1992 Bonneville - will crank but not start

[michelle028]

I am about to the point of screaming. I just bought (FRIDAY!) a used 1992 Bonneville. It ran fine over the weekend. Then yesterday afternoon the check engine light came on. All fluid levels were fine so I figured it could wait until this Friday when I get paid to have a mechanic check it out. So I get home around 5:30pm yesterday and the car is running fine. I turn it off and then come back out around 10:30pm, go to start it and get nothing. It cranks and cranks but won't turn over. We have tried two different ignition keys thinking it was the security system somehow and that doesn't help.

Any ideas?

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by michelle028

I am about to the point of screaming. I just bought (FRIDAY!) a used 1992 Bonneville. It ran fine over the weekend. Then yesterday afternoon the check engine light came on. All fluid levels were fine so I figured it could wait until this Friday when I get paid to have a mechanic check it out. So I get home around 5:30pm yesterday and the car is running fine. I turn it off and then come back out around 10:30pm, go to start it and get nothing. It cranks and cranks but won't turn over. We have tried two different ignition keys thinking it was the security system somehow and that doesn't help.

Any ideas?

Welcome to af, now, there are many possibilities here, first does it have spark to the plugs, is there sufficient fuel pressure at the rail, what is the cel code, see what I mean, all the basic diagnostics must be done to narrow the problem. If it was a security system problem the engine most likely wouldn't crank at all.

[michelle028]

It is getting fuel - that has been checked. There is power going to the coil pack but no spark from the plugs. I had a neighbor helping me and he took the batter cable off to try and reset it or something, and I was told when I called a mechanic that I can't get the codes now until the car starts again?

According to my owner's manual what it is doing is what it would do if the strip on the key went bad, but we are trying the second key now and it isn't doing anything more than what it was doing before. Of course we have no idea if the second key works or not because the idiot who sold me the car never checked (when the car was running) to make sure the copy key worked.

Did I mention this is the 2nd car from the same dealership in two weeks that I have had problems with? If it weren't for the fact that I gave them all of my money I would go somewhere else, but since that isn't an option I have to figure out what is wrong with this one.

Oh and thanks for the welcome.

[richtazz]

The key chip kills the fuel pump, so you can rule that out as you say you're getting fuel. The ignition module can be taken to an Advance or Auto-Zone to be tested for free. If it passes, you most likely need a crankshaft position sensor.

[michelle028]

Thanks. We had both the key and the ignition thing checked and like you said, they were fine. I also managed to get the codes out. It turns out that it is the crank position sensor. I bought one - ended up it was the wrong one so we took that back and go the correct one. The other will *hopefully* be put in tonight so I will let you know what happens.