Loss of power when engine is under moderate to heavy load at normal operating temperature

OK, I'm back (and banging my head against anything remotely solid).

Thanks for the safe travel wishes. My travels took me through Indiana, where highway-clearing capabilities are extremely suspect. My drive over 50+ miles of solid ice on Interstate 70 allowed me to witness some spectacular vehicle control exhibitions (watched a semi recover from a tank-slapper on solid ice) and some not-so-spectacular vehicle control exhibitions (really need to slow down before taking that off-ramp, four-wheeler).

I spent today changing out the camshaft position sensor. I had replaced this sensor early on, when performing the intake manifold gasket repair. However, after testing the camshaft position sensor on the vehicle, I determined that it wasn't sending a signal to the ECM (absolutely no voltage showing up on the signal wire, regardless of the position of the camshaft / crankshaft). I confirmed that the sensor was getting it's 12-volt feed from the ECM, and it had a good ground (also to the ECM).

I made a trip to the auto parts store, and purchased a Wells camshaft position sensor. I installed the sensor, and started the car. And let it idle (needed to do an idle-relearn procedure anyway). The idle never changed (stuck at about 1100 rpms in gear with the brake on), but now the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. And went off. Periodically.

So, it appears that the new camshaft position sensor is successfully sending information to the ECM (that's a guess, based on the fact that I haven't seen the "Service Engine Soon" light on before now).

I need some guidance on where to look next. The engine still is operating as if it's stuck in the default operating loop. However, it's now throwing codes (at least). This being an "OBD 1.5" vehicle, I can't use a paperclip to pull the codes the computer is storing. Any suggestions as to where I can find a code reader for this vehicle?

OR. Should I be checking some other sensor before purchasing the code reader?

Please let me know. Thank you.

$33.00 poorer (the cost of the camshaft position sensor),

Eric

OK, this is my last weekend update:

After re-verifying that all of the different sensors (including the brand new camshafter position sensor, which displayed almost 11 volts on the signal wire) were receiving proper voltage and grounding (key on, engine off), I decided to try the idle re-learn proceedure again (since it didn't work yesterday).

This time, I followed the proceedure to a T (disconnect the battery for five minutes; didn't touch the throttle or steering wheel during the procedure, etc.). After the two idle sessions, in noticed that the idle hadn't changed a bit (stuck around 1100 rpms in gear, 1600 rpms in neutral). So, the car appears to be incapable of re-learning the position of the idle control valve.

What I DID find interesting is that I can now get the car to set a "Service Engine Soon" light at will. All I have to do is start is up, put it in gear, and wait (about 2-3 minutes if the engine is cold, 30 seconds if the engine is warm). The key to setting the SES light is to NOT MOVE. The car always starts up initially with the SES light off. If you proceed to drive around normal (yes, still with the hesitation), the SES light never comes on. If, however, you sit still with the car in gear, the SES light will come on every time (in the time frames noted above).

I have two specific questions for which I need answers:

1) Under what conditions would the car not successfully relearn the position of the idle control valve?

2) Where can I find a code reader / scanned / laptop cable that will plug into the Pontiac's 12-pin OBD1 port that does NOT have a connector in the "B" slot (this being a OBD change-over year for GM, the normal OBD1 code readers will not pull any codes from this car. Nor will OBD2 code readers, I'm reading on the internet).

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have regarding the two questions above.

Eric

It's the OBD1 port that's not jump-able, because there's no "B" connecter. There are actually only 3 slots that are "connecters" in the whole under-dash harness (the "B" slot not being one of them). Apparently, there weren't very many of these connecters installed by GM, and I am having trouble finding a compatible code reader for this 12-pin connecter.

Apparently, this is a common problem for 1995 GM vehicles (not cool).

Eric