Stalled, no start, towed, shop can't duplicate, I'm mad.

[skregal]

My 95 stalled after I started it in a parking lot, engine cold.
I was able to drive it about 50 yards before it died.
I couldn't get it restarted.
Got a ride and some tools and went back.
Fuel pressure good at 42 psi.
Unplugged MAF sensor still no start.
Kept trying and it starts. Yippee. Sounding fine.
Drove it 50 more yards and it dies. Wouldn't restart.
After about 20 minutes, trying everything I know, it starts again.
Sounding fine. Yippee again.
Drove it 50 more yards and it dies a third time. Wouldn't restart.
Tried wife's key after a while to see if VATS was acting up. No start.
Tried everything. Nada.

Called tow truck. Towed it to a friend's shop (I was 20 miles from home
and it was real close).

The next day the shop says it starts and runs fine. They have had it for a week
now and everyday they say it starts and runs fine, even when they drive it
around the block a few times, no stalling or any problems at all.

WHAT THE HECK?

I'm stumped. The crank sensor, cam sensor, and ICM are about 2 years old
and are all Borg Warner brand (that's the best O'Reilly has to offer ).
PCM is about 4 years old, don't know the brand.

That's the first time in twenty years that this car has been towed.

What should I look for? Some wiring issue? I need to able to trust this car.

[KM AXer]

So when the problem occurred, the starter motor would engage and turn the crank, but the engine would not fire and run?

I hate that.

Happened to my wife some years ago driving my non-GM car. Had to be towed. Was the PCM, it had a leaking capacitor that had fizzled some connections, killing the spark.

Bummer to think that it could happen again, when you really need the car to get you somewhere. I'd be checking all of the connections in the engine electronics area, looking for corroded terminals or dodgy contact. Does not make sense that it would now start and run easily after such a bad problem a week earlier.

[Archon]

IIRC the computers for the '95s were known to have issues, including intermittent no start conditions. Perhaps that is your problem.

[skregal]

I am concerned about the PCM. It was replaced, but I don't know
anything about the replacement, as it was done by a repair shop.
Did replacement PCMs improve the reliability of the 95 factory PCMs with issues?

I will try to unplug every electrical connection that drives the ignition system and make
sure it is solid and clean and maybe put some dielectric grease on them.

Is there some ignition grounds that I could check? Isn't there one under the ICM?

[Archon]

I believe the PCMs continued to be an issue. I believe that Jrs3800 went through a few before he found a reliable one. Plus, it was bad enough that he carried a known good spare in his trunk.

I believe that there was a ground near the ICM for your year, but I don't have a lot of information available for '95.

[Jrs3800]

Yes Indeed I did carry a Trunk PCM at one point.. I have a stack of bad 94-95 PCMs, all of them have had a failure of one sort or another... But non of them failed to start, and none of them ever left me stranded..

I don't think I will be much help here, but the problem could be with any of the items you listed.. Crank sensor is #1 on my list, ICM #2...

Like stated check all of the connections, there is a ground strap under the ICM bracket( on one of the bolts iirc )... As well check those ground Bus Bar on the right( passenger ) side of the car under the carpet..

Any check engine light at all while its running?

[skregal]

No check engine light when it's running.

When the crank sensor started failing, it would die when it was hot.
And sometimes not want to start when it was hot.

But I've never run into something like this, where it's cold.

[Jrs3800]

It's a tuff one... It's one of those things, gotta catch it when it happens kind of deals.. sucks I know..

The security system will prevent you from starting, but once it's running it should never shut the car off..

The ICM, PCM, bad ground and Crank sensor can cause the issues your having, now it's a matter of which one is misbehaving and catching it when it does..

Electric wise the 94-95 was quite good, funky PCM from time to time, and the ground bus bars on the left and right door sill area loved to corrode.. the problem has to be minor, but where do you go from here..?

[skregal]

I don't think any of the engine wiring goes through the ground bus bars
in the door rocker sills, does it? I would think anything related to the
engine and the PCM would stay up by the firewall and Max fuse box or
near the component itself.

Isn't the door rocker sills full of stuff like lights, seats, windows and
accessories type wiring?


BTW, I drove the car home today from the shop. About 20 miles
and it drove like a dream, no problems.