1995 Chevy Beretta, no start

PONTIACRACER

MEMBER
1995 CHEVROLET BERETTA
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
175,000 MILES

Hi guys,
Need a little assistance please. This has been a great car for me up till now. It was intermittently running rough mainly at idle and when first started in the a.M. For a few months off and on. Sounded like an ignition miss. Usually when you gave it gas it would clean up and run smooth. Never died or anything. Replaced the plugs and fuel filter, no change. Then recently it just failed to start all together. After several attempts to start it I can smell fuel and can hear the pump running. Checked the spark with a spark tester and it seems to be kind of weak (yellow) and intermittent. Best I can tell at this point leads me to either the CKP sensor or ECM. I have no reason to believe its a mechanical problem with the engine. There is no Check Engine light on and honestly I'm not sure how to pull codes from this car since its a 'hybrid' OBD 1 / 2 car.

Specifically what I'd like to know is 1) how to check for codes on an OBD1 car with the OBD2 connector, 2) how to OHM the 3 wire CKP sensor to check it, 3) how to diagnose the ECM, and lastly if there's anything else I need to check.

Thanks a ton for any assistance!
Craig

4 Replies

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

On the right rear of the engine, check the EI module, that's electronic Ignition module. Most likly the problem.

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Friday, March 28th, 2008 AT 1:46 PM

PONTIACRACER

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Thanks for the reply Merlin2021 but the '95-up model year doesn't have an ignition module. That was the 1st thing I thought to check for when it suddenly died. Ignition is controlled by the ECM.

Craig

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Friday, March 28th, 2008 AT 2:02 PM

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

As long as you are sure about that, Mitchell shows one, and it's under the intake! Any wires in that area?

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Friday, March 28th, 2008 AT 3:37 PM

PONTIACRACER

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Am I sure. No. I believe on the '94 model it was on the back of the block but that doesn't have an ECM either. All I have on the back of the block are the coil packs. The local parts stores also don't list an ignition module for the '95 model year either so I assumed its all controlled by the ECM. I suppose I need to get a service manual and start there. This is a good reliable car but it's so cosmetically beat up (hail damage) that its probably only worth $400, if that, so I'm trying to fix it without investing too much time or $$$ if you know what I mean.

Thanks,
Craig

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Friday, March 28th, 2008 AT 3:44 PM