Started sputtering badly, check engine light came on, then stalled out and shut off?

SHORTY83

MEMBER
1998 BUICK CENTURY
3.1L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
134,000 MILES

For a while my car has been misfiring and hard to start. One day it started sputtering badly, the check engine light came on, then stalled out and shut off. I've changed all major sensors (cam, crank, throttle position, coil packs, ICU, etc, ) that would keep it from starting. It has great fuel pressure, spark, air, and compression. It only tries to start up with starter fluid and the fuel pump comes on. It's dumbfounding me and my mechanic.

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,356 POSTS

So, these engines have two safety devices that can go bad, you can try to bypass them to see if it solves the problem. The first is an oil pressure indicator cutoff switch and the other is an oil level sensor. If these sensors go out, they tell the PCM to stop the engine. Here is the location of the sensors and the wiring diagrams for them as well in the images below. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

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Monday, October 10th, 2022 AT 3:48 PM

SHORTY83

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Well changed out the injectors and started it up. It turned over and started revving up and down on it own. Next thing I know I see flames on the top end. Apparently, I didn't have the fuel rail all the way down and it shot fuel on to the top end. After redoing it and putting it back together, (nothing was burnt up and everything looks fine) it once again won't start up at all. Keeps doing what it did before. Tries to start with starter fluid but won't turn over or pop off.

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Saturday, October 15th, 2022 AT 3:46 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,356 POSTS

When it cranks over does the engine sound normal? If you upload a video of the engine cranking, I can tell if the engine is hurt or not. Also, we can check the compression by following this guide:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

Please go over these guides and report back.

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Sunday, October 16th, 2022 AT 2:12 PM