what next.....?

[left_34]

anyways.. my car has been running for about 2 weeks without a problem. then all the sudden im on the highway and loose all power. The car stays at 3 grand and seems to have no power whatso ever... well anyways i limp it back to my apartment and its idleing like crap... sounds like its missing on all but 3 cylinders and sounds just terrible. this is also accompanied by black smoke, and an s.e.s. light. Also after i let it sit for about an hour it starts just fine.. idles fine and no light.. Soo im clueless to say the least, especially with out a scan tool on hand.. any ideas to this would be appreciated.
-chad

its a 91 lumina z34, auto... if that helps any...

[grandprixgtp_91]

use a wire to jump the 2 terminals in your obd 1 under the dash to get the code that your getting. then go from there.

Jake

[ryan.hess]

[cough] ignition module [cough]... check those codes, might provide a hint. Could be one intermittant dead coil as well.. What year is this?

[left_34]

its so intermittent tho... it happend a couple weeks ago... and it went away till now... now it happend again.. let my car cool down and drove it to my college... i dotn have a scan tool till i get back home this weekend.. and even when im home it might not throw me the code again...

-chad

[ryan.hess]

Did you check the codes like gtp said? Just need a paperclip.....

[grandprixgtp_91]

even if its not throwing the service engine soon light it will still be stored in the computer so if you run a test with a paperclip you should still get the code you need. but yeah ignition control module sounds about right. there a little pricey but very easy to change.

Jake

[left_34]

but if i jump the two terminals, i'll still need a scan tool to read the code so ill have to wait till this weekend to do that when i have access to one... where is the ignition module located?

[Crimson Fury]

why do you need a scan tool? grab the code and either ask here, or go out and look in a haynes/chilton, or ask an auto store

[left_34]

ok i did it and it there were no codes at all... so i drove it around for a while and let it idle till the ses light comes on... and it was a code 23 which is a temp sensor.. too low.. i believe?? anyway there were no other codes being thrown on it. So i think i'm gonna have to drive it till it starts acting up again... as for now it seems to be running and driving ok. I'll wait and see for tomarrow tho since i have an hour and a half drive home :S

[ryan.hess]

and it was a code 23 which is a temp sensor.. too low.. i believe?? anyway there were

I believe that's the sensor that is in the stock filter airbox. Check to make sure that's plugged in. If it is, it wouldn't hurt to change it to stop setting the code.

[left_34]

23,43,53 are the codes ive found on my car. So that is air temp senseor too high, knock sensor, and high system voltage.. i think, if im wrong correct me... now i dont really know what to do. so any input would be greatly appreciated..
-chad

[ryan.hess]

23,43,53

53 is not good. That's a system overvoltage error. Means your alternator's regulator may be dead. 43 is electronic spark control/knock sensor failure. the 23 and 43 could be because of a bad alternator. Check that with a voltmeter at your battery first off.

[left_34]

well, seems to me that it doenst act up till the temp gauge reads at the half way mark, i dunno if that says anything but i'm kinda lost until i can get my car home and in a garage....

[jmgtp]

The alternator may be malfunctioning when it gets hot. So by the time the temp gauge reads half the alternator has warmed up and the voltage regulator malfunctions. My original alt went ~100k miles, the replacement (a delco) burned out within 3 months. The one in there now has weird voltage spikes sometimes but hasnt tripped the high voltage ecm code (gets up around 17volts for 10 seconds at a time sometimes), so I'm not too worried yet.

[left_34]

hmmm... when i get her home i'll invest in a new alt. and see if that does anything. I'm sure its about time for it to be changed anyway..