Buick - Regal :: 1991 - At Start Up Stall While Cold?
Aug 15, 2014
1991 Buick Regal, 3800 V6
As the title says, when I start the engine cold I get a slight puttering and drop in RPMs followed by the engine revving itself to about 1100 for a few seconds and then normalizing at 600. It has only actually stalled out a few times. This does not happen once the engine is near operating temperature.
Now, I did not notice this issue prior to doing some maintenance on the vehicle (radiator replacement and transmission service) and I've read that this can be caused by a faulty coolant sensor. Possible?
Battery is new.
Also, when I say cold start I mean summer temps here in Michigan. So it's happening anywhere from 50 to 90 degrees F.
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I just picked up a 1991 Buick Regal for a good deal, but already the repair costs to get this thing up to speed are mounting :
Right now I'm dealing with all four tires losing pressure. The 24 year old car still has its original wheels (15 inch aluminum) and I'm assuming that they are losing pressure at the seal. The tires are only about a year old and the stems look okay, so do you think I'm on the right track?
There is one strange part to all of this: The vehicle with its equipped tires is rated at 30 PSI and if I fill them to 30 they are all down about five pounds within a few hours or after a drive. However, they do not lose more than or much more than 5 PSI. The front tires lose more air and lose it faster, but the lowest I've seen them is 23. Is only losing a few pounds of air and not going flat evidence of a seal leak or am I in the twilight zone?
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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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I have a 1991 Buick LeSabre, sometime last year the check engine light came on, and I took it into a mechanic who told me that a magnetic sensor on the timing gear broke off and that it is the problem with the car, but it would cost me 500 dollars to replace the part, because it is located in the engine. I noticed that the engine felt like it lost power, and the car started vibrating when I was idle. The beginning this year, I replaced the spark plug wires, and replaced the spark plugs, when I replaced the spark plug wires, I realized that two of the wires were broken, as soon as I was done.
I tested the car, and the power is back, but I still have the stalling problem. I will try to describe how the car stalls, I come to a stop, and when I push on the gas to accelerate, the car just conks out, so I have to restart the car, and rev it a little to keep it from conking out again, and it starts running normally. I have been told by another mechanic that I need to replace a Electronic Ignition Control module, which I can not find, and that it is possible the fuel is not getting into the chambers. I just want some answers to my problem, so the car will last me till I can get a new vehicle or something better.
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W e got the car fixed last year. It was a 8 pin connector near the camshaft sensor called the Engine Wiring Connector.
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I have a 98 Buick Regal. When my air conditioning works, it is beautiful. On a hot and sunny day when I pull out of the garage, I can run the air conditioning until the car is turned off. After reaching a destination and parking in the hot sun the compressor will not blow cold air. If the day is overcast or cool, the air conditioning works fine. What the problem might be?
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1991 Regal, 3800 v6.
So here's an interesting observation. When i turn the ignition to ON, I hear no sound nor feel any vibration from the fuel pump. Is there any scenario where a fuel pump fails to prime yet kicks into gear after a start? So, I've got rough idles and misfires on cold starts. Before I start replacing parts my diagnostic plans is as follows:
Remove and inspect spark plugs.
Inspect and test starter coil/distributor (still have to research how to do this)
Test resistance on fuel injectors.
Test pressure drop on fuel rails.
Test compression for possible small head leak.
I'm wondering, if I do have a tiny head leak that is letting in a drip or two of coolant after hours of the engine sitting, will I be able to see this on the gauge doing a compression test? I've never done one before and still need to buy a gauge, but maybe I'm better off just doing the other tests and if they all check out I can be certain it is a minor head leak.
My assumption is that I have a leaking injector; just trying to do things the proper way.
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1995 Buick Regal, 128k miles, 3.8L V-6.Problem: When running errands around town, car will temporarily not start after 3rd or 4th stop. Vehicle cranks, has spark, has fuel pressure at fuel manifold. No codes on computer (Wish it was a '96). Car will start normally after cooling off (generally takes at least 45 minutes). No problem driving to work, parking all day, driving home. Have not tried long distance driving since problem arose, due to concern about being stuck for awhile far from home. Have determined at EGR valve is NOT a part of problem.
