Weird problem

Hi gang,

I just recently started having problems with my 96 3.1 lumina.
When the problem first appeared the car just died.. I could get it started and it would idle for about 30 secs to a minute then it would die.. I hadnt done anything to it and now it idles ok but in park and i rev it up to 4,000 rpms it starts to cut out and drops to about 3,000 rpms then back to 4,000 consistently. I had a friend at Autozone hook it to a computer and he said that the error given is the cam sensor? is sending an error and that it could be my spark plugs or wires faulty.. So i changed all the wires and just the front plugs because the back ones are a pain to get to. The problem is still there. Anyone have anything i can try before i go and get an engine tilter to change the back plugs?

Thanks in advanced,
Bill

Don't rev the engine to 4k in neutral, why do this anyway. There is a rev limiter built into the pcm to prevent just such an event!!

Sounds like replacing the cam sensor might be a good place to start, since that's what it told you it needs?

It's behind the power steering pump.

Thanks for the replies,


So if im understanding you correctly then it is normal that the car hesitates when reved to 4,000 RPM's?
Only reason i did that, is when the car first acted up i had to rev it in order to keep it running and it hesitated at 4000 so i figured that was a symptom from what ever caused it to die. But as i said, it hasnt died on me since i let it sit for two days. Not sure if it might have gotten something in the tank to cause it to run bad or not..

Thanks again,
Bill

so then the 96 3.1 lumina does in fact have a limiter on it?
I would like to know so i can try and depend on my car.. Right now it is driving ok.. but still the hesitation is there.. I wasnt sure if the hesitation was related to the car dieing or not since i had never reved it up to 4k rpms before the problem happened.
Thanks again in advance,
Bill

Yes, the ECM on your car has a rev limiter that kicks in at 4000 rpm when the car isn't in gear. This keeps you from blwoing it up free revving it too hard. The cam sensor is what is causing your hesitation/ no start. When the cam sensor gets hot, the windings start to break down. The cam sensor no longer sends a signal to the ECM, so it cannot adjust timing advance correctly, causing the engine to hesitate and sometimes die.

Ok thanks Rich and others.. Will check on a new cam sensor..
Thanks again gang,
Bill

try an oxygen sensor

I had a very similar problem on my '95 Lumina 3.1 It would die at first, then be ok, then rev 4000 then be ok then IT DIED ON THE FREEWAY.. Turned out to be a loose connection on the computer module. It's worth a check.

Well i changed the cam sensor (which was suprisingly easy) and the problem has gone away for now..Hopefully that was the culprit.. Thanks all for your help :)
Bill


Edit: Also while i had the serpentine belt off, I went ahead and replaced it it.. was not in bad condition.. just a little frayed on one side.. cost was $49 for the sensor and $17 for the belt. :)