94 Regal dies without warning and does not start/95 LeSabre dies without warning II

[mariley]

Since the 95 LeSabre Dies Without Warning thread was closed, I am opening this one to continue the discussion.

My last posting was about my 94 Regal GS that had the same problem as the LeSabre, and "timrice" solved by replacing the crank sensor. I said that replacing the ignition module connector seemed to help the problem for me. It turns out that I still had the problem and I got really tired of being stuck often where it would not start for hours, or it would die on the freeway.

I took it to Midway Buick in Phoenix and had it diagnosed. One other shop told me it was the ignition module which I had already replaced. I did not want to waste more money and time, and did not want to replace the PCM (ECM) and still have the problem, as I had replaced all the parts other than the PCM and crank sensore.

When I took it in, can you believe that it did not exhibit the problem of not starting after it is warmed up and shut off? It did act like it missed, and it had a lack of power. The tech and I decided to replace the crank sensor, and he said it was a part that failed for models using this 3.8L engine setup. So I had it replaced and since then I have not had the problem anymore. The check engine light does not light up when I start the engine sometimes as it used to, car does not die on the freeway, and it seems like a new car to me. It cost me $279 to have the crank sensor replaced. The car still misses once in a while, and I was told I should put in new GM wires and replace the after-market ones I have. Missing might also be due to carbon buildup from having eratic timing from a bad crank sensor which left the timing not syncronized when it was failing. Anyway, it does not miss much, just once in a while, and the problem I had is finally gone.

I also had the a/c made to work. If the freon gets low, the PCM/ECM creates an error code and does not allow the compressor clutch to engage. The code must be cleared and freon added. Now I have a/c and reliability!

I hope this helps all the Buick owners that have this problem. Rather than spend the whole weekend replacing the crank sensor, take your car to the Buick dealer. They have better equipment to read codes specific to the car that other shops don't have (so I am told). Don't try to save money and wasted time fixing it yourself, unless you have the time and want to live with the problem as I did, and replace unnecessary parts.