Sample situation: Drove 5 miles to town. Shopped for 15 minutes. Drove 2 miles further with 5 minute stop. Drove another 2 miles with 5 minute stop. Drove 1 more mile and stopped for 30-40 minutes. Car would not start. Cranks strongly, has spark and fuel pressure (don't know if fuel getting to injectors). Still would not start 30 minutes later. Left car for several hours. Started promptly and ran normally on return. Weather conditions - 90 F, low humidity. Problem has been occurring for several months. No computer codes to dive guidance.
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I have a 96 Buick regal v6 3.8L. It ran good. Started from last winter, it started to act up. In the morning, 98% OF the first attempt to start the car failed: it started but died in a few seconds, but the 2nd attempt always got it start. One month ago, I drove it for 1.5 hours, and parked there for 15 minutes, could not get it started, opened up the hood, waited for 15 minutes, it started. Then I drove it to a auto shop, they replaced the starter. One five days later, I could not started it again after 1.3 hour driving and parked for 20 minutes. Wait for 15 minutes, it started again. The odd is that when it refused to start, the radiator gap is very hard (but not over heated yet), after started it and drove for 30 minutes or so, I feel the gap is cooler than when it would not start.
I drove it back to the shop, they could not any problem. Drove it back. three day later, it stalled when driving. I didn't realize the stall until I need to turn: lost steering and brake power, then notice that the whole dash board doesn't have any light on. Since the car shut it off only after half mile driving, it doesn't looks like heat related (It was on the mountain, it was about 70 F). Then I sent the car to a different shop.
At the shop, they took off the ignition model and tested it good, and put it back. Since then, they started the car several times per day. Finally, on one day, the car shut itself off after running for 2 hours, and they could not start it. However, they checked and didn't find any code was set (they said because service engine light was not on). The shop have been trying to start the car several times per day for 10 days they didn't have another failure. I am not sure what to do with the car. I read posts here, and have the shop checked short circuit, ground fault, fuel wiring harness, catalytic converter, they didn't find anything, and they said that fuel pump seems ok.
I plan to replace crank sensor, fuel filter, and fuel regulator sensor and use the car for work commute (2 miles). what should be done on the car (since it is old car with 120K on it, I don't want to spend more than $500 dollar on it unless I am sure the problem can be fixed).
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My 1992 buick regal 3.8l initially cranked fine but did not start. I went to crank again and starter turned very slowly and finally just clicked got new battery and still same slow finally jumped it and got it to somehow start took it to shop they went to replace starter and told me that a weight had fallen off my flywheel/flexplate and lodged in starter so i agreed to let them replace flywheel starter 2 days later still in shop does this sound reasonable?
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Cars turns off while driving and may or may not start. The voltage fluctuates and dims the lights and such. Now it wont start.
The battery is good. The alternator is good. I put a new computer in it. I don't know what else to do.
On top of this awesomeness, I found this relay/sensor that seems to go nowhere (picture below). There is also a second something or another that you can see in the bottom right quarter (red wire grey attachment underneath cruise control module next to that bundle of wires) that seems to go nowhere. I didn't unplug these.
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2001 Buick regal started and ran left town for 10 days came back cranks but wont start I don't here fuel pump engage when I turn on ignition...
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Thinking about picking up a 2002 Regal. Major issue: it will not start without turning the lights on first and will shut off when the wipers are turned on.
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I have a 96 buick regal thats been giving me problems for over a year now. it from time to time acted like it was out of gas even though it might have a half a tank. Turns over fine but won't start after it sits for a couple of days then it starts fine. Last summer my son replaced the fuel pump after doing a pressure test and getting a low reading. No more problems until jan then it started doing it again. Well about 3 months ago it wouldn't start so I had my wife turn the key on and I stuck my ear in the fuel fill tube and I could not hear the fuel pump.
I checked the fuel pump relay by putting my finger on top of it and I can feel it click when the key is turned on. Also the air relay next to it is the same so I switched them no change so I replaced the fuel pump again and also the sending unit so every thing in the tank is new. Car still won't start can't hear the pump running and i checked for spark no spark now. My other son has been saying he thinks its the ecm so I just put a reflashed used ecm in. Did the security relearn procedure still nothing. whats next? Somebody told me check the cam and crank sensors and wiring. I also replaced all the ignition coils last summer.
