Century :: 1994 Buick 3.1L Running Hot / Not Overheating
Feb 2, 2016
I am having a very tricky problem with my Buick.
For approximately the last 4 months, it has been (at least according to the heat gauge on the dash) running pretty hot. Not overheating, but getting close. And it doesn't take long for it to get there. This all seems to have begun right around the time that my father and I flushed the coolant system.
Since then, I have replaced some parts, and learned a few things in the process.
I learned that there are bleeder screws which can be opened to let air bubbles out. And I have heard that the 3.1L is especially susceptible to them.
New parts which I have installed:
- thermostat
- coolant temperature sensor
- radiator cap
- upper radiator hose
- lower radiator hose
I have checked the water pump and it seems to be perfectly fine. No leaks. No signs of bad bearings. And it circulates coolant just fine. I have not been witness to either cooling fan, primary or auxiliary, switching on in a while.
The exact symptoms are these:
The heat gauge does not take long to get to mid-way point, but will sit at that point for a bit if the vehicle remains stationary. Once the vehicle is in significant motion, the heat gauge will climb fairly quickly, especially with moderately high RPMs. It WON'T touch the red though, but will get very very close to it. The car runs fine. It does seem to be a bit underpowered, but I am comparing it to my fiance's 1996 Olds Cutlass Ciera, which I believe has a different transmission. My Buick does not seem to have lost power since this problem arose. The cooling fans no longer kick on. The oil appears fine. The coolant as well. With the radiator cap off, coolant does not bubble out or shoot out.
I made sure after changing upper and lower hoses to fill the radiator, let the car run long enough for the thermostat to open, and then slowly poured more coolant into the radiator until it was full again. And the reservoir is at proper level and the the reservoir hose s not clogged.
I am not SURE, but I don't believe the radiator is clogged. I believe that covers it, at least as well as I can.
BTW, I do not know where the fan relays are, otherwise I would test the fans to see if they still work.
What the heck is up with my Buick? Also, it has 97,xxx miles on it, and the transmission fluid is at proper level and looks normal.
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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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I have a 1994 Buick Century Wagon with a 3100 SFI V6 engine that I can't get to fire at all. I have read many posts with the same problem but haven't been able to find a follow up fix from them. My Buick just wouldn't start one day after running fine before. I came to this site and tried some of the suggested troubleshooting and found, while testing for power to fuel pump, that if I jumped from the battery to the gray wire on the fuel pump relay the car would start and run fine. So that rules out any fuel pump problems or fuel filter problems. I then swapped fuel pump relay to a different similar relay on the car and still wouldn't start. I have read on this site about the oil pressure/ fuel pressure switch being a possible cause and I believe I have found that switch. It is in the side of the block toward the front of car and has three wires, (orange, tan and gray) going into it.
I was going to try to jumper the orange to gray but didn't want to do the wrong jump in case of negatively effecting the EMC controller, usually green/white wire? I also heard of the crank shaft sensor located on the back side of block but am not sure of which of three sensors I'm seeing back there to test. I guess first I'm looking for proper jumping procedure. I tried jumping the gray to orange in the fuel pump relay but no good. I get 12 volts at that orange and for a couple of seconds 2 to 3 volts at the green/white wires at the fuel pump relay when ignition is turned on, so when I jump the orange to gray at the relay it should start as it does when I jumper from battery to gray. I had relay apart when I jumpered the orange to gray, do I have to jumper with relay together and use a pin/needle wire jumper so rest of relay wires are connected? The same would apply for jumper testing oil pressure switch and crank shaft sensor? If it's not the switch or sensor then it looks to maybe be the EMC?
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1994 Buick Century 3.1
Fuel pump relay is not powering the fuel pump. I was able at one point to jump the orange wire to the gray wire but it will not even do that now. I know the fuel pump works because I can jump from the battery to the gray wire and it will turn on.
I used a multimeter and tested the volts from the orange wire on the relay to the neg post on the battery and it is only reading about 1.3 volts. Is this normal?
Checked the fuel pump 15a fuse and it is ok. I am getting spark. Could it be the crank sensor? How can I test that? (It is above the start I believe). Could it be the ignition control module? How to test? Location? What else can I test with the multimeter and post back with the results to further diagnose?
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My daughter drives a 94 Century (120+ K) and it was running great, no issues to speak of. Thursday morning she was advised that her brake lights were stuck on when the car was parked in school lot. This drained the battery. The battery was very old so she got a new one properly size & installed; the car started up and drove fine. Later that evening it started up and drove again with no issues.Next morning; NOTHING; No Start. I checked and when door is opened interior lights come on, insert key and door chime rings. Turn key and there is nothing at all, a total loss of power, lights go out, door stops chiming but nothing. Starter never engages, no noise, no attempts of the engine to turn, remove key and lights return and door chimes!
1994 Buick Century 3.1L SFI OHV 6cyl .....
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I have a '97 Buick Century. I noticed the smell of coolant, and the "Low Coolant" light flashed on the dashboard. However, according to the temp gauge on the dashboard, the car was at normal temperature. I pulled over and opened the hood. The coolant in the overflow tank (not the radiator) was boiling, and sputtering out.
I took the vehicle to a nearby shop, where they said it needed a new "Coolant Level Switch." They told me they put a new one in and did a coolant flush, and sent me on my way.
About a mile down the road, the "Low Coolant Light" came on again. I pulled over and found that there was ZERO coolant in the engine. I filled it myself, and continued driving. Over the next few days, I checked the coolant every day and it stayed normal. I drove a bit, but never more than a few minutes, so the car didn't have a chance to overheat.
Then, today, I drove it a good distance for the first time since the original incident. After a few minutes of driving, I smelled coolant and pulled over. The coolant in the overflow tank was once again boiling and bubbling out. What it might be?
