Buick - Century :: No Start When Damp Or Rough Idle After Starting
Dec 17, 2013
When damp or foggy, my 1990 Buick Century 3.3 will either not start or start and idle rough. Spraying WD-40 on coil packs and wires work. I tried click and clack's method of misting water on the 3 coil packs and wires when idling, and got arching on middle coil, # 2 wire to top of coil pack. Do I need to replace that coil, or just the spark plug wires? The slight mist of water on that middle coil stalled the engine, and it would restart after WD- 40 was sprayed on the coils/ wires.
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[URL] I even pulled the same P0170 code. And what I need to do before I spend a boatload of money and wind up sleeping in my car instead of driving it to work or lack therof is to start a troubleshooting list starting from where Sabot's update left off, i dont even know where the vacuum line is that he mentions and if i sprayed carb cleaner on it would i get a jump in engine RPM or a stall as a test?
What I have done: Cleaned MAF sensor, changed fuel filter.
What I have not done: Checked all vacuum lines, Tested fuel pressure, Tested for compression issues due to blown head gasket.
there is also a puffing noise coming from the exhaust side of the engine, im gonna grab a bottle of baby powder this afternoon and test for air leaks, i dont believe it is a misfire...
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I have a 92' Century w/107 K miles that has a medium rough idle. This is a summer use vehicle for me. I have done the normal maintenance on this motor w/ new plugs and a good Napa wire set. Any bad vacume lines that I can get at have been replaced including the vacume tree on top of the motor. Has anybody had coil issues or ground issues with this motor?
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I own a 2001 Buick Century Limited that has 208k miles on it. A couple days ago I started the car up at a friends house and noticed that it had a loud rough idle and that the check engine light came on. When I drove the car home, the CEL would flash when I accelerated and I could smell something burning. When I released the gas pedal and coasted, the flashing CEL would return back to a solid state but I could still smell the burning. When I would accelerate, the CEL would start to flash again. Whenever I was stopped at a stop sign, the flashing CEL would again be solid and there would be a loud rough idle along with the same burning smell. Am I looking at an engine replacement or an easy fix? One problem or could it be multiple problems?
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So I have a 2000 Buick, and it generally starts. However, twice now at random times the car hasn't started. It doesn't turn over, but makes a buzzing sound. The strange thing is, that usually after leaving it alone for a few hours, it will start as though there are no problems. I assume it's some kind of electrical issue, but I would love some input on the possible problems with my car.
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About 2 weeks ago my 1997 Buick Park Ave (115,000 miles) began running bad during a heavy rain storm. It was running fine. Then all of a sudden at a stop light the motor hesitated and wanted to stall. I nursed the gas peddle and limped home and turned the car off. The car hesitated and sputtered all the way home as if I was running out of gas.The next day the car would not start. It turned over but would not start. I tried starting the car for three days. My mechanic friend later diagnosed the car and stated the computer was not functioning correctly. He replaced the computer. The new computer seemed to correct the problem.
The car ran great for the next 2 weeks. Yesterday, it was raining hard while I drove the car about 150 miles without any problem. Then suddenly again the motor started running badly. Again, the motor wanted to stall and hesitate as if I was running out of gas. I limped home again. This morning I tried to start the car without any luck. In addition to installing a new computer, In the last 2 months I have changed all the fuel injectors and installed new spark plugs.I have also changed the fuel pump and repaired the fuel tank. My mechanic say the cam sensor and crank sensor are operating correctly. There is spark coming from the coil packs and to the spark plugs. I do not want to randomly change parts.
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I have a 1995 Buick Century with 149,000 miles that will occasional and randomly idle rough when started warm. Also, on several occasions it will idle so rough it kills the engine and I'm unable to start the engine until the thermostat reads completely cold. I've taken it to 2 separate mechanics who both are unable to pull any error codes (even after the engine has died) and are unable to duplicate the problem. When it does idle rough most of the time I can rev the engine, put it in gear and drive it for a few minutes and the problem disappears. Other times I try to put it into gear and it kills, I put it into park and try to restart the engine and the engine will start for a brief second and then die and will die faster each time I restart until the engine doesn't turn over at all. Then once the thermostat reaches 'C' it starts up like there was no problem at all.
Here is a list of recent pertinent repairs:
- Replaced Battery 12/2/11
- Replaced plugs and wires 4/11/12
- Throttle Body Gasket and Fuel Filter Replaced 3/18/13
- PCV Hose replaced 2/19/14 (last mechanic's guess on the problem)
I don't notice any signs of a rich fuel mixture or abnormal exhaust (there was a discussion with a Buick with no start that had this).
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My grandpa's old wood paneled station wagon is sick. The idle seems to be getting rougher and rougher with every time I kill the battery (I've somehow left my headlights on four times in the past two months and needed a jump). It's to a point now where if I don't throw it in neutral at stop lights and keep a tiny bit of gas on the engine it stalls out.
