Single Mom needs good advice

[stephanies]

I have just read every post on the Lumina Forum, what a great web site.
I have a 1994 Lumina Van 3.1. The problem I'm having started the other day , I was driving and the van just stopped almost like I turned the key off, it wouldnt restart. Took it to the shop was told dead battery $155 dollars later I drove out of the shop around the corner and the van cut off again, brought it back , was told it needed a new it had no ignition spark and no fuel injector pulse, and needed a new pickup coil. $243.00 later was told problem was fixed, drove out of shop and guess what, van died again. I am just about out of patience with this mechanic and just about of cash, Does anyone have any idea what this problem could be? Thanks in advance all of the people responding to this forum seem to really know their stuff.

[tblake]

no injector pulse and no spark? take the battery back and demand your money back. i would agree to check out the ignition module, but it seems more to me like the ecm needs to be replaced because of the absence of both the fuel injector pulse and spark. is the check engine light on? If so, hook it up to a scan tool. autozone does it for free.

[stephanies]

The check engine light is not on , Where is the ecm located and is it something I can get at the part store ? maybe I'll just try to replace that on my own and see what happens Thanks for the advice

[richtazz]

A 94 3.1 APV still has a distributor, so the ignition module and distributor pick-up coil are different than on a DIS car 3.1 engine. Injector pulse and spark are both triggered by the pick-up coil in the distributor. I don't believe the ECM is your problem, but to answer your question, it is located in the passenger compartment behind the glove box.

[stephanies]

Replaced the ignition module , problem solved van runs great again Thanks for the help.

[quteasabutton]

and find a new mechanic, one that knows what they're talking about and won't try and take you for your money. i know a lot of girls that won't take their own cars to the shop because as soon as they see you're a girl they'll take advantage of you (to get your money cuz they assume we don't know what we're talking about when it comes to cars). so if you have a good male friend you trust with your car, talk to him about taking it in for you next time. also talk to some people or shop around for a new mechanic.