I am really, really sorry to post on here about this, but I tried posting on a Grand Am forum about 3 days ago and nobody has responded to me, I'm at a loss and I need to get this car going. So I'm hoping there may be somebody here that can help me out.

The car is my little sisters 1992 Grand Am V6 3.3

Last Thursday it just quit on her without warning. We got it towed to my house and I've been trying to figure it out but, for obvious reasons, the GM system is foreign to me.

The problem is that it is turning over just fine but it doesn't have any spark. I know this for certain, as when I couldn't find a good place in the engine bay to check against ground, I sucked it up and grabbed ahold of 3 different wires and not one of them is firing.

This car has 3 separate coil packs mounted on top of the ignition module with an 11 pin connector that plugs into it. I am getting 12+ volts at the connector. I checked the resistance values of each coil and all 3 show approximately the same resistance. I just got back from having the module tested at O'Reilly and it tested good. So I just cleaned up the connections and smeared some dielectric grease on them. I checked every fuse in the block that was related to the ignition circuit and none of them were bad.

I borrowed my uncle's scanner yesterday, but it didn't reveal anything useful. I can't remember the exact code numbers but the only 2 it showed was engine coolant level low which I had taken care of about 2 weeks ago, and something about the 3rd gear selector switch. I doubt either one of these is the cause for the no spark.

So now here I am, totally clueless.

The only other hint I have is my sister said that it died on her right in the middle of making a right hand turn. The only thing I thought of is that maybe a wire on the column is loose or rubbed thru and is grounding out, but I want to make sure any other possibilities are covered before I go tearing into the column.

Also, my father replaced the ignition switch about a year ago.

That's all I can tell you. If anybody can help me out here I really appreciate it- and again I'm sorry to post about this car on here. It was honestly a last resort.

 

My mom's '94 did the same thing. A total failure of all the engine electrics. No codes, crank, no fire.

The dealship at the time said that it wasn't the first they'd seen. The car had 20k on it at the time. They bought out the remainder of what she owed.

 

i would check the column and make sure you don't have an ignition problem... Like you GM's are foreign to me so I have no clue from here... after seeing Virto comment it might be time to cut bait...

 

If the ignition module isn't the problem then it's whatever feeds that module.. like a cam or crank position sensor. FWIW I have seen these GM ignition modules fail like this and I don't put any faith in the autoparts bench tests, have personally seen known bad parts get a PASS Good luck with that Canned Ham.

 

Yeah, my uncle was actually working on a grand am of a similar type the other day and it was having a similar problem. He said he replaced the crank position sensor and that took care of it. I just figured when the scanner didn't throw a code for it, that wasn't likely the issue.

But like you said and I've experienced it before too- bad parts can test good. The biotch about the crank sensor is, if it's where I think it is, it's right behind the harmonic balancer and I can't even get my fingers in there to pull the harness connector off of it.

I'm going to try dropping the column and see if there's any wiring issues there. If not, I guess it's on to testing individual sensors. Half the problem right now is that it's been raining on and off for almost a week straight and I don't have a garage.

Thanks for the response guys- and for tolerating my insolence in mentioning a GM.

 

Just make sure you thoroughly disinfect yourself after working on it.. wouldn't want a good Ford guy getting Garbage Motors disease.

 

^^ X2 Make sure you set us a hazmat cleaning station so you can get the disease off you when your done it is like the plague and you do not want that lol
Like i saw in someones sig on here: Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust if it wasnt for Chevies all our tools would rust. LOL

 

HAHAHAHAHA!



Fair enough- I will even do a s'eance or two to ensure that all the evil spirits have left my body. If necessary I will boil myself in sulfiric acid- although hopefully it won't come to that.