GM NONE RUNNING DIAGNOSIS

[fordman]

well yes i do have a 88 buick electra park avenue. 3,8 auotmatic. my daughter was driving it. well the damper seperated. and the fan pulley wouldn't spin without making a knocking noise. it sounded just like a rod went out. anyway. i replaced that damper today. and the enigne still just starts for a second and runs for a second. and then it dies. this is a computerized car. it wont run long enough to put it in gear. it almost sounds like a timing chain or maybe a crank sensor. i was told if the crank sensor is bad it wont start at all. this doesnt have a distributor it has a coil pack. so i don't know how to tell if the timing chain is bad or not. does anyone know how to tell if it has jumped?

[FreakysFords]

My thinking was inline with yours, Crank or Cam sensor. If my memory has anything left from those days, I "believe" it will try to run with a dead cam sensor.

[ToughOldFord]

IIRC I think those GMs had the crank sensor in the front of the engine behind the dampener. When the old dampener went out it might have struck the sensor knocking it loose, or out of alignment, or possibly broke it.

[Redcap]

Pretty sure the problem is the brand.

[ToughOldFord]

'GM' and 'Non running' do seem to go hand in hand don't they?

[fordman]

well i ended up with this car . it was a very nice car when i bought it for my mother inlaw. it has had soem wear and is now ready to go to a new owner when it gets running again. i don't think it bothered the crank sensor. i looked at it and it looked undamaged and inline before and after i pulled the old damper off. how would i check the timing chain without a dist on the engine? pull a valve cover and turn the enigne and watch when the rockers moved? when it was on number one of course. where is number on on those engines? right side. or i mean front side of the first cylinder? its a front wheel drive car.

[cep62]

How long has it been sitting?
I worked on a Pontiac about that year that sat for awhile with out a battery .
The computer lost its memory and wouldn't idle.
I had to keep the rpm's up and put it in gear, kinda power brake it for awhile ,it had to run in gear to relearn the computer.
I can't remember how long it took maybe 15 min.

[ToughOldFord]

well the damper seperated. and the fan pulley wouldn't spin without making a knocking noise. it sounded just like a rod went out.

Since it was running with the old dampener that rules out the timing chain as the no run problem.

[DuckRyder]

You can just pull the oil fill and watch the rockers while someone cranks to see if the chain is broken, I would be willing to bet it is fine...

I worked for GM during this time period and if I owned one I would carry a crank sensor with me every where I went. You can look at it all you want, I have never changed one that you could look at and tell was bad...and I have changed HUNDREDS of them... and they are frequently intermittant...

[knightfire83]

Pull the trouble codes: http://autorepair.about.com/library/ts/ ... ?once=true&

[fordman]

it won't run for more than a second or two. and it was running badly with the bad damper. i myself thought it could be the crank sensor myself. or something to do with the timing. it will run and then die before you can even think about getting out of the car. i don't have a computer to put on it. i only have a ford computer. flasher type. the check engine light doesnt coem on i don't think. i know the chain isnt broken because it will run for a few seconds. i was told it was running fine with the bad damper and then the next time it was started it ran liek crap. i barely was abl eto drive it around the block to park it in front of my house for awhile. and yes the battery has been out of it all this time. the auto level air system keeps running on and on. so to save the battery we removed it.

[knightfire83]

You don't need a computer to pull the codes. Is the check engine light burnt out? It should come on initially when the key is turned to the run position before starting. Either way, there can be stored codes that don't illuminate that light.

Maybe you put a incompatible damper on it? Perhaps the new damper has a different design or location of the trigger on it than the original, causing a out of time CPS signal ?????

Might be able to disconnect the CPS to eliminate the bad signal, the computer may replace it with info from it's ROM and run the engine in 'limp home' mode.

[knightfire83]

Oh, and if the chain was broken, it wouldn't run at all (no cam movement.)

[fordman]

its the right damper. it looked exactly the same. i don't think the light is burned out. lights do come on in the dahs. but nothing stays on when it starts. what is the cps?

[knightfire83]

Crankshaft Position Sensor.

According to: http://www.damperdoctor.com/Merchant2/m ... y_Code=BUI there is 7 different dampers that will interchange on these motors thru out the model years.