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1993 Buick Regal 3.1l V6 Multiport injection
Problem: The care currently has a hard start, and a fluctuating idle. I bought the car a year and a half ago it still has low miles about 94,000. The care used to start fine but had a fluctuating idle in the range of 750 to 2500 rpm. My brother who is a mechanic and doesn’t live near, do all the gaskets when he visited. Then the idle fluctuation dropped to 750 to 1000rpm, when the car rpms fluctuate there is a whirring sound I can hear from the cab, like a pump or pull system. On occasion there is a vibration as well but it is inconstant and irregular. Fuel pressure seems to fluctuate as well. If the car will not start I give it a little gas and it will run fine after a minute or two, but then the idle starts to fluctuate.
No fuse issues I can tell and relays seem to be fine.Checked for lose wiring connections found, none. I have replaced:
- Hoses and gaskets
- Starter motor
- Battery
- Fuel Pressure regulator
- Fuel Filter
- Spark plugs and wires
- TPS
- Idle Air control Valve
- Crank shaft sensor
- PCV.
Right now I’m thinking it could be the fuel pump (a nightmare to change on this car), a fuel injector failing, and the ignition switch.
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when the temperature is above roughly 60 degrees, I can drive the car for a short while, even a few miles, and it will start to sputter and eventually stall. At that point the car won't start, it turns over fine, but sounds like it's not getting any gas. If I wait 15-20 minutes it starts fine and will repeat the same process. Is there some temperature sensor or something that prevents the engine from starting after it gets hot, or is it something else. The temperature gauge doesn't indicate the engine is hotter than normal. I've taken it to my car shop twice and they haven't found anything. 1991 mercedes e300...
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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 96 buick skylark. I just recently had the parking pawl fixed because it was broken. Now when I slow down the engine idle seems to start looping and almost stall, it in fact has once. As I slow down, and I can feel the car somewhat trying to pull forward as if its not down shifting correctly. when I finally get stopped the idle will come back up and idle normally. the car upshifts great. I know that one of my rear wheel speed sensors has a broken wire.
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Have a 91 Exp 4.0 v6, has a no start problem only in the cold weather. Last year, replaced coil pack, fuel pump, crank censor, this winter...same problem. Just will not start when it is cold. No codes, no ck engine. Checked it today...it has no spark. What could cause this? Fuel filter has also been changed. told him to ck crank position censor connector.
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About the Car: It has 101,00 miles on it. I haven't own this car for long (less than a month). I bought it pretty cheap to do some grocery shopping with. I have no plans to drive it more than 10 miles in a trip. I have a bicycle with a trailer, but there are days in the winter when the weather says, "No" to bicycling. I had the fuel pump and filter replaced at a shop when it wouldn't start a couple weeks ago. They said the fuel pressure was low, and it needed to be replaced. It was fine for a little while, but then it wouldn't start for the past three days now. No cranking at all. I can turn on the radio and roll windows up and down, though. I do remember seeing a Check Engine, Battery symbol sign, and a couple other lights off-hand. I'm at work right now.. so I'll have to go home to see if the Security light also was there, too.
Also! I did find an electrical line that did not go anywhere... not sure if that has anything to do with the fact that there is no window washer fluid tank (wipers do work).
After reading a little about other Buicks in the forum not cranking, I will definitely try the Security Light issue after I get home from work.
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Its a 1991 Toyota celica with the 1.6 and 5 speed trans. the motor on cold or hot start up shakes really bad and has a lot of valve chatter. Along with that, the motor does not want to rev at all, almost like you are not even touching the gas, but you have it to the floor. A little back ground on the car is, the car sat for 6 months and i bought it from a friend to drive back and forth to work to keep miles of my supra. He said that the CAT was plugged so i replaced it. I have replaced the coil pack, distro cap, spark plug wires, spark plugs, rotor button, catalytic converter, air intake, and all the air tubes that looked like they were cracking. Now I can start the car, and it does the same thing. I thought it may be out of time, just because that is sort of what its acting like. I have had the motor rev up 3 times since i have had the car. But everytime I do it back fires and DIES, the car will not start til after the car cools down.
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