Notes:*When it first gets jumped after being dead, if I stop even for a second, it dies instantly.*While cruising - it is fine. *It idles smoother stopped in neutral than it does stopped and in drive. *It seems a bit rougher with the engine is cold, but still rough and can stall with the engine hot. *Some random times it idles just fine (like for example the first few seconds on start up, and then it sounds like the engine is decreasing in rpm automatically, and then it is rough again).
Could the dying battery and rough idle be related?? The battery guy says "if it starts fine, the battery is fine" (it does start fine, although keeping the radio on for 20 minutes without it running will kill it).
Also other problems with my car in case this has anything to do with it: *I have a leaky tail pipe*my ABS has recently been randomly engaging at low speeds (next problem to work on...)
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1990 Buick Century w/3300 V6, fuel injection, less than 80,000 miles ... Vehicle may have had 200 miles p/yr put on it last 3 - 4 yrs. Was still regularly serviced. No previous problems no fluid leaks, clean motor.
Hesitated on hwy twice, wouldn't start after second hesitation, but did later & ran good. Wouldn't start for about 15 mins. after fueling once, but ran good when did start, had fuel pressure at sharder valve both times. Next trip after about 10 miles, started loosing power, finally quit, NO pressure at sharder valve. Towed in. Mechanic said ECM bad, changed it, ran idle, but would not accelerate, chk'd everything. Put different ECM in, same thing, idle, but won't accelerate, has chk'd fuel pressure, fuel regulator, ICM, CPS, everything can think of...
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I have a 2000 Buick Century that I cannot get to start. While my wife was driving home it started to sputter (like running out of gas) and did a little back firing. She made it home and I put in some gas (Just to make sure) and the care cranks over but will not start. I have replaced the fuel filter, checked the spark plugs and replaced the CAM Sensor. The car still will not start.
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1991 Buick Regal, 3800 V6
Having a rough idle on a cold start. After some research and closer inspection of the vehicle, I'm quite certain I have at least one leaking injector that is flooding a cylinder and causing the car to misfire on a cold start. I'm also not at the gas mileage I should be at.
So I'm wondering, is fuel injector replacement as straightforward of a job as it looks? Any major issues I could run into in doing a replacement?
I'm planning on replacing all six injectors (I can get them for $50 each buying online with a discount code), but given that the vehicle is so old am I better off just replacing the faulty ones? I'm assuming pulling the spark plugs and seeing which cylinder is wet will tell me which I need to replace.
And one more question: Is there a way to depressurize the fuel system when I park the car for the night, thus preventing fuel (or most of it) from leaking into the engine until I get this fixed? I've read that just unscrewing the gas cap can depressurize the system.
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My 03 Buick century is overheating. I changed the thermostat and the water pump. And still overheats as soon As I start driving. I am also getting when it is overheating some misfiring in cylindar 1. I am going to reflush and bleed the coolant even though it seems to be full . i dont think it is disappearing. Is it Possible i have a blown headgasket or intake manifold leak?
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2002 Buick century will sometimes not start. Seems to correlate with warmer weather and happens after long drives. I try to restart within 10 minutes of turning off and it will start and then in a few seconds the car shakes and the engine dies. I can restart multiple times, but it will always die in a couple of seconds. If I wait an hour and retry, no problem. Once someone banged on the gas tank and that solved it. Mechanic cannot diagnose problem unless it dies while he is there. Should I replace the fuel pump or could it be something else?
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Most of the time it has no problem what-so-ever, but once in a while it just doesn't start. It will turn over and over but that's it. Most of the time if I just let it sit for a few minutes (5-20) it will start right up no problem, but I've noticed when it does it often revs up as if I had my foot on the gas. (that took me a while to realize since I often touch the gas anyway.) Once it's running it runs great. The idle settles down to normal after a few seconds and the car runs as if there was no issue. It does this randomly.
I can drive it for days or hours with no problem, and then suddenly it just decides to leave me stranded. Usually i wait and it gets me home, but a couple times it didn't. I've drained the battery twice on two different occasions months apart trying it, and waiting and trying it. Both times with barely enough juice the following day to turn it over, it fired right up, rev'd the engine, then ran fine. I don't think it's an issue with fuel because on one occasion while trying to start it I laid into the peddle until I could smell gas under the hood- and it never has issue while running, only on start-up.
So far the only thing I've done is replace the spark plugs- it runs better now, but doesn't start any differently.
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I have a 1987 Buick custom 3.8L that will not run or start with the EGR valve connected to the evr selenoid. How can I verify if it is the EGR valve or the vacuum solenoid? When I connect the egr to the vacuum solenoid the valve opens all the way up and the engine stalls.