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I have a 98 Buick Century, with about 250k miles on it. Recently when I first start the car and drive a few miles the temperature gauge keeps rising until it is in the red zone and a warning light comes on. When I pull of to the side of the road after a bit it begins to slowly drop and I can begin to drive again. The gauge will then normally stay a bit above halfway for the remainder of the trip, the gauge has sometimes done a bit of jumping around between 3/4 and half sometimes though. The only work that I have had done on it recently is to have some work done on the ac system.
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The car is a 1994 Buick Century, 3.1L V6, ~ 80k miles. Four months ago she wouldn't start, so I got a new alternator and battery put in. A month later, while on a short road trip, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree the whole drive home (ABS, airbag, check engine, battery) and the voltmeter bounced around from mid-high to red-zone high. Thinking it was a bad reman, the alternator was replaced again when we got home. A few weeks went by and all seemed to be going well with the new alternator until, after driving around the city for a while, the airbag light started blinking intermittently.
Accompanying the blinking, the battery gauge again was bouncing around. Eventually, when accelerating from a stop, the car stuttered when moving forward, the battery light flickered, and the ABS light stayed on. Worried that I'd burn up another alternator, I had a mechanic look at it before my next trip. He checked the alternator/battery loads and pulley and said that nothing looked wrong. On the next trip, the intermittent airbag light blinking and voltage fluctuation returned as well as a single episode of stuttering from a stop... these things all only seem to happen after at least an hour on the road.
TO RECAP: Voltmeter gauge steady sometimes, bouncy other times... but usually too high. Airbag light blinks intermittently (seems to happen only after car is warm). Sometimes (rarely) the car will jerk from a stop, at which point the ABS light stays on. No check engine lights. Battery and alternator are new. Same problems (voltmeter in red, warning lights) occurred with last alternator until it burnt up. It seems like a voltage regulation / alternator problem, but the same symptoms occurred with two different alternators (with two different internal voltage regulators). I suspect that there is some electrical problem (short?) that is causing the fluctuating voltage and the tendency for the car to burn up alternators so frequently. However, I don't know much of anything about cars. Does that sound right? If so, where do I even start?
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94 camry. 4 cylinder. Coil is located on the strut housing along with the ignitor. The car was running, but overheating.
The last time it ran, it overheated badly, but was parked right away. Fans never came on.
The radiator was leaking, so that was replaced. And since the fans hadn't come on, the temp sensor for the fans, in the bottom of the rad was also replaced.
Now it won't start. It cranks over nicely, and acts like it is missing spark or fuel.
It has spark. Determined by pulling the coil wire from the center of the distributor and checking there.
I used spray starting fluid by pulling the tube from the end of the throttle body and spraying in there. The spray starting fluid should have at least caused a cough or two, if not a short start and run then die... if fuel delivery was the problem.
I have tried it with the temp switch on the manifold connected, and then disconnected. Also tried jumping that connector, so I don't think that temp switch is the problem. (It's the temp switch that has the green connector.)
I am assuming the ignitor and coil are good, otherwise I would not be getting a spark from there.
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I have a 94 buick lesabre custom that is stalling intermittently and runs rough intermittently. We have had it for diagnostics and it could not read the codes. We changed the computer and it still can't read the codes. The diagnostic tool says it cannot connect when it is plugged in or it displays white flecks like snow flakes on the tool screen. It is an OBDII. The pin structure of the data connector port is two pins top row and bottom row two pins some blanks and one pin. We don't know how to fix it with no diagnostic codes and we don't know what to do to get the codes because we have changed the computer.
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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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My wife has a 2000 Buick Century with about 150,000 miles on it. It has been relatively trouble free. Recently, the "low coolant" light began to come on.She took the car into a garage where she was told there was oil in the coolant and the sensor had been compromised. The cooling system was flushed and cleaned and a new sensor installed. The "low coolant" light continued to come on. She took the car back in. She was told the wrong sensor had been installed. When she went back for the car the second time, she was told the oil in the coolant was preventing the new sensor from working and there was nothing more the garage could do. I went in and asked questions, primarily how serious was the condition, and couldn't get a straight answer.
We are due to drive to Florida in November. My wife would like to take it to a garage there. Is it save to drive it as is? What are the implications of oil mixing with coolant? What is causing it to happen?
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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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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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I have a 2001 Buick Century that started making a noise from what seems to be the engine. It sounds like a jet engine when I accelerate. The noise is still there when I cruise, but it evens out. It is loudest when going between 40 and 50mph. The car is not overheating, and other then the noise it drives fine. My husband at first thought it sounded like the catalytic converter had been stolen, but he rarely knows what he is talking about. What could it be?
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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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Replaced sensor, light stays on.Removed sensor, grounded the probe, light goes out.Replaced antifreeze, bled system twice, no air or oil.Getting desperate. Removed and cleaned battery to body ground strap.Removed and cleaned battery to engine ground strap.Today found out there is no error code in the OBC but the light is still!
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The vehicle in question is a 96 Buick Century. I don't use it a whole lot, but occasionally lend it out or use for some undesirable task. Anyway, I have to get it to pass inspection.
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So I have squealing in the front of the transmission under hard acceleration. It also happens when I rev the engine while in Park. Could it be in the transmission or would just replacing the torque converter work? This is an 01 buick century with 150k miles.
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Driving this 1996 Buick Century limited,4 cylinder car normally, the car will just stop running without any warning, nor rhyme nor reason. Most of the time this has occured, a tow truck has been called, but prior to towing, the car started normally and ran without problems for quite a while. The car has been in the chevrolet garage multiple times, at least over nine, for this problem, but will never show up for the mechanic. There is no specific driving pattern to cause this to occur: it dies in normal driving on the street, starting from a stop, in parking lots,
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