95 Bonneville SE Intermiitent stall code PO342

Hello,
My 95 Bonneville has had this code appear twice, PO342. I replaced the camshaft position sensor first. The code reappeared about two weeks later. I then disconnected and reconnected all connectors from the engine position sensors clear back to the PCM. Another symptom is a sudden stall at high speeds and stop signs. It has a 3.8 liter K code V-6, California emmisions. The car has 215,000 miles. It runs absolutely great with a small amout of oil consumption,( highway miles). Anyone else have this problem?

Ive seen it be as much as TPS, ECM or ICM.You said you change cam sensor, did you check to see if the magnet was still there.Another possibility is crank sensor.You can go thru many parts with these symptoms.Best bet would be unless you have spare wrecker parts is to find out how to trouble shoot these to eliminate them without spending on parts.Check coil resistance, check Tps ohms to see if it is missing, check that your harness to icm is in good shape and tight.Also clean your battery cables.

I am having the same problems with my 1995 bonneville i am getting an Intermiitent signal from cam shaft sensor and i replaced it it worked great for about a week then it back to normal again keeps stalling at low rpm's randomly and dies even going down the highway some times. and i have no idea i've also repalced the IAC and TPS and running out of ideas.

This was written in another forum... you might find it useful. Vehicles that have a few years on them and/or live in the northern states can have a real problem with corrosion on the ground busses by each front door. Checkout the link below for info and pics of these busses.

If you haven't yet, try cleaning the ground bus, per this techinfo article.
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/kb.php?mode=article&k=102

94 Bonny, SSE 3.8 non supercharged

This thing would die at idle, sometimes at driving speeds, whenever it wanted to. It would always start back up immediately. History codes pointed at the cam sensor and crank sensor.

I replaced cam sensor, ignition control module, spark plugs, swapped out each coil one and time between problem issues, mass airflow sensor, checked fuel pressure, fuel pressure regulator, fuel filter, cleaned grounds, checked the ignition switch, replaced the key with no success. All the stuff you read about on the forum.

A local mechanic said to clean the idle air control. His 90 Bonny did the same thing and when the problem would start, he would pull the throttle body and clean the idle air control value.

So about a month ago, I cleaned it up. I also did my best to clean inside the intake manifold and the throttle body itself while I had it off the engine. I made that thing shine.

I have always believed that intermittent problems are electrical issues. So I also pulled the connections to the ECM and cleaned them with contact cleaner. Wish I wouldn’t have done that cause now I don’t know what solved the problem. It has not stalled in over a month. I believe a lot of intermittent issues are solved not by the replaced of a sensor but by the reseating and cleaning of the connectors. But that just what I think.

Oh by the way I work for a connector company that makes connectors for the automotive industry.

Hopefully it will continue to run good.

Also I think I have finally found a combination of hardware and software to display the ODB?? data on this beast with the ODB system between ODBI and ODBII systems and its cheap if you have a laptop. More on that later.

Bratfry
Help with the OBD?? data acquisition on OBDI and OBDII vehicles.
Where'd you find the HW and SW for this?

I agree with you on the "fix" you found. I would believe it was the contact cleaner that fixed the issue.
I have the same type of problem (just with no codes) that these guys (crazy8 and johershey) are having but the throttle plate and IAC have been cleaned recently. So, I'd say the IAC cleaning probably didn't stop the stalling, especially if it stalls off idle (driving speeds).

Thanks for the tip. I'll let you know if it works on my car... '95 Bonneville.

Bratfry,
I tried the contact cleaner, but alas, it did not remedy the problem. I think I'm going to replace the PCM since that seems to be the most common fix with 94-95 Bonnevilles exhibiting this type of problem.
Again, I'll let you know if it DOES fix the problem.

The PCM change took care of the problem. I installed the reman'd PCM and let it run for more than an hour (wouldn't run for more than 30 minutes tops before) and never missed a beat.
I've heard that 94-95 PCMs were the worst PCMs ever built... food for thought.:grinno:

Great, Well If mine starts acting up again, I know what I'm going to do... Replace that sucker quickly.. I still believe, intermittent problems are electrical. Hope it goes another 100K.

Yes, the 94-95 PCM's are an issue, because they were a hybrid design that bridged the gap between OBD-I and OBD-II. These hybrid cars are tricky to diagnose and repair, due to their odd design.

Another issue that can cause a cam position sensor code in the 3800 is a degraded or missing interruptor magnet in the cam gear that the CMPS gets it's signal from. It's more prevalent in the older VIN-L/C/3 3800's than in the Vin-K's, but still an issue.