92 Buick Regal GS 3.8L V6 stalls

165,000 miles. My Buick stalls intermittently.

It bagan when I parked it at the store, came back out ten minutes later
and it would crank, but not fire. Ten minutes after that it started
and ran perfectly.

Took it into a mechanic, and naturally he couldn't duplicate the
problem or find a code. I started to ask around. I got a a diagnostics
"key" from the auto parts store. You plug it in the diag. port when
the problem happens, and read the sequence from the flashing service
engine light. Trouble code came up 17, and I replaced the ICM. Coils
tested good. The problem persists.

Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
the code will pop up for the shop, huh?

I need to find this problem! Any advice??

"stymied" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> 165,000 miles. My Buick stalls intermittently.
>
> It bagan when I parked it at the store, came back out ten minutes later
> and it would crank, but not fire. Ten minutes after that it started
> and ran perfectly.
>
> Took it into a mechanic, and naturally he couldn't duplicate the
> problem or find a code. I started to ask around. I got a a diagnostics
> "key" from the auto parts store. You plug it in the diag. port when
> the problem happens, and read the sequence from the flashing service
> engine light. Trouble code came up 17, and I replaced the ICM. Coils
> tested good. The problem persists.
>
> Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
> starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
> stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
> the code will pop up for the shop, huh?
>
> I need to find this problem! Any advice??
>

Years ago, I drove a 1992 Cutlass Ciera and it would stall just as you say,
any time, any where, under any condition. I found that pumping the gas pedal
would keep the car moving and alive until the symptom went away and
everything returned to normal. I replaced a lot of things, thinking those
might be the problem. Eventually it turned out that the ECM was the cause
of the stalling. You might want to take it to the dealer if they can offer
some kind of bench testing for the ECM.

-Bruce

"stymied" > writes in article .com> dated 25 Feb 2005 09:27:53 -0800:
>Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
>starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
>stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
>the code will pop up for the shop, huh?

I have had this kind of behavior caused by distributor problems. First try
a new cap & rotor. After that the next likely thing is the distributor
itself.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Bruce Chang wrote:
You might want to take it to the dealer if they can offer
> some kind of bench testing for the ECM.
>
> -Bruce

An early 90's GM ECM? The unofficial bench testing tool is a ABD
(Appropriate Beating Device). Hit ECM. If symptoms change, its the
ECM.

Consider the crank sensor as well. If you get it to act up you could
monitor RPM with a scan tool. No reading would be a good (not 100%)
indication the crank sensor or related wiring is bad.

Toyota MDT in MO

On 25 Feb 2005 09:27:53 -0800, "stymied" > wrote:

>165,000 miles. My Buick stalls intermittently.
>
>It bagan when I parked it at the store, came back out ten minutes later
>and it would crank, but not fire. Ten minutes after that it started
>and ran perfectly.
>
>Took it into a mechanic, and naturally he couldn't duplicate the
>problem or find a code. I started to ask around. I got a a diagnostics
>"key" from the auto parts store. You plug it in the diag. port when
>the problem happens, and read the sequence from the flashing service
>engine light. Trouble code came up 17, and I replaced the ICM. Coils
>tested good. The problem persists.
>
>Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
>starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
>stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
>the code will pop up for the shop, huh?
>
>I need to find this problem! Any advice??

The brains of your distibutorless ignition are in the control module
under the coil pack. When these start to fail strange things start
happening. Is your dripping any goo out the front on to the radiator
hoses underneath? This unit doesn't set a code when it starts getting
flakey.

I fough a weird problem with my '91 Olds for a long time and it turned
out to be this control module. Bought one from AutoZone and had to
replace it every six months for the next 2.5 years that I owned the
car (lousy autozone parts).

Steve B.

In article >,
(Spud Demon) wrote:

> "stymied" > writes in article
> .com> dated 25 Feb 2005
> 09:27:53 -0800:
> >Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
> >starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
> >stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
> >the code will pop up for the shop, huh?
>
> I have had this kind of behavior caused by distributor problems. First try
> a new cap & rotor. After that the next likely thing is the distributor
> itself.

