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1995 Sunfire Spark or Fuel Issue
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imyourhuckleberryxx
New User
Aug 8, 2012, 10:19 AM
Post #1 of 5
(2382 views)
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1995 Sunfire Spark or Fuel Issue
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I am really hoping that someone can shed some light on this ongoing issue I’ve been having with my Sunfire. It’s a 1995 2.2L with like 129,000 miles. My problem is this…I was leaving my buddies late last night and when I started my car it took a few seconds of cranking, as it sometimes does, before it finally started up. Once started I could feel it was idling kind of sluggish. When I put it in reverse and pushed on the gas the car rumbles as if it wants to die but it still moved very slowly and sluggish. Made it to the street and put it in drive and it was doing the same thing. You push on the gas and it just wasn’t driving/pulling/catching/getting the power it should (however you want to word it) but it was just sluggishly moving. Then once it had been going for a sec it would catch all the sudden and you get the pull you should be with how hard you’re hitting the gas. Then it would start rumbling again. Then whenever you slowed down or stopped it would start all over again. Made it back to my buddies house and had my friend, who is above average in car knowledge, and let him drive it. It did the same thing. I wasn’t paying that much attention but he said it wasn’t going above like 3000 RPM. We just barely had the power to make it back up his driveway. We have concluded that it’s obviously something fuel or spark related. The car runs fine other than this issue. I have had this happen a few times before last night where I would push on the gas and not get the power that I should but in the past it would happen quickly and then stop. Never to the point that I couldn’t drive anywhere. I do often have to crank it for a few seconds when starting for it to finally come on. The check engine light has been coming on for a couple of months now. I’ve noticed it comes on most usually at night or on days when it’s wet and rainy. Brought it to get the error code read and apparently my fuse that controls the car lighter is blown and that also controls the error reader. I’m assuming it’s a 02 sensor or sensor of some kind. My buddy and I just not even two weeks ago did some basic maintenance on the car. We changed the air filter, fuel filter, oil + oil filter and spark plugs + wires. The car has run fine since then up until last night. When we were changing the spark plugs there was one (the one on the far right looking at the engine) that had oil on it. We thought maybe it was just from all the grimey stuff on/around the plugs on the engine heating up and leaking in.
Well that’s about all the info I can think to give guys. As I said, we’ve concluded it’s the spark plugs or maybe the fuel pump. Or something else fuel related. Don’t believe bad 02 sensors would cause this, would it? Or maybe a bad PVC valve? Any input would be greatly appreciated. My buddy and I are going to check the spark plugs after work today and go from there. Definitely going to try and find and replace that fuse so we can see why my check engine light is coming on.
(This post was edited by imyourhuckleberryxx on Aug 8, 2012, 10:27 AM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 8, 2012, 11:45 AM
Post #2 of 5
(2355 views)
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Re: 1995 Sunfire Spark or Fuel Issue
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All "crank, no start" conditions are approached in the same way. Every engine requires certain functions to be able to run. Some of these functions rely on specific components to work and some components are part of more than one function so it is important to see the whole picture to be able to conclude anything about what may have failed. Also, these functions can ONLY be tested during the failure. Any other time and they will simply test good because the problem isn't present at the moment.
If you approach this in any other way, you are merely guessing and that only serves to replace unnecessary parts and wastes money.
Every engine requires spark, fuel and compression to run. That's what we have to look for.
These are the basics that need to be tested and will give us the info required to isolate a cause.
1) Test for spark at the plug end of the wire using a spark tester. If none found, check for power supply on the + terminal of the coil with the key on.
2) Test for injector pulse using a small bulb called a noid light. If none found, check for power supply at one side of the injector with the key on.
3) Use a fuel pressure gauge to test for correct fuel pressure, also noticing if the pressure holds when key is shut off.
4) If all of these things check good, then you would need to do a complete compression test.
Once you have determined which of these functions has dropped out,
you will know which system is having the problem.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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imyourhuckleberryxx
New User
Aug 9, 2012, 8:32 AM
Post #3 of 5
(2313 views)
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Re: 1995 Sunfire Spark or Fuel Issue
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Alright I am back today with a small update. Due to the weather we weren’t really able to do a whole lot after work yesterday. I got to my friend’s house and we tried starting it just to see if sitting over night did anything. It didn’t. When we tried then the car wouldn’t crank up. Well, it would crank but just wouldn’t start. I just did my fuel filter a couple weeks ago and I know what my fuel pump sounds like and I didn’t think I was hearing it engage and neither did my buddy. So we started moving towards the fuel pump. Well we braked due to weather and went out to dinner. We planned to come back and do an actual check to see if the fuel pump was working but just for the hell of it we tried starting it again. It started this time! Though it was idling very rough though. Didn’t even try driving it anywhere as it was obvious it wasn’t going to make it. After about 10-15 min it stuttered and died on its own. Got it started again and tried revving it up. It revs to exactly 4K, backfires/misfires and then rumbles down to almost dying. Tried many times and it will not go over 4K and does the same thing every time you get it up that high. We were able to check the fuse that I was told was bad and it wasn’t. The fuse is fine and the 12v for the car lighter works fine. Found out you just have to push whatever into it harder than usual. So I don’t know why the error code reader wasn’t reading any codes to those people. We weren’t able to check the spark plugs for oil or do anything else really. We’re both kind of at a loss. He is thinking it might be something ECU related. I disagree. It seems very much like a fuel issue of some kind…
Any other help with this would be greatly appreciated!
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Aug 9, 2012, 8:55 AM
Post #4 of 5
(2308 views)
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Re: 1995 Sunfire Spark or Fuel Issue
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You haven't done the testing from my first response.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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imyourhuckleberryxx
New User
Aug 9, 2012, 9:49 AM
Post #5 of 5
(2302 views)
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Re: 1995 Sunfire Spark or Fuel Issue
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no sir, due the weather we weren't able to check much yesterday evening. it was storming pretty ferociously all evening and we didn't have much shelter underneath my buddies carport. We'll be back at it again today though. Just wanted to give an update on what was happening.
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