94/95 bonneville problem

so my girlfriend's bonneville just dies randomly at any RPM while idling or driving. it's happened before on the highway and i dont want her to freak out and get into an accident because of it.

just before the car dies the check engine light flashes and it dings 3 times. silimar sound to that of a courtesy chime (when the doors are open and the key is in) but it's faster. the car will also start right back up as if nothing happened.

i pulled each plug off of the coil pack and post/wire #5 was all corroded. i had her start the car up and there was still spark arching from the post to the wire.

a car needs 3 things: fuel, air, spark. im convinced it's not the pump because the car will start back up and run fine. im not sure about the spark - can coil packs go bad, but still run? and i haven't checked the air filter yet. could it be the fuel filter?

i dont want to go throwing money at problems.

also where is the harness to read the codes from the computer?

go to the junk yard and buy a air flow meter and a map sensor. go ahead and install them your self all you need is a phillips screw driver

go to the junk yard and buy a air flow meter and a map sensor. go ahead and install them your self all you need is a phillips screw driver

not throwing money at a problem. first you diagnose it.

I don't want you to throw money at the problem, the best thing to do would be to have it checked out by someone. the harness to check the codes is under the dash. right above where your feet would go if u were driving the car...................if u take to autozone they might say they can't do a check engine light service because it's a o.b.1 or something like that. I was having the same problem until about 3days ago and for the time being my car is running fine.

My car is doing the exact same thing. I have a 1994 SE. Mine is running kind rough also. It acts like there is a bad coil pack but I had a few that I know are good and by process of elimination have determined that the coil packs are not the problem. I am getting some plugs and wires this weekend and replacing them as it needs it anyway. It has just over 235,000 miles and was running like a top before this die "ding ding ding" thing came about and now rough running.

My email is [email protected]

If someone posts a fix tothis please let me know. If I figure it out I will post here as well.

Hi guys, exact same problem here. I have tried to get a code reader, but obd 1 doesnt fit and obd 2 wont link (Im told that 94-95 was a transition year and that i need a obd 1 with a obd 2 adapter ($400!!!) Ive also been told that you can manually extract the codes by bypassing the a and b pins on the port and counting the SES light flashes. If this is true does anybody know how to decifer the flashes. I really appreciate any help you can give me!! Thanx in advance. Brad

I think you can only do the manual code retrieval p to year 1993, not positive.Best bet is to get code read though other wise its guessing game.You can check all battery cables are not corroded , check under boots too,check all grounds are clean.Make sure harness connector is tight to ICM and apply diaelectic grease to all connections.If plugs and wires havent been change in a while , change them.You can check coils with multimeter.These are the cheap or free things to check but without code its speculation.

Rock it man - if you retrieve code it will flash two sequences. flash... pause... flash flash ( 1 flash pause 2 flashes - means code 12 ) it alaways starts with code 12 meaning system is ok, this will flash 4 times and then problem code will flash.After problem codes are done it will flash code 12 again.If you post codes on here someone will tell you what they are.

Chimming makes me think that you could be losing power to the computer.
Disconnect the battery cables.
Remove the bolts & rubber boots from the cables.
Clean any corrosion off the cable ends with sandpaper or wire brush.
Apply dielectric grease to help prevent future corrosion & reassemble.
** Very important to remove the boot so corrosion can be removed where the two cables come together. **
Let us know what you find.

PS - you can't get codes on 94/95 by jumping the terminals. You need a reader/scanner for those specific years. Sometimes referred to as OBD 1.5.

1991vert - you shouldn't be seeing arcing at the coils. You must have a bad coil or wires.