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I have the GM shop manual and I have gone through the flow chart for an engine which cranks but does not start. I have confirmed that there is fuel pressure and spark, but the injectors do not fire when cranking. I have gotten to the final troubleshooting step of disconnecting the crank angle sensor connector, jumping A and B terminals on the connector, and momentarily grounding the jumper with a test light. The injectors fire as confirmed using the GM injector test light (in place of an injector). The flow chart conclusion is that the crank angle sensor is bad or misadjusted or the connector is making a bad connection. I have replaced the sensor twice and adjusted it using the GM adjustment tool. The connector terminals appear clean and undamaged. 1989 Buick Century 3.3 liter ...
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My 2004 Buick Century is parked outside, it starts up fine and runs fine every morning and anytime it sits for a period over an hour in any kind of weather including minus 25 degrees. Sometimes when I shut it off for say 15 minutes or half hour and then go to start it again it will crank over fine but not start up. I can try several times, same thing.. But then if I leave it alone for maybe another half hour and try it again it starts and runs fine. also no warning lights etc. It's like something needs to reset itself. What is causing this ?
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I bought a well-used 1991 Buick Century for my son in December '12. At that point I put in a battery that was bought brand new just the month before. The car ran fine until a couple weeks ago. He tried to start it but only got a slow crank, like a low battery. I tried to jump start it, with no difference. Since the car was at his school, I asked his auto shop teacher to take a look at it. The teacher tested the battery on two different machines and determined the battery was bad. I returned it to the store I bought it at, where it was tested as working fine. I then swapped the battery from my car for his, and his battery (the one that was tested bad) started my car with no problems while my battery would not start his car. It produced the same slow crank. I talked to the shop teacher again, who pulled the starter and took both the starter and the battery to various auto parts stores. The starter tested good, but the battery was tested bad at 3 shops, and weak at a fourth. So the car is still sitting at the school, and we're at a loss. What might be causing this problem and how can we get his car running again, short of just buying another car?
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I have a 2000 Buick Century and i just recently had the fuel pump replaced because it was totally shot. Everything was fine except i realized when i started it sometimes it would crank really slowly, i thought it was the battery because the one i had in there was like 4 years old. One day it just straight up wouldn't start in a Public parking lot so i bought a new battery and it still wouldn't start. Every time i try to start it, it makes one click then a weird electric swirling sound, but wont crank at all. My buddy who has a lot of experience with cars thinks its the starter. We tried banging on it but no luck. How to confirm if this is the starter?
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The car died on me the other day at a stoplight but started up again (It resisted for a sec but then caught). Now it's taking a bit to start and sounds very faint when it finally catches and the turn over is slow. I'm no mechanic but I can replace parts. I'm just wondering if it's the fuel pump or injectors, maybe low fuel pressure. I haven't had a chance to do anything to it. Where to start?
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I have a 1995 Buick Regal, with a 3.8L engine. When I start the car sometimes it rough idles and I have to give it a lot of gas and then it runs fine. This is completely random. Sometimes it runs just a little rough, other times really rough. The rough idling when starting the car happens about 1 out of 25 times. Sometimes when this happens I get a check engine light, most of the time not. When I am driving around I also will randomly get a check engine light, but I can't tell anything common to it. It has come on while braking, while coasting with foot off the gas and brake, normal city driving, highway driving. Also my CEL always turns off when I turn off the car and doesn't come back when I restart the car. Always.
I haven't been able to figure out what is wrong and since my car is transition OBD1 to OBD2 I can't use a OBD2 code scanner (it is an OBD1 port), nor will shorting the pins in my OBD1 type port give me codes. Being this the case I took it to a local mechanic and they scanned the computer and said they got 16 error codes. They reset the codes but couldn't get the CEL to come back on. I took it drove it for a couple of days the light came back on so I took it back to the shop and they got 18 codes out of it, but they were mostly different, with some of them giving the opposite readings of before (O2 sensor high one time, then low the next check). They said they didn't know what was going on but wanted 3-4 hours to diagnose the PCM (Powertrain control module) and would probably replace the PCM (~500 on top of the diagnostic fee). That was a bit much for me, so I took the car back.
The things I have checked are fuel pressure (seems fine at idle and revving the car in park)Vacuum is 19 and when I rev quick it drops to zero or so then up to 25 and slowly goes back to 19 (I think that means vacuum is ok). I put the gauge in the O2 sensor before the CAT and I didn't read any pressure, so I think the CAT is ok.I put on a new fuel pressure regulator, and a new fuel filter. I got the same PCM at a Pick-n-pull place and put it is my car 3 days ago. Yesterday I got a check engine light while driving again. The mechanic will charge me to check the codes, but I think it is just doing the same thing as always. I am sort of at a loss as what to do. I though it I was to dive around with a scanner hooked up and the light went on then I could see what the sensors were doing when all the trouble codes fire. I was looking at the Actron CP9190, but it doesn't log the data stream for OBD1 cars, only for OBD2.
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