Except that it has none of the three parts you mention.

stymied wrote:
>
> 165,000 miles. My Buick stalls intermittently.
>
> It bagan when I parked it at the store, came back out ten minutes later
> and it would crank, but not fire. Ten minutes after that it started
> and ran perfectly.
>
> Took it into a mechanic, and naturally he couldn't duplicate the
> problem or find a code. I started to ask around. I got a a diagnostics
> "key" from the auto parts store. You plug it in the diag. port when
> the problem happens, and read the sequence from the flashing service
> engine light. Trouble code came up 17, and I replaced the ICM. Coils
> tested good. The problem persists.
>
> Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
> starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
> stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
> the code will pop up for the shop, huh?
>
> I need to find this problem! Any advice??

Sounds like the "normal" GM crank position sensor failure.
When was the last time you had it changed?

how about a 87 Buick v-6 , pull up to a stop light and it
stalls , starts right back up, car has less than 50 th miles
and is kept in top shape, it has had this sam problem off
and on for about 15 years , There was a big stink about the
38oo engine when it was first out , i gave my numbers to the
GM factory and they said my 3800 was fine ???? I was told by
someone that there is a sensor near the fuel door and some of
the gas changes from winter to summer in Calif could effect
this , >?????? I hope that man who diagnosed the water pump
noise is still out there , He was right on , it comes and
goes and seems to have a mind of its own , , please send
any help,

"toma" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> how about a 87 Buick v-6 , pull up to a stop light and it
> stalls , starts right back up, car has less than 50 th miles
> and is kept in top shape, it has had this sam problem off
> and on for about 15 years , There was a big stink about the
> 38oo engine when it was first out , i gave my numbers to the
> GM factory and they said my 3800 was fine ???? I was told
by
> someone that there is a sensor near the fuel door and some
of
> the gas changes from winter to summer in Calif could effect
> this , >?????? I hope that man who diagnosed the water pump
> noise is still out there , He was right on , it comes and
> goes and seems to have a mind of its own , , please send
> any help,
>
Hey, Toma. Being a lover of the 3800's, I'm in no way putting them
down; however, the '87's had a "cutting off" problem that, AFAIK has never
been solved. Heard via grapevine--not from my favorite highly-qualified
techs--that some success was finally found by replacing all the sensors on
the car. This, I still have doubts about. I think most techs will tell u
that '88 was the 1st year of the nearly 'perfect' ones. The '88s ran
smoothe (many '85-'87s did not), the trannies held up (many '85-'86s were
prone to sudden failure), and the '88s proved almost immune to the 'cutting
off problem' so common in the '87 year model.
Otherwise, the '87s would still run for 200 thousand+ miles!
Wish I could help. Maybe a discussion with an old-timer tech at a Buick
dealership who is willing to share knowledge may offer the insight you
need........ If (IF) you find a solution, please post AND email me. My
curiosity has prevailed since '86 when the '87s came out. I was even
hesitant to purchase-for-resale the '87s due to generating unhappy
buyers--passed by many seeming nice cars at bargain prices because of that
one minor yet major tendency. s

Originally Posted by stymied

165,000 miles. My Buick stalls intermittently.

It bagan when I parked it at the store, came back out ten minutes later
and it would crank, but not fire. Ten minutes after that it started
and ran perfectly.

Took it into a mechanic, and naturally he couldn't duplicate the
problem or find a code. I started to ask around. I got a a diagnostics
"key" from the auto parts store. You plug it in the diag. port when
the problem happens, and read the sequence from the flashing service
engine light. Trouble code came up 17, and I replaced the ICM. Coils
tested good. The problem persists.

Now it "tries" to stall on the freeway, stalls in traffic in town, and
starts and runs beautifully right after stalling. Moments later it
stalls again. Eventually, I believe it'll just stall and die. Then
the code will pop up for the shop, huh?

I need to find this problem! Any advice??

Had the same problem/symptoms at 175k miles. Stalling at 70MPH in traffic is a little un-nerving. I replaced almost all the ignition parts one-by-one and the ECM but still had the same symptoms. Finally replaced the cam sensor magnet, which had dis-integrated. It is a little harder to get at than the crank sensor, or the cam sensor. If you do it yourself, the part is cheap but you have to dis-mount the timing gears to install the new magnet from the back. At that point it is probably wise to replace the gear set, the chain and tensioner at the same time. Especially if the job is done by your mechanic. His time is going to cost you much more than the parts.