gauge sweeping just before this would happen.

Took it to a mechanic. They replaced alternator and checked wiring. Battery was only a little over a year old and tested fine. They were not able to reproduce the problem. It occurred again, took it back. They eventually replaced the cam position sensor. Still occured intermittently(about 3-4 times a week). Car has spark and basic wiring was checked.

Now, we noticed that sometimes, when you open the door, the door chime goes off, when the key's not even in the ignition.

It's been suggested that it might be the ECM...but that's a rather expensive part. My dad already purchased a new car to replace this, but we'd like to get it running to sell off. Any ideas?

Are you sure its the chime for keys being left in the ignition and not the lights being left on?

Are you sure its the chime for keys being left in the ignition and not the lights being left on?

Well..the lights aren't on. It's the repetitive ding that it makes if you leave the keys in and the doors open. Fairly common on cars. But the key's not in the ignition...at all.

When was the last time you changed plugs and wires.Also check the ground behind battery and make sure it is clean.

Wires are about two years old. Plugs were changed by the mechanic as a tune-up while he checked it out the first time.

Battery contacts are clean. Last year they had a problem where the positive battery cable failed(the connector's screw got stripped). The whole cable was replaced at the dealership and they cleaned up the contacts on the cables. The battery is only about a year old.

I have a 95 Bonneville with very similar problems. Could not find the problem in the wiring and have completed extensive checks. Still looking for hope! My car will stall simply by rocking the vehicle forward and back.:frown:

I have a 95 Bonneville with very similar problems. Could not find the problem in the wiring and have completed extensive checks. Still looking for hope! My car will stall simply by rocking the vehicle forward and back.:frown:
My 94 Bonneville was doing this. It happened when coasting at closed throttle. It was the egr valve. A new one costs $140 to $190, but easy to change. Good luck!

Just to let you know I did get the car running for 20,000 miles relatively good by adding a ground wire between the Engine and Frame. Initially the resistance was 20 MOhms, with a new wire it was 5 Ohms. Hope this helps.

the part with chime, had same problem found that light switch was shorting
out and making lights chime come on but not the lights. later ended up shorting out the dash light switch so we had no lights on the dash. It was burnt and melted a little. also had simular stalling problem and it was the connector in this pic http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=599636
just cleaned no problems since. it also is a 95 se

Does the car have spark when it's acting up? It sounds like a crank position sensor to me. The battery light comes on because the engine stalled and the alternator is no longer charging. On the chime issue, do you have a big wad-o-keys hanging from the ignition? It could be the ignition cylinder is worn, and the pin that senses the key is in is worn/dirty and stuck in it's bore, cauing the chime to go off.

I have a 95 Bonneville with very similar problems. Could not find the problem in the wiring and have completed extensive checks. Still looking for hope! My car will stall simply by rocking the vehicle forward and back.:frown:


i have a car with very similar problems as well, but it seems that it may be heat related. the car stalls, and is unable to start again until after a cooling period. it will crank over but will not start. just replaced the electronic ignition, thinking that was it but the problem still exists.

i have a car with very similar problems as well, but it seems that it may be heat related. the car stalls, and is unable to start again until after a cooling period. it will crank over but will not start. just replaced the electronic ignition, thinking that was it but the problem still exists.


Welcome to AF on your first post.
It would be better to start an new post on your problem.
But I will give you something to check.
First check for lose of spark or fuel preaaure or both when it does it.
And if all else fails and the fuel pressure is dropping or fuel pump quiting.
And or power windows and other stuff acting up.
Check the grounding bar under floor mat at left front door sill area.
A lot of stuff is grounded right there. Like fuel pump and power windows>
MT

As far as the chimmer and instrument panel going dead, I found out the problem was realted to the Headlight switch. By the way, your tail lights were also effective by this bad switch. They are all related. Bet you did notice that. I filed out a complaint to the NHTB, they did care. The wires get too hot which melts the domino size connector to the switch. I have had to replace my at least 4 times. The domino size switch is about 16.00. Only the dealer carries it. You then need to purcahse, again from the dealer, the small delphia connecters. Make sure to bring in one to make sure it matches and buy a few extra. The domino size connector GM part # fior the Headlight switch is 1212-9431, buy 2, just an keep a spare. GM did I nice job of designing this junk. That part of the reason they loosing market share.

good luck.

thanks,i have a garage appt today.

Crank sensor usually gives problems stalling and starting when hot.

Crank sensor usually gives problems stalling and starting when hot.

That was mentioned in the original post all the way at the top JDQ.

my bonneville is doing the exact same thing as Charge's. i was going down the freeway about 70 mph and car died started right back up. lost all lights and everything. took it to the shop and they replaced my fuel pump. it stalled on my way home from picking it up. they have now had it for 3 days and said there is nothing wrong with it and it hasn't stalled on them. i asked them why would a bad fuel pump restart my clock? Charge did you figure out what was wrong with your dads?

I have posted this same idea on several posts, but I hope you may find it helpful.... My 95 was stalling, dying, and other random problems. I added a ground to the engine.. ran a separate wire from the engine block to the engine, all problems went away, then several months later car just died, then I had to ground No. 86 black and white wire on the Junction block where the Fuel pump relay is installed. Good luck!

i have a car with very similar problems as well, but it seems that it may be heat related. the car stalls, and is unable to start again until after a cooling period. it will crank over but will not start. just replaced the electronic ignition, thinking that was it but the problem still exists.

I found that this could be that one of the wires that are by the engine is getting to hot. I took my 95 se bonneville up to Minnesota over summer and that was the problem. It was the cable that hooked from the battery to the altenator. After i moved it to the top of the plastic peice of the 3.8 38oo 2 engine cover, she worked like a bueaty.

my bonneville is doing the exact same thing as Charge's. i was going down the freeway about 70 mph and car died started right back up. lost all lights and everything. took it to the shop and they replaced my fuel pump. it stalled on my way home from picking it up. they have now had it for 3 days and said there is nothing wrong with it and it hasn't stalled on them. i asked them why would a bad fuel pump restart my clock? Charge did you figure out what was wrong with your dads?

I've heard that its a problem for the bonnevilles. I read something about it on http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/Used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2092/act/usedcarreviewshowall/
It said Automatic transmission: 4T60E transmissions may drop out of drive while cruising; shift erratically; or have no second, third, or fourth gear because of a bad ground connection for the shift solenoids. (1992-94)
Automatic transmission: The 4T60E automatic transmission can suddenly go into neutral at highway speeds due to a problem with internal shift valves. (